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Canadians Fume as Russians Win Pairs Figure Skating
February 12, 2002 3:56 am EST
By Laurie Nealin
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) -
Amid huge controversy, Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze kept Russia's Olympic pairs skating dynasty alive on Monday, winning the country's 11th consecutive Winter Games title in the discipline.
But the result drew anger and tears from the Canadian silver medallists, sweethearts and world champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
Their choreographer Lori Nichol described the outcome as an "embarrassment" for figure skating.
A tearful Pelletier, 27, told reporters: "It is tough tonight. It is the toughest day of my life.
"When I turn 50, I am sure I will look at the medal and say "Well, it seems like it does not shine enough. It should be gold."'
Pelletier said he accepted the result but understood that many in the crowd felt the judges had robbed them of the gold medal.
Sikharulidze later got involved in a spat with a reporter, upset the skater was addressing a media conference in English, rather than Russian.
Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze, the 1998 Olympic silver medallists, were ranked first by five of nine judges ahead of the Canadian pair.
Sale and Pelletier, however, were clearly the crowd's favorites and received a raucous, standing ovation for their endearing Love Story routine skated without any evident flaw.
The couple celebrated, too, believing their performance was good enough for gold, but judges from Russia, China, France, Poland and Ukraine decided otherwise.
CANADIAN CLAIM
Pelletier claimed: "We have lost because of the French judge."
The U.S., Canadian, German and Japanese judges awarded their top marks to the Canadians.
The crowd was chanting Six. Six. Six.' hoping for perfect scores for the Canadians, but when the scoreboard showed a mixture of 5.9s and 5.8s which meant the Russians had held on to first place, the Salt Lake Ice Centre erupted in an enduring chorus of boos.
Choreographer Nichol said: "It's an embarrassment for our sport," adding: "There are five judges that I would like an answer from."
February 12, 2002 3:56 am EST
By Laurie Nealin
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) -
Amid huge controversy, Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze kept Russia's Olympic pairs skating dynasty alive on Monday, winning the country's 11th consecutive Winter Games title in the discipline.
But the result drew anger and tears from the Canadian silver medallists, sweethearts and world champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
Their choreographer Lori Nichol described the outcome as an "embarrassment" for figure skating.
A tearful Pelletier, 27, told reporters: "It is tough tonight. It is the toughest day of my life.
"When I turn 50, I am sure I will look at the medal and say "Well, it seems like it does not shine enough. It should be gold."'
Pelletier said he accepted the result but understood that many in the crowd felt the judges had robbed them of the gold medal.
Sikharulidze later got involved in a spat with a reporter, upset the skater was addressing a media conference in English, rather than Russian.
Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze, the 1998 Olympic silver medallists, were ranked first by five of nine judges ahead of the Canadian pair.
Sale and Pelletier, however, were clearly the crowd's favorites and received a raucous, standing ovation for their endearing Love Story routine skated without any evident flaw.
The couple celebrated, too, believing their performance was good enough for gold, but judges from Russia, China, France, Poland and Ukraine decided otherwise.
CANADIAN CLAIM
Pelletier claimed: "We have lost because of the French judge."
The U.S., Canadian, German and Japanese judges awarded their top marks to the Canadians.
The crowd was chanting Six. Six. Six.' hoping for perfect scores for the Canadians, but when the scoreboard showed a mixture of 5.9s and 5.8s which meant the Russians had held on to first place, the Salt Lake Ice Centre erupted in an enduring chorus of boos.
Choreographer Nichol said: "It's an embarrassment for our sport," adding: "There are five judges that I would like an answer from."
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