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Show <u The Salt Lake Tribune on 2 0 0 2 OLY MP. pe _ e Tuesday, February 19, 2002 a ER Skating Official FIGURE SKATING — ICE DANCING Rising to the Occasion O13 GAMeEsS Proposes New Scoring System It would use computer, add judges to makedecisionsless subjective Frenchslip past stumblingrivals BY KATHY STEPHENSON ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE BY MICHAEL C. LEWIS Figure skating’s markofperfection the 6.0— maybe replaced with a less subjective scoring system as part of a major overhaul of the sport's method for determining winners. THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Deal or no deal, the French are taking home the ice dancing gold. Gwendal Peizerat and Marina Anissina madesure of that Monday night, when they performed a moving free skate and won a 54 The proposed change comes after a judging scandal at the Salt Lake City Games that rever- berated around the world andresulted in a historic second gold medal being awarded to Cana- dian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. International Skating Union presidentOttavio vote over a Russian pair while two other top contenders shockingly fell during their routines at the Delta Center. Though there had been uncer- SAlT LAKE Cinquanta proposed the new system Mondayafter a closed-door meeting of the union’s 11memberboard. It changes scoring and judging and adopts computertechnology tocreate a level playingfield. 2002 Scoring would be based on a point system that grades jumps,spins,lifts and other skating elements based on degree ofdifficulty — a method similar to how other subjective sports such as GOLD France gymnastics, diving and snowboarding are scored. Skaters would get points for how well they perform elements, rather than deductions for missing things, and emphasis would be placed on technical rather than subjective aspects of program. seva was among the four ioe who Cinquanta also called for increasing the numberof judges at each competition from nineto 14. Their marks would be entered into a computer, which would randomlyselect seven judges’ scores Ttaly Barbara Fusar Poli Maurizio Margaglio to calculate a final average. Neither judges nor skaters would know whose scores were selected at any competition until after the season. Many details of the proposal must still be Results, 0-15, ironed out, and changes will take months — maybe years — to implement, provided they are accepted by the ISU Congress. The congress’s next meetingis set for June in Kyoto, Japan. At present, Cinquanta’s proposal is noton the agendaandwill be discussed only if a majority deemsit an “urgent matter.” Despite those challenges, Cinquanta called the French team. Italy’s Maurizio Margaglio and Barbara Fusar Poli took the bronze. “We skated really well,” Peizerat said, “and this was the best program we everdid.” The victory was a crowning achievement for Peizerat and proposal a “total revolution” that heralds a new era in the sport, which has used basically the same subjective scoring system since the union Anissina, who had won every was formed in 1892. other major international competition at somepointin the past few jut managed only a bronze “I promise you this system will reduce to a minimum thepossibility of bloc judging,”he said. Phyllis Howard, president of the U.S. Figure Skating Association, said her organization fully supports anyinitiative that ensures fairness but is withholding judgment until it can review Cinquanta’s proposal. Collusion played intothe pairs competition at medal at the Nagano Games. Their gold broke a streak of four straight Olympics at which Russians had wonthe ice dancing event, and Peizerat and Anissina became only the second non- the 2002 Games, in which Russia’s Elena Berezh- Russian pair to win ice dancing gold, behind Britain’s Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean at the 1984 Sarajevo Games. Anissina and Peizerat are the first French figure skaters to win naya and Anton Sikharulidze received the gold medal despite skating a flawed program. Canada’s Sale andPelletier placed second. French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougnelater admitted to being pressured by hernational federa- Olympic gold since 1932. Skating denied theallegation. She was suspended indefinitely and the ISU andtheInternational Olympic Committee agreed to upgrade the Canadians’silver medal to gold. sina wore a yellow andsilver lamé skirt with yellow ribbons trailing off the back — the French danced to an “Anthem of Liberty” that featured a voice-over of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a The Italians were third and hoping to move up when Margaglio caughthis toe pick in the ice during an easy part ofthe program andfell. Herecovered and finished the energetic dance to a “Disco Revival” medley, but Fusar Poli wept at the end, thinking they had just blown their medal hopes. tion to vote for the Russians. The federation has Lesh Hogsten/TheSalt Lake Tribune Gwendal Peizeratof France lifts partner Marina Anissina during their gold medal performance Monday. Then Victor Kraatz and ShaeLynn Bournecrashed to the ice on their final pose. Kraatz appeared to lose his balance trying to lift Bourne, and they could not take advantage of the Italians’ mistake to move upfrom fourth place. “It’s too bad, we might have had the bronze. We got caughtupin the excitementandonthelast pose, we let it slip,” Bournesaid. The defending world champion. Italians did not comment after winning Italy's first medal in Olympicfigure skating. Meanwhile, Peter Tchernyshev and Naomi Lang of the United States finished 11th, while Charles Sinek and Beata Handra were 28rd. The French had probably the mostintriguing routine, including one movein whichshe lifted him. And perhaps highlighting the need for new judging rules as proposed earlier in the day by the International Skating Union, the Lithuanian pair of Povilas Vanagas and ita Drobiazko could notbelieve that they did not move upfrom fifth after the Italjans and Canadians fell. “Tt was funny, just funny. We They scored six 5.9s for presentation, which proved just enough to skated better . . . than them and they fell, and nothing changed. hold off the Russians. Funnysport,” Drobiazkosaid. In lysis that followed, many skating experts called for judges to become paid professionals, free of national federations. However, those ideas aren’t included in Cinquanta’s reforms. He said judges must work their way up through local and national skating levels before being qualified enough to pass exams required for international judging. Cinquanta said the formal investigation into the judging irregularities continues despite news stories that say Le Gougne is now denying being pressured to vote a certain way. “If she is modifying her statement and her point of view has changed,then we will consider that in our investigation,” Cinquanta said. “But you can’t change your mindevery day.” FIGURE SKATING — WOMEN’S SHORT PROGRAM:Today, 5: 15 p.m., Detta Center Glamour Event Promises Classic Confrontation Women of the Ice: Top Figure Skating Contenders A gold medal would make Kwan’s title collection complete BY KATHY STEPHENSON THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Whatever happened to old what'sher-name? You know, that American woman who just missed the gold medal at the last Winter Olympics. Who could have imagined that Michelle Kwan's fabled journey to performances. Kwan, 21, and her Russian rival Irina Slutskaya, 23, are the gold medal favorites in the glamour eventof the PODIUM PICKS 1. Michelle Kwan, El Segundo, Calif, 2. Irina Slutskaya, Russia 3. Sarah Hughes,Great Neck, N.Y. GOLDEN FIRST Irina Slutskaya is attempting to be the first Russian woman to win an individual Olympic gold ‘medal in figure skating. in the final group at Thursday’s free skate. “Tt will be a classic confrontation,” Nicks said, predicting that the United States will “walk away with at least two medals.” Nick's stab at fortune-telling may actually be conservative; some say a U.S. sweepis a possibility, Of the group, Slutskaya has the technical edge, with a triple-triple- double combination jump that no other woman has landed in competition, She also has been paying extra attention to her artistic skills, working with a ballet helped. In thefour competitions in which they have faced each other, ‘The last time Kwan triumphed over Slutskaya was at the 2001 world ) RUSSIA ‘Age/meight 29 /5'3" 17/411" 16/5'5" UNITED STATES 21/5'2" ; 23/574" Her edge Balletic style Elegant, Strong jumps Classic, consistent Sophisticated,artistic Unparalied jumps Her flaw Can be inconsistent Untested Slow skater Weakjumper Lacks artistry 2 “I skatedlike a Td like to cause a "I mean, I'm only 16! ‘When you lookat it, woman and showed | little riot in skating." | haven't evenlived it's you and theice, first, second orthird that long.” No one can hold your hand.” place. For me, the best presentis if! skate good. | hate my mistakes.” can control my nerves. Ageisn't very important." — Butyrskaya, on winning world — Cohen, on her drive to make history in skating. — Hughes, on an unauthorized biography published this winter. — Kwan,in trying to explain her reason for going coachless. championtitle in ‘99. “I neverthink about — Slutskaya, on her mindsetfor the Olympics. Sean Noyce/The SaltLakeTribune Source: Wire and Salt Lake Tribune Sources championships, But it may help that the last four Olympic gold medalists also have been the reigning world champion. Kwan'sability to display grace and sophistication on the ice are unrivaled, which is why she enters the Games with such distinction — six U.S, championships, four world titles and an Olympic silver medal. The gold, which barely eluded her at the 1998 Games, would make her title collection complete. Butdespite her credentials, Kwan is considered by many to be the underdog and not just because she is 04 against Slutskaya this season. Kwan is competing coach-less, an unprecedented and some say unwise decision given the pressure of the Olympics. And she has had trouble with her triple-triple jump combination. Kwan didn't need the jump to win the ' national championships in Los Angeles last month, But the conventional wisdom is no one will be leaving Salt LakeCity with a medal without doing triples, andlots of them. “T feel a little anxious, especially whenI haveseventriples to do,” Kwan said Feb. 7 in a pre-Games interview. She is working to keep those negative emotions in check, and instead let “certain emotions come out so you giveagreat performance.” |