There was new evidence to support the belief that judging irregularities determined the Olympic pairs figure skating final when the head of France’s figure skating federation said French judge Marie-Reine LeGougne had been pressured to “act in a certain way” in casting a potentially decisive vote for the victorious Russians.
“Some people close to the judge have acted badly and have put someone who is honest and upright, but emotionally fragile, under pressure,” Didier Gailhaguet, president of the French Ice Sports Federation, told the Associated Press, referring to Le Gougne. “She is a fragile person and I think she has been somewhat manipulated.”
Gailhaguet’s statement might call into question the entire credibility of figure skating, a sport where suspicion long has existed about judges making backroom deals. Attempts to present LeGougne’s action as an aberration likely will not assuage the doubts.
It also will increase pressure for the International Skating Union to award a second gold medal to Canadian pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who lost a 5-4 decision in Monday’s free skate final to Russians Elena Bereznaia and Anton Sikharulidze.
“Once I hear this directly from Mr. Gailhaguet, I will react,” ISU secretary general Fredi Schmid said when informed of Gailhauguet’s statement late Wednesday night. “Until then, I don’t want to make a comment.”
Sources familiar with the situation told the Tribune that LeGougne complained loudly after the competition Monday night and again Tuesday that she had been under extreme pressure to give a particular pair a particular placement. LeGougne was among the five judges who gave first-place marks to the Russians.
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“She went on and on, saying, `You don’t understand the pressure I’m under from my federation. It came from my federation president,'” according to a source.
Several persons heard LeGougne’s statements. Event referee Ronald Pfenning of Hyannis, Mass., reported what LeGougne had said in a letter Tuesday to ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta. Pfenning could not be reached for comment.
Cinquanta told a Wednesday news conference that Pfenning had made “an allegation regarding the possible pressure on a judge/judges for the result of this competition.”
Cinquanta said he had “confronted this allegation” with individuals he would not name and received a response that constituted a denial.
Asked if the allegation contained intimations of vote-swapping, Cinquanta said, “No.”
There has been speculation since the pairs final ended that the French had made a deal with the Russians. The arrangement would trade France’s vote for Russia in the pairs with a Russian vote for France in the ice dance, where French team Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat are gold-medal hopefuls.
“We have no fear,” Gailhaguet said. “Contrary to the accusations, there was no collusion with the East European nations.”
The ISU said it will discuss the matter further at a meeting of its 11-member governing council Monday. The Canadian Olympic Association wrote to Cinquanta on Wednesday to request the investigation be conducted by an independent body.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge wrote to Cinquanta on Wednesday, asking for a swift resolution of the matter.
The letter set no deadline but implied the IOC might act unilaterally to resolve the dispute if necessary. Such matters are usually left in the hands of the international federation governing each sport
“It’s our Games too,” IOC director general Francois Carrard said. “We are concerned for the athletes. Our message is to act quickly.”
Skate Canada, the Canadian figure skating association, also plans an appeal, with the goal of having a second gold medal awarded to Sale and Pelletier.
Cinquanta emphatically rejected the idea that evidence of a tainted judge should lead anyone to think “the Russians should be removed [from first place] and give the gold medal to the Canadians.”
He hinted at a possible second gold medal when he said that even excluding one of the five votes for the Russians would leave you “4-4, you still don’t have a winner. This is a very important statement.”
There was such an award in synchronized swimming at the 1992 Olympics, when Canada’s Sylvie Frechette was belatedly awarded a gold medal after it was learned a judge made a mistake entering his mark into a computerized scoring system. The correct score would have left Frechette tied with the original gold medalist, Kristen Babb-Sprague of the United States.
“We don’t wish in any way to tarnish the medals won by the Russians,” said Mike Chambers, president of the Canadian Olympic Association. “We’re not here to pull someone down. We’re here to pull someone up.”
Sources said LeGougne was unnerved enough by the crowd and media reaction to the Russians’ victory that she felt compelled to defend her marks by admitting to the pressure.
Asked how she reacts to public disapproval of the marks in an interview published last November in France’s Patinage Magazine, LeGougne replied: “We don’t judge according to country or reputation. Don’t forget we have to give an accounting to the ISU. There are sanctions, penalties, we must justify ourselves. The public must learn how this works, that our task is difficult.”
The Russian, Chinese, Polish and Ukrainian judges joined LeGougne in placing the Russians first. The U.S. Canadian, German and Japanese judges chose the Canadians.
The Tribune has learned Pfenning and substitute judge Jarmila Portova of the Czech Republic also voted for the Canadians, while assistant referee Alexander Lakernik of Russia voted for the Russians. Their marks do not count.