Saturday, February 16, 2002
'Huge blow' to sport
By STEVE BUFFERY -- Toronto Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Russian team reacted furiously to yesterday's decision to award an Olympic gold medal to the Canadian figure skating pair because of a judging scandal, describing it as a huge blow to the Olympic spirit.
"By doing this, they just struck a huge blow, not only to the Olympic spirit of fair competition but also to the whole nature of sport," said Rudolf Nezvegsky, a Russian team official, after IOC president Jacques Rogge announced that Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who finished second to Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze in Monday's pairs competition, would also get a gold medal. The decision followed an International Skating Union finding that the French judge, who effectively decided the result, had been guilty of misconduct.
"It (the decision to award a second gold medal) went against any moral and ethical norms that exist in sport where athletes, not lawyers, compete against each other on the slopes and in the sports arenas and not in back rooms," Nezvegsky said.
"Mr. Rogge, who has just become IOC president, probably does not understand what he has done for the sports movement for future Olympic Games. "These are the first Olympics of the 21st century and, by doing this, he gave a clear signal that, from now on, any competition can be determined not in the sports arenas but in the court rooms. This will just kill the entire purpose of competition for athletes."
Russian figure skater Anton Sikharulidze told NBC last night that he and partner Yelena Berezhnaya "can't really enjoy" their gold medal-winning performance at the Olympics because of the judging scandal.
"I think (the medal) shine(s) less because all this scandal was around us and we can't really enjoy our victory, enjoy our life here, enjoy the Olympic Games and I think the scandal makes us uncomfortable ... We can just congratulate these guys -- Jamie and David -- and accept that, to be strong."
2002 Games Figure Skating Coverage
