The judges, however, had other ideas and last night's decision likely will go down in history as one of the most controversial, even one of the most outrageous.

 "Our silver medal is worth a gold," Sale said. "To us."

 Skating their incredibly moving Love Story free skate, the Edmonton-based team captivated the crowd by nailing every single technical element, including side-by-side triple toes as well as a double axel and double toe jump combination with a step in between.

 When the stirring program ended, Pelletier, 27, dropped to his knees and kissed the ice. It seemed as though the team had done the trick, had moved up from second following Saturday's short program to first, capturing the gold.

 But it was not to be. The judges awarded the gold to the Russians, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharuldize, on a 5-4 split. The Canadians remained second.

 "We can't control what we can't control," said Pelletier, a native of Sayabec, Que. "That's the way it is.

 "(But) it's tough. It's tough."

 When it became clear after the presentation scores were announced that they were not to be crowned Olympic champions, Sale and Pelletier looked crestfallen and the crowd reacted with disbelief. Afterward, Sale held on to her partner in skating, and life, and also received a consolation hug from her teammate, Elvis Stojko.

 The judging definitely seemed to be scored on political lines. Of the five judges who awarded first to the Russians, four were from the former Eastern bloc. The wall may have fallen, but not when it comes to figure skating. The Russian, Chinese, Polish and Ukrainian judges scored Russia first. The American, Canadian, German and Japanese judges scored Canada first. The gold may have come down to the French judge, who went against the grain and scored the Russians first.

 There were no technical mistakes in the Canadian team's program, which is something the Russians could not brag about. Skating a light-hearted, Charlie Chaplin-inspired free skate program, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze performed admirably, from their opening side-by-side triple axels to a wonderful pair spin near the end. However, it appeared as though they left open the door for Sale and Pelletier, who skated immediately after the Russians, when Sikharulidze two-footed a double axel.

 Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China won the bronze.

 Sale demonstrated a lot of guts pulling off a great performance yesterday, even if she didn't win gold. Just seconds before the final flight began in the Olympic pairs free skate program, Sale collided into Sikharuldize's chest during the warmup and remained on the ice for a few seconds. She seemed physically okay, but emotionally shaken.

 And now the second guessing will begin in earnest. Almost everyone in attendance, from the crowd to the international media, felt the Canadians deserved the gold.

 "There wasn't even a question. It was clear as it could possibly be," said Lori Nichol, the team's choreographer, who fought back tears after the performance. "It's an embarrassment for the sport, without question.

 AN OPEN WOUND

 "It's a raw feeling, an open wound. I'm disheartened for Jamie and David to work that hard and be bashed into during the warmup and perform their guts out and be clean.

 "They know that's a gold-medal performance."

 The last non-Russians to win the pairs title at an Olympic Games, and the last Canadians to win Olympic gold of any kind in figure skating, were Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul at the 1960 Squaw Valley Games.

 Sale and Pelletier, the defending world champions, definitely felt the pressure leading up to the Games.

 "This has been the worst six months of my life," Pelletier said. "So many sleepless nights, so many nightmares. The Olympic Dream can sometimes turn into a nightmare.

 "You go to the grocery store and it's, 'Bring back the gold.' You go to the hardware store and it's `Bring back the gold.' I'm just there to buy a hammer."

 The battle royale between the Canadian team, which did not begin skating together seriously until 1998, and the Russians has been billed as one of the top showdowns of these Olympics.

 Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze won the world title in both 1998 and 1999 and captured the silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, but finished behind Sale and Pelletier at the 2001 world championships in Vancouver.

2002 Games Columnists