| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
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Russians edge Canadians for gold in figure skating
By Jenifer K. Nii
Deseret News Olympic specialist
It was enough to boggle the mind.
The Olympic pairs figure skating medals were given out Monday evening in what may become one of the most controversial pairs competitions in Olympic history.
Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, 1998 Olympic silver medalists, finally reached the top of the medals podium, though certainly there will be discussion about whether they received help from the nine-member judging panel.
The Russians' program, Massenet's "Meditation" from Thais, was lovely, if flawed. Sikharulidze turned out of a side-by-side double Axel, and Berezhnaya fought to hold the landing on a throw triple Salchow. Their marks ranged from 5.7 to 5.8 on the technical mark, and 5.8 to 5.9 on the artistic mark. It seemed the judges were leaving room for the pair to follow — reigning world champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
Sale and Pelletier took the ice as the Russians' marks were announced, but appeared unfazed by the scores, or the lingering pains of a frightening collision during the warm-up period between Sale and Sikharulidze.
The Canadians delivered a gorgeous interpretation of their signature "Love Story" program. Charismatic, romantic and matched element-for-element with the Russians' program, their performance seemed tailor-made for Olympic gold.
When it was over, Pelletier knelt and kissed the ice. Sale pumped her fists. The pair embraced, celebrating what they obviously thought was victory.
Not so fast. Judges teased the Canadians with higher technical marks and then zinged them on the second mark. In the end, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze won by the narrowest of margins, a five-to-four split.
The crowd shook the Delta Center (Salt Lake Ice Center) with boos, jeering the judges. Sale and Pelletier sat, stunned. Though they were diplomatic about the results, the Canadians were clearly disappointed.
"You go to the grocery store, it's 'bring back the gold.' You go to the hardware store, it's 'bring back the gold.' I'm just there to buy a hammer," Pelletier joked. Then, more seriously, "It's six months of people's expectations. I'm a human being, so of course I'm sad to come second."
Lori Nichol, who choreographed "Love Story" for Sale and Pelletier, wasn't nearly as stoic.
"Without question, I'm embarrassed for the sport," she said. "But I'm speaking from a very emotional moment."
Berezhnaya said she did not watch the Canadians skate but knew from the crowd's reaction the team had performed well. Of the controversy, she said, "I'm not the judge. I'm the skater."
For Berezhnaya, the joy of competing at the Olympic Games — and winning — was anything but controversial.
"It's something different in the air, something like just one moment," she said.
Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China won the bronze medal with an ambitious free skate. The team attempted a throw quadruple Salchow, narrowly missing when Shen lost her edge on the landing.
"We are happy because this is the first medal for China in pairs figure skating," Zhao said. "We came here for the gold, and we feel kind of sorry that we didn't get it, but we tried our best."
Though they did not medal, three-time American champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman brought down the house with an electrifying free skate. Passionate and uninhibited, Ina and Zimmerman began their performance with strong side by side triple toe loops and never looked back. Their only bobbles came on a rough triple twist and on their side-by-side double Axels, where Ina put a hand down.
The crowd erupted as Ina and Zimmerman struck their final pose — adequate salve for the pair, which finished fifth behind Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia.
"What we did out there was our gold medal," Zimmerman said later. "It's the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life. I absolutely fed off of that crowd."
Through tears, Ina celebrated.
"If I walked away from skating tomorrow, I could walk away knowing I left at the top of my career."
E-MAIL: jnii@desnews.com
Deseret News Olympic specialist Maria Titze contributed to this story.
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February 12, 2002
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