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Canadian pairs skaters mulling pro career
Associated Press
EDMONTON, Alberta — Jamie Sale and David Pelletier love to compete, but not if it means being "guinea pigs" for judging if they remain Olympic-eligible figure skaters.
The Olympic pairs co-gold medalists said Monday on their return to Edmonton, where they live and train, that they decided to skip the world championships in Nagano, Japan, because of the stress from the judging scandal at the Salt Lake City Games.
Initially awarded silver medals behind Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, Sale and Pelletier later received a second set of gold medals after an outcry over the judges' decision — and revelations a French judge admitted being pressured to vote a certain way.
The couple became instant celebrities, appearing on major television news programs as well as magazine covers. They said Monday they were sleeping only three hours a night at the height of the appearance demands and were unable to train properly for the world championships later this month.
"We wanted to do both the Olympics and the worlds, but this whole situation took a lot out of us," Sale said, who became ill during the commotion. "We needed to come down."
Pelletier said corruption in judging will be a factor when the couple decides whether to turn professional or continue skating competitively.
"What happened in Salt Lake obviously will influence our decision," he said. "Firstly, we're competitors. We're not scared of being judged badly, but it was a very bitter experience over there.
"Let's go find out if we can get over it and trust the system again. We just have to ask ourselves if we want to be guinea pigs."
Sale and Pelletier would earn about the same amount through endorsements and competition prizes as eligible skaters or as professionals.
"We like to compete," he said. "That's who we are. This is why we got into it in the first place. We also enjoy the pressure."
To Sale, "it's about what we want to do."
"Yes, we accomplished our goal," she said, "but it doesn't mean we can't set new goals, as long as we're improving every year and we can come up with new things."
Coach Jan Ullmark said he thinks his skaters made their point about the judging diplomatically, and the way they handled themselves had an immediate impact.
He cited the result in the women's event at the Olympics as evidence. Unheralded American Sarah Hughes came from fourth place to win over the two favorites who were ahead of her, Michelle Kwan and Irina Slutskaya.
"They had to judge what they saw that night," he said. "I really don't think it was what the judges wanted to do — but they had to."
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March 5, 2002
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