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Pairs' judging merits investigation
Deseret News editorial
"Robbed!" screamed the headlines of the Ottawa Sun and Winnipeg Free Press newspapers Tuesday following the controversial judging that awarded Russian skaters Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze gold medals in pairs skating Monday night.
Canadians David Pelletier and Jamie Sele were relegated to silver medals. Pelletier was so distraught that he talked about giving up the sport.
Sour grapes on the part of the Canadians?
That doesn't appear to be the case.
Welcome to the seamy side of the Olympics where who performs best may not necessarily win.
For example, after the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Jean Senft, a Canadian judge, went public with accusations of vote trading in figure skating competition. Following an investigation, she and a Ukranian judge were suspended by the International Skating Union.
Tuesday, the ISU announced it would hold an inquiry into Monday's pairs' judging.
It needs to. The credibility of a sport and indeed the Olympics is at issue. If there were improprieties, if indeed, the outcome was "pre-arranged before the competition started," as Mark Lund, the publisher of International Figure Skating Magazine, charged on CNN's "Talk Back Live" program Tuesday, then appropriate action needs to be taken.
If it can be proven that deals were made to alter the judging at the expense of the Canadians, then the Canadians should belatedly be given the gold medal.
As the letters on this and the succeeding page indicate, there is a feeling that a grave athletic injustice has taken place.
And it's not just ice-skating fans who feel that way. NBC announcer and Olympic figure-skating veteran Scott Hamilton was sure the performance by the Canadians merited gold. "Throw a triple loop, and the gold is theirs!" Hamilton exclaimed near the end of the Canadians' 4 1/2-minute program. They landed it perfectly. When it was announced the Russians had won, Hamilton was surprised. "How did that happen?" he asked.
How it happened is what needs to be examined. Judges from Russia, China, France, Poland and Ukraine voted for the Russians while the judges from the United States, Canada, Germany and Japan voted for the Canadians.
Unfortunately, the controversy detracts from the performance and dedication of Russia's Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze and Canada's Sale and Pelletier.
Hamilton implored those at the Delta Center skating venue not to take out their frustrations on Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze. After all, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were only responsible for their skating, not the judging.
Judging by its very nature leaves itself open for second-guessing. But what happened Monday night is about much more than questionable subjectivity. It's about collusion.
There is no place for collusion in the Olympics — or in any other sporting event. Did collusion take place? That's what the ISU needs to determine.
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February 13, 2002
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