IOC won't rule out idea of 2nd gold

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two gold medals?

The International Olympic Committee wouldn't rule out the possibility that a second gold medal could be awarded to the Canadian pairs skaters as a way to end the judging controversy that has marred the sport and dominated the Winter Games.

"The IOC will consider any request from the ISU," president Jacques Rogge said, referring to the International Skating Union.

IOC member Kevan Gosper said the committee hasn't discussed such a proposal, but "I'm not saying it can't happen."

The head of the skating union said it would be "very difficult, not impossible," to award the gold to Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who narrowly lost to the Russians in a questionable vote.

"Nothing is impossible," Ottavio Cinquanta told NBC Sports.

Earlier, he rebuffed pressure to speed up a judging review despite demands for action from top Olympic officials and worries by skaters that the controversy might taint other events.

The union's meeting is scheduled for Monday.

Canadian officials said they don't want Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze stripped of the gold medal, but they believe Sale and Pelletier should be rewarded if any evidence of wrongdoing is uncovered.

"We are not here to pull someone down, we are here to pull somebody up," said Michael Chambers, president of the Canadian Olympic Association. "We see no reason why the council of the ISU should not consider awarding a second gold medal."

It has happened before.

In 1993, the IOC awarded a second gold medal in synchronized swimming from the Barcelona Games to Canada's Sylvie Frechette. The IOC's executive board agreed that Frechette was placed second because of a judging error and should be awarded a gold. The IOC's decision did not affect Kristen Babb-Sprague of the United States, who was originally awarded gold and kept her medal.

French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne is at the center of the controversy in Salt Lake City.

Didier Gailhaguet, head of the French Olympic committee and the country's figure skating federation, told an Associated Press reporter she was pressured before she voted for the Russians on Monday night.

During an interview in French, he said she was "somewhat manipulated," but he denied any wrongdoing by his federation.

"Some people close to the judge have acted badly and have put someone who is honest and upright but emotionally fragile under pressure," Gailhaguet said Wednesday night. "We cannot continue to let our judge be lambasted in this way. What is true is that Marie-Reine has been put under pressure, which pushed her to act in a certain way."

But Thursday, Gailhaguet said his remarks were misinterpreted.

"I totally reject the interpretation placed on words attributed to me," Gailhaguet said in a statement released by the French National Olympic Committee.

"There was no misinterpretation on our part," AP sports editor Terry Taylor said. "Our reporter called Gailhaguet on his cell phone, identified himself and conducted an interview entirely in French for at least five minutes."

Le Gougne is one of five judges who favored the Russians despite the couple's technical error. That was enough for a 5-4 decision.

She voted along with a majority that included former Eastern bloc members Russia, Poland, Ukraine and China.

International Skating Union rules prevent judges from commenting publicly about decisions.

The IOC warning to the ISU to resolve the matter quickly was highly unusual.

"We are concerned for the athletes," IOC director general Francois Carrard said.

Carrard said the skating chief also assured Rogge that the ice dance competition, often the subject of disputed judging, would "be presented in the most proper way" when it begins tonight.

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