Hi Kastel. OT, but important news methinks.
Only 4 time in it's history the IOC has awarded a 2nd gold medal in the same event.
Iso
channels.netscape.com
<Canadian Skating Pair Awarded Gold
By STEVE WILSTEIN
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Canadian figure skating pair was awarded a gold medal
Friday after the skating union uncovered judging misconduct in a controversy that
has dominated the Winter Games.
The union suspended Marie-Reine Le Gougne, the French judge in the middle of the
dispute.
``She acted in a way that was not adequate to
guarantee both pairs equal condition and this, I
think, is enough,'' said Ottavio Cinquanta, head of
the International Skating Union. ``We have
declared misconduct.''
He said the judge had been ``submitted to a
certain pressure'' before she voted to give the gold
medal to the Russians. There was no evidence of
Russian involvement, he added.
``This pressure resulted in putting this judge in a
condition not to give the gold medal'' to the
Canadians, Cinquanta said.
He said he hoped to present Jamie Sale and David Pelletier with the gold medal on
Thursday before the start of the women's program.
The IOC executive committee voted 7-1, with one abstention, to accept the gold
medal recommendation from the skating union.
``We took a position that is one of justice and fairness for the athletes,'' Rogge
said.
The controversy began when Sale and Pelletier were beaten by Elena Berezhnaya and
Anton Sikharulidze of Russia in a 5-4 vote that surprised many observers. The
Canadians skated flawlessly while the Russians made a few technical errors.
The decision allowed the Russians to extend their streak of winning gold in the pairs
in every Olympics since 1964.
It is the fourth time the IOC has awarded a second gold medal.
``We hope it doesn't happen again,'' Rogge said.
The move came just hours before the case was to be heard by an international
arbitration panel for sport.
Since Monday, there have been reports that Le Gougne was pressured to cast her
vote for the Russians. Cinquanta said she had signed a statement about how she
voted. He did not give details of the statement.
``The investigation is not concluded, but we have got enough evidence to take the
first decision,'' Cinquanta said, referring to the suspension.
The ISU had planned to review the scoring at a meeting next week, but the deal
Friday allowed the matter to be settled in the swift manner the IOC had urged.
Canadian officials said all along they didn't want the Russians stripped of the gold
medal, but they believed Sale and Pelletier also should be rewarded if evidence of
wrongdoing was uncovered.
In 1993, the IOC awarded a second gold medal in synchronized swimming from the
Barcelona Games to Canada's Sylvie Frechette. The IOC's executive board agreed
that Frechette was placed second because of a judging error and should be awarded
a gold.
The decision came after the Canadian swimming federation protested because a
Brazilian judge was not allowed to correct the 8.7 score she mistyped into her
computer. The intended 9.7 would have given Frechette the gold. The IOC's decision
did not affect Kristen Babb-Sprague of the United States, who was originally awarded
the gold and kept her medal.
02/15/02 13:42> |
