Gold worth its wait

The Canadian skaters who most observers thought were robbed will get their gold medal after all.

By JOHN ROMANO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 16, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY -- In the end, the skaters got their gold. The public got its scapegoat. And Olympic officials got away without having to address the neverending saga of dirty politics in figure skating.

In a move that headed off a potentially messy arbitration hearing, the International Skating Union and International Olympic Committee agreed Friday to award a second set of gold medals in pairs figure skating to Canadians David Pelletier and Jamie Sale.

The responsibility for the scandal was laid at the feet of French skating judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne. She was suspended indefinitely for failing to reveal she had been subjected to unspecified pressure before the competition.

"The case is solved for us," Pelletier said. "The case is not solved for figure skating."

Olympic and skating officials did not go so far as to say there was a conspiracy involved, but acknowledged there was enough impropriety to support the extraordinary decision to award another set of gold medals. The Russian duo of Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze will keep the gold they were given after receiving the top scores in Monday night's competition. Sale and Pelletier will be awarded their new medals next week, probably in a ceremony Thursday at the women's figure skating finals.

ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta said there was no evidence Russian officials were involved in the improper contact with Le Gougne.

"The investigation is still going on," IOC director general Francois Carrard said. "(Le Gougne) was suspended for having failed to disclose the fact that she was submitted to pressure. ... She maintains she voted freely, but it was determined that due to the circumstances that it was possible that this was not a fair situation for the competition."

There has been speculation Le Gougne was asked by the French federation to favor the Russians in pairs competition. In exchange, a Russian judge would supposedly vote in favor of a French duo in Friday night's dance competition.

Russians have reacted angrily to the allegations.

"It's a disgraceful fuss," Interfax news agency reported Russian deputy prime minister Valentina Matviyenko saying before Friday's IOC decision. "The International Olympic Committee should get to the root of it and not allow American mass media and amateurs to give marks to our skaters."

Cinquanta said he spoke personally to Le Gougne and she signed a declaration detailing her involvement. Cinquanta did not, however, reveal who pressured Le Gougne or what their motivation was.

"The investigation is not concluded," Cinquanta said. "But we have got enough evidence to take the first decision, that I've pronounced. Now, please, give us some more time. We will continue our assessment and then, at a certain day, we will declare this investigation is concluded."

Cinquanta previously said a resolution would not be reached before Monday, but called an emergency meeting Thursday night. The ISU meeting was called hours after Canada's Olympic federation submitted an application to an arbitration panel requesting all of the judges involved be required to remain in Salt Lake City until a hearing could be held.

"The coincidence of timing is certainly there," Canadian Olympic Association president Michael Chambers said.

IOC president Jacques Rogge, aware of the overwhelming crush of negative publicity, interceded, and may be responsible for the swift resolution.

"I don't think this has created damage to the Olympic movement because it was resolved fast, in the best possible way," Rogge said. "This is definitely now a closed matter. And I believe that the full attention will come back to the athletes from now."

The larger question, which remained unanswered on Friday, is what the ISU and the IOC might do to prevent further scandals in a sport that has long been accused of fixed results.

"We want the truth to come out. We do not want any one person to be scapegoated," said Craig Fenech, attorney for Pelletier and Sale. "They want the sport to be reformed because it's a fantastic sport that they've given their lives to. They want the sport reformed so this can never happen again.

"They're thrilled, as you can tell, that they've received the gold medal. But the search for truth and the reforms that should follow has just begun."

The controversy began almost immediately after Pelletier and Sale skated their long program Monday night. Although their performance appeared flawless, judges voted 5-4 in favor of the Russian duo, who committed some minor technical mistakes.

In what may be the greatest indictment of the sport's flaws, the judging went absolutely as predicted, other than Le Gougne's surprise vote. Judges from Russia, Ukraine, Poland and China voted for the Russian pair. Judges from the United States, Canada, Germany and Japan voted for the Canadians.

The often predictable nature of judging is sometimes attributed to leftover allegiances or Cold War politics. It also can be a matter of cultural differences, such as Eastern bloc countries favoring classical music.

Because of this latest controversy, the process of selecting judges has come under criticism. National federations are allowed to choose their own judges, a situation that would seem to encourage judges to vote along party lines to curry favor with their federations.

Cinquanta disputed that characterization, but acknowledged he is pursuing changes to the system.

"As far as this possibility of innovating, of doing something to prevent this embarrassing situation, ... a long time ago I prepared a project which will be submitted to the council in the next days in order to evaluate whether this project could be implemented or not," Cinquanta said.

"So we are trying very hard constantly ... that we will improve our position."