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Canadian Anger Forces Inquiry Into Pairs Judging
February 12, 2002 5:58 pm EST
By Robert Woodward
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Canadian outrage forced figure skating's ruling body to launch an inquiry into judging at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday following Russia's controversial victory in the pairs.
Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the gold ahead of Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, despite skating below their best ahead of a flawless Canadian performance.
The judges were loudly booed in the Olympic Ice Center on Monday and faced a barrage of criticism 12 hours later.
After watching Sale, his sweetheart on and off the ice, break down in tears at the medals ceremony, Pelletier said he was so disillusioned with the sport he might retire and the top Canadian official at the Games insisted the judges were wrong.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the wrong pair was standing at the top of the podium," said chef de mission Sally Rehorick who is also an Olympic level figure skating judge. "We are very disappointed. There's no doubt about that."
Reaction back home in Canada was even fiercer. "Robbed!" bellowed the front page headlines of the Ottawa Sun and Winnipeg Free Press newspapers.
"Last night's decision will likely go down as one of the most controversial of all time, even one of the most outrageous," said the Calgary Sun newspaper.
Faced with this barrage of criticism, the International Skating Union ordered an inquiry.
"Following the reaction of the public and the media to the results of the pairs event at the Salt Lake Ice Center last night, and to respect public opinion, the ISU is doing an internal assessment to monitor if the ISU rules and procedures have been respected," it said in a statement.
The ISU made its statement after a routine judges' meeting to look back at Monday's voting.
CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY
Judging in figure skating has long been a subject of controversy because of the value judgements involved in rating presentation, and suspicions that vote-trading and block voting play an important role in the distribution of medals.
Scott Hamilton, the 1984 men's gold medallist, told reporters he was shocked and astounded by the decision to give the Russians the gold as he believed it was a "no-brainer" that the Canadian pair had won.
But the American said he did not believe the decision was based on politics, rather it showed a cultural chasm between judges from the former Eastern bloc and western nations.
The five judges who voted for the Russians were from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, China and France. The U.S., Canadian, German and Japanese judges awarded top marks to the Canadians.
Hamilton said: "The ISU has to look at the technical committees where someone can have too much power and can intimidate judges.
"They have to make it as democratic as possible and look at the structure -- the powers of the technical director and the referee. The ISU must find a way to give every judge the chance to do what's right."
Pelletier said he would wait for the ISU's inquiry before deciding definitely about his future in the sport.
"Better to sit back and let the dust settle with the inquiries and see what happens," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's not good for the sport, like doping in track and field and bobsleigh. A controversy is not good for sport."
Canadian Anger Forces Inquiry Into Pairs Judging
February 12, 2002 5:58 pm EST
By Robert Woodward
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Canadian outrage forced figure skating's ruling body to launch an inquiry into judging at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday following Russia's controversial victory in the pairs.
Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the gold ahead of Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, despite skating below their best ahead of a flawless Canadian performance.
The judges were loudly booed in the Olympic Ice Center on Monday and faced a barrage of criticism 12 hours later.
After watching Sale, his sweetheart on and off the ice, break down in tears at the medals ceremony, Pelletier said he was so disillusioned with the sport he might retire and the top Canadian official at the Games insisted the judges were wrong.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the wrong pair was standing at the top of the podium," said chef de mission Sally Rehorick who is also an Olympic level figure skating judge. "We are very disappointed. There's no doubt about that."
Reaction back home in Canada was even fiercer. "Robbed!" bellowed the front page headlines of the Ottawa Sun and Winnipeg Free Press newspapers.
"Last night's decision will likely go down as one of the most controversial of all time, even one of the most outrageous," said the Calgary Sun newspaper.
Faced with this barrage of criticism, the International Skating Union ordered an inquiry.
"Following the reaction of the public and the media to the results of the pairs event at the Salt Lake Ice Center last night, and to respect public opinion, the ISU is doing an internal assessment to monitor if the ISU rules and procedures have been respected," it said in a statement.
The ISU made its statement after a routine judges' meeting to look back at Monday's voting.
CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY
Judging in figure skating has long been a subject of controversy because of the value judgements involved in rating presentation, and suspicions that vote-trading and block voting play an important role in the distribution of medals.
Scott Hamilton, the 1984 men's gold medallist, told reporters he was shocked and astounded by the decision to give the Russians the gold as he believed it was a "no-brainer" that the Canadian pair had won.
But the American said he did not believe the decision was based on politics, rather it showed a cultural chasm between judges from the former Eastern bloc and western nations.
The five judges who voted for the Russians were from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, China and France. The U.S., Canadian, German and Japanese judges awarded top marks to the Canadians.
Hamilton said: "The ISU has to look at the technical committees where someone can have too much power and can intimidate judges.
"They have to make it as democratic as possible and look at the structure -- the powers of the technical director and the referee. The ISU must find a way to give every judge the chance to do what's right."
Pelletier said he would wait for the ISU's inquiry before deciding definitely about his future in the sport.
"Better to sit back and let the dust settle with the inquiries and see what happens," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's not good for the sport, like doping in track and field and bobsleigh. A controversy is not good for sport."
