TheSalt Lake Tribune 04 ct 4 UKE zs Sa Saturday, February 16, 2002 a NTER YMPIC GAMES ally Gold Frenchjudge accusedoffraudulentvoting is suspended BY MICHAEL said.’ “ Pelletier and Sale have repeatedly said that EWIS Tr SALT LAKE TRIBUNE anada’s DavidPelletier was so relieved to their protestof the original results was notan at- tempt to discredit their Russian rivals, but rather a moveto correct unfair judging in their sport. Meanwhile, the International Skating Union learn that he and partner JamieSalefinally will receive a figure skating gold medal that muchofthe world believed theydeserved that he could not help but craeka joke Friday during a jam-packed newsconference. : “We do hope we get the bronze,too,” he said, “so we can get the entire . collection.” said it has indefinitely suspended French judge Marie Reine Le Gougnebecause she “submitted toa certain pressure” while casting climbed a mountain here, and lo and behold, we reached the top.” ‘The skaters learned ofthedecision while watching the newsconference during whichit was announced. Then, Fenech said “all hell brokeloose”and the Canadian celebrations began. s “Weare truly honored,” Sale said. 5 About 30 Canadians, gathered at the country’s private hospitality house on Main herdecidingvote for Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya. A lifetime ban is possible, ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta said, andthe investiga- Streetin Salt Lake City, were on “pins and needles” until the word gold medal was mentioned. And then, “Weall started screaming and we havenoidea what was said afterthat,” said Antoinette Catricala,a Canadian citizen. tion into whoelse wasinvolved in the scandal will continue. Cinquanta refused to be specific aboutthe type of pressure felt by Le “Theright decision was finally Gougneor whoapplied it. But he said he found no evidence ofRusbut Pelletier and Sale probably won't have any problem returningthe silver medal that sparked the greatest controversyofthe Salt Lake Games and turned the charismatic lovers into gracious martyrs fortheir be- to keep thegold.It would have been very unfair [otherwise]. They've al- in favor of a Frenchpair in the ice dancing competition that began Waa nat ready hadthatin their hearts.” Cinquanta’s pledge ofan ongoing investigation gave hope to ob- aeae packed Perea 7 CianaidKathy servers whowant improvements in figure-skatingjudging, which has Friday morning it had sufficient evidence of fraudulentvoting by a French judgeandwill award a second gold medalin the event to the Ca- “Our mission statement was something that David said to me,” “Wetooka position that was oneofjustice and fairness for the athletes,” IOC president Jacques Rogge said. don’t have to havethe gold medal, Gougne was butI wantthe truth to comeout.’ I sured,the ISU sai think everybodystill feels that way. z ae: nadians. The medal presentation is scheduled for Wolff, a volunteer from Toronto. In thedays since the scandal beenrife with controversies over broke, the Gade skaters have the years. Cinquanta alsosaid heis a pate on revisions to the become news media darlings and patie symbols ofsports: tier said.“I wouldlikethatfor the entire Canadian federation.” While the Canadians were overjoyed at the verdict, the Russians, whowill keep the gold medal they won Mondayat the Delta Center, complained thatit tainted a fair victory. They insisted they performed the more difficult and passionate program and de- served to win. have spentmostoftheir lives participating in this sport and they want this to be the catalyst that causes change so that this can never happen again to anyone.” The decision to award a second gold medal came unexpectedly Friday morning after Cinquanta metwith the ISU council late Thursday night — despite sayingearlicr in the daythe matter would notbe resolved until Monday. The ISU then proposed the medal swap to Rogge and the IOC early Friday morning. Rogge said the IOC’s executive board agreed to the proposal by a 1-1vote with one abstention. The IOC did notdisclose how members voted, but The Associated Press reported that Russia’s Vitaly Smirnov abstained while China’s He Zhen- “It is very hard for us to understand how they, Jamie and David,can take part in this magni Them oeee said Craig Fenech,the attorney and ‘Leah Hogsten/The‘Tribune ""'Eonietier said he expected a agent for Pelletier and Sale. “ ‘I Judge Marie Reine Le much longer fightafter the Cana[The skaters] love their sport. They Thursday, probably after the women’s free skate program on the day offigure skating. Other details — such as whether the Canadian flag will be raised or the national anthem played — apparently have yet to be worked out. “I do hope that they can raise theflag,” Pelle- David Pelletier and Jamie Sale mentto have a Russian judge vote leaguered sport. er four days of rumors and behind-thescenes investigations after the Canadians’ controversial loss to Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze in the pairs competition, the International Olympic Committee announced co taken,” said Sean Battram ofBrantford, Ontario, who broke into the national anthem “O, Canada” whenthe newshitthestreets. “And it was good the Russians get sian complicity in the scandal, con-. tradicting speculation thatthe disputed vote was part of an arrange- ‘imet. aed hejoked, “I will put the helmet on.” The remarkable decision is uncommonbut not unprecedented. Among past revisions is the 1998 IOC decision to give Canadian synchronized swimmer Sylvie Frechette the gold medal after an unintentional judging error gavehersilver at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Some also speculated that a decision in the Sale andPelletier case would never have been reached so quickly under formerIOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, was marked by:at col. Rogge,on the other hand, is a former Olympic athlete who wanted the case resolved as soon as. pete for the sakeofthe athletes. liang voted against the proposal. scandal,” the Russians said in the Moskovksy Komsomolets newspaper.“Actually,it is disgraceful for them tobegin this ‘Cold War,’ as somebody the Canad:ians certainly appreciated that. “It’s a great day for sport,” said Michael Chambers, presidentofthe Canadian Oiyaric Association, “and a great dayforfair play.... Russia’s Sikharulidze: ‘Please, dian delegation appealed theorigiajudges: decision and had beso discouraged that he wanted “to go avithe skeleton ride without a oe‘was amazing,” Sale said. “Tt was awesome —areallybig surprise forus.” We frankly mel@sltrib.com Canadian Skaters Show Class, Restraint In Trying Conditions Don’t Make Our Life Unhappy’ BY KATHY STEPHENSON BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH and KATHY STEPHENSON ‘THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE Oh, Canada, could they be any Olympic champions, two great countries, two great pairs,” said Sikharulidze, who joined Rus- more gracious? sian supporters at a celebration at a private homein Holladay that is serving as “Russia THESALTLAKE TRIBUNE Early Friday, a subdued but not somber mood prevailed at a Russian Olympic Committee hos- pitality suite in West Valley Ciiy after news brokethat the Canadian pairs skaters would be awarded a duplicate gold. Hours later, the Russian skaters whowill now share gold medal fameoffered congratulations and a plea they notbe ridiculed because of the debacle. “T justfeel this kindof scandal, this situation, the TV people, the media, they make ourlife harder.It’s not our mistake, we are just skaters. This situation makes us very unhappy,” Anton Sikharulidze said. Hesaid Canadians JamieSale and David Pelletier were “great skaters, great competitors. Wheneverwemeet, it’s a great competition. [just wantto say to people that we are guests here; we want to enjoy the Olympics. Please don't make our life unhappy.” Sikharulidze and partner Elena Berezhnaya had not yet had a chance totalk with Sale and Pelletier but said they hope to be on hand when the couple receive their gold medals. “They are Olympic champions, and we are ways carry the asterisk of scandal, ‘Turns out, the scandal that marks these Games eehave nothing to do with Tom and Da‘ Three years ago, ae When reports of gifts fromUtah Utah's Olympicbidders to International Olympic Committee members became a cause célébre, the affair was dramatically overstated as the biggestcrisis in IOChistory. It wasn't, for the simple reason that the entire seamy matter had only to do with siting the Games, not playing them, When the integrityof playing the Games is undermined, t's when the Olympics are in ore And crisis — trying to moveae the controvikcree a oder of the pairs fig ure skating competition this week, the 106,at the recommendation of theIn. them thegold, they offered empathy for co-gold medalists Elena and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia. “This was not thing against them,” Pelletier said. “It was against the alist Alexei . 5 Yagudin was: more i pointed in ex- In the daysafter corrupt judging cost them a gold medal in the Olympicpairs competition, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier oozed good humor. Nowthat they will getthe gold they deserve, the Canadian couple is showing class — and humility — in success. With the good looks and athletic skills that land sports stars on Wheaties boxes, the Canadians have proved adept at handling ans skated perfectly, but the Russian pair had a soFevenousmedihorde flag being themiddle and hear: jiggest storm ‘of the witee‘Omnis swirled around quate Reed bet I was “It’s definitely not whatwe ex. ‘Elena andAnton, I am really sorry for them. They won,and they are notguilty of anything,” Verde them, Sale pected and it's House.” Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, adopting a Jesse Jackson-esquerole, hadtried to get Sale and Pelletier to visit Russia House late Friday. But the couple apparently were having too much fun at Canadian headquarters in downtown Salt LakeCity. As the skaters did their best to be gracious, newly crowned men’s figure skating gold medpressing a view commonin Russia. The Canadi- morecomplex routine that demonstrated more emotion than the Canadians,hesaid. Russian news media have charged that the league with the Russia judge, because there is little love lost betweenthe countries. ternational Skating Union, awarded Jamie Sale and David Pelletier gold medal thatall the armchair judges in North America thought the Canadians had earned on the ice Monday night. Putting aside the fact that thesport's scoring system renders ties unfeasible and thatthis is the first timein Olympic figure skating history that two medals fcr the same placing have been awarded, the quick ata was still a satisfying one and a credit to Jacques Rogge, the new IOC presidentfacing an early test ofhis in- put while Canadians were were toasting jut while their new gold medalists, the more im- portant revelation made by ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta on Friday was that French j Marie Reine Le Gougne was guilty of “misconduct” in casting her vote Monday to makeit 5-4 for the Russians Elena pena the oj ts abhaving a good isin Igts us,” Sale said. “ “We are shows, and even jammed “LoveStory” program skated by Sale and Pelle- tier was 3 years old and the couple appeared merely to be going through the motions. Manypieces ofthe judging puzzle don’t fit for Russians, including why anyone would think judges from Poland and the Ukraine would be in and Pelletier went with the Canadian i i, i Connie Stroud finishes work they are to bow out ara of the limelight, group Barenaked at the Stymie ae ae newspapers and nie stations with com. plaints, and online polls showed ig that the hundreds of other athletes from around the world deserve more attenti Pelletier ended the press ference ry by: the 9M the second gold medal for OpeewhenningspeyiCa: thatthe media to “get back to normal, to go Canada's pairs skaters. Canadians had been cheated. toa hockey game or to skiing.” Resolution ofScandal Allows Focusto Shift Back to Sports thad long been assumed thatthe Salt Lake City Olympics would al- rues it all the couple refused to be goaded into pointing and Anton Sikharulidze, Le Gougne, whohas been suspended for anundecided period of time, has signed adec- laration acknowledgingthat pressure was put on her. Also, said Cinquanta, Beheprt oa been working on a “project” to improvefigure skating’s system, even before this week's mess, But whatever solutions he proposes, his greater task will be to convince the Public that ican trust the judging of i t she report such contact immediotel po fidence in this Judging controversies haven't exactly shows,is seriously shaken by Friday's MTTcit otha hint ob eg rity of figure skating, a sport in which beeninfrequent. It is one thing todisagree with the judges, but quite another to learn from the federation’s own presidentthat they have been dishonest. This is why Rogge, who had to be careful not to infringe too much on ISU territory, pressed for prompt action, When the word “fix” starts pingip,the Otymiplce have deeper le than Tom and Dave ever gave remote said that the ISU had ¢ event con: vert QP OLYMPIC Lex Hemphill there will always be a sort ofunshak- which has tainted two ofthe last three Winter Olympics with its sordid side- Scalia-Thomas courts, long after the admission. What the suddenly placated North fans toremember is that, ifthere had been no impropri‘on the part ofthe As long as that hangs over the sport, it has a credibility problem, one that has only been exthis week. While skating tries to repair the. , at least Judge, the 5-4 decision for the Russian have thanks not just to her vote but to the votes ofthe four the former Communist bloc. The focus eluded those four this week,as if a tacit understanding still exists on these War has resolution focus of these Games to shift back to sports. proper chord when he implored the media members at his news conference, “When all ofyou guys leave the room, go and see another