Natalia Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 This just in, to confirm earlier rumors: Russians Challenge Skating Results By Larry Siddons AP Sports Writer Friday, February 22, 2002; 10:19 AM SALT LAKE CITY –– Russian officials have filed a formal protest of the women's figure skating finale, saying the Russian silver medalist should get her own gold medal because of biased judging. The protest was signed by Russian Figure Skating Federation president Valentin Piseyev and sent to the referee of Thursday night's free skate won by 16-year-old American Sarah Hughes. It singled out the judging that gave Hughes the win after she placed fourth in the earlier short program. Russian Irina Slutskaya finished in second and Michelle Kwan took the bronze. "We filed the protest last night because we think the judging was biased," the head of the Russian delegation in Salt Lake City, Viktor Mamatov, told The Associated Press on Friday. "Canadian pairs skaters were awarded their gold medals. Now that subjective judging harmed us, we want the same for Slutskaya." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2002Feb22.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalia Posted February 22, 2002 Author Share Posted February 22, 2002 Not a link...just an excerpt. Now "Tsar Vlad" gets into the act! *** Russians File Olympics Protest, Crisis Deepens Fri Feb 22, 1:41 PM ET By Adrian Warner SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked the IOC and the country filed another Winter Olympics protest as the worst political crisis to hit the Olympic movement since the Cold War deepened Friday. The Russians, who have threatened to pull out of the Salt Lake Games saying they are victims of bad and biased officiating, launched an appeal against the judging in Thursday's women's figure skating. They demanded a gold medal for second-placed skater Irina Slutskaya. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge, who was due to hold another meeting with Russian Olympic chiefs Friday, had been hoping that the Russians would calm down after some emotional outbursts Thursday. But, speaking to reporters in the Kremlin, Putin said he agreed with complaints by Russian sports officials and politicians about the officiating and took a swipe at Rogge who was only elected to office last July in Moscow. "I fully agree and share this viewpoint. Not the last reason is the change of generations in the International Olympic Committee," Putin said. "(Former president) Juan Antonio Samaranch has gone and Jacques Rogge has taken his place. Regrettably for the new leadership, the first time is bound to be a flop." Russian spokesman Rudolf Nezvegsky told Reuters his team felt Slutskaya skated as well, if not better, than American gold medallist Sarah Hughes in the free program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliet Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 Perhaps Nezvegsky was taking a little nap. After all, Russian/ Eastern bloc judging has always been so unbiased...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirac Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 It is just a tad ironic, isn't it? Of course, the Russians may be looking at the Canadian precedent and thinking, "Gee, it's really not that hard. All we have to do is complain and threaten to stop the Games in their tracks, and they'll give us medals to make us go away!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkwriter Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 Are there direct flights from Salt Lake City to Moscow? Hey, there's always the Goodwill Games . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalia Posted February 22, 2002 Author Share Posted February 22, 2002 checkwriter - The 2001 Goodwill Games were to have been the last ones. Ted Turner decided to do away with them after the Brisbane, Australia, edition last September. No more 'goodwill'???? Back to today's protest. And couldn't we all have guessed that Vladimir "BIG Z" Zhirinovsky would also get into the act? He just gave a 'thundering' anti-Olympics speech in the Russian Duma this afternoon. Excerpt from ITAR-TASS Russian news agency: The controversy was enough to make Russian nationalist bad boy and leading parliamentarian, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, put aside his pro-American change-of-heart and reverted to Uncle Sam-bashing. "The team must be recalled immediately, this evening," said Zhirinovsky, sounding much more like his old self by berating the U.S. hosts of the Winter Games. "We should spit in their faces - the referees and those hosting the Games. We have never seen such a foul Olympics. This is merely a settling of accounts by criminal sports structures," he thundered in a table-thumping speech to parliament. ***** All of this comes just-in-time for tonight's Russia-vs-USA ice hockey semifinal game...on the 22nd anniversary of the 'Miracle on Ice' game (Lake Placid 1980). Maybe the Russians, by lodging this protest, are also playing into the hands of the Western Media, who love to tout such controversies to gain TV viewers? How ironic. The Russian protest will be a hot topic on tonight's telecast. Hope that NBC finds time to show at least a few routines in the Skating Exhibition of Champions, also tonight. [ February 22, 2002: Message edited by: Jeannie ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BW Posted February 23, 2002 Share Posted February 23, 2002 When I heard this on NPR I almost drove off the road. Irina S. just did not skate well last night at all. These protests make me feel both annoyed and sad at the same time! Apparently there is some feeling that this latest move from the Russians is a face saving one...as they are no longer the mightiest in the winter games. [ February 22, 2002: Message edited by: BW ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagansmom Posted February 23, 2002 Share Posted February 23, 2002 I think they're also trying to drive home their belief that now that the Olympic committee awarded a second gold medal in the ice pairs comp, it's opened the possibilities of a floodgate of protests in other comps. I see their complaints about voting irregularities in the women's skating competitions as merely an exercise in sarcasm. It almost doesn't matter that it's a different situation from the pairs events where a judge admitted she voted under pressure. The Russians just want everyone to know that, by awarding that second gold medal, a new threshold has been crossed that'll create conflict forever. They're mocking what happened in that competition. I don't know the procedures in the other cases they've cited involving their athletes. But they certainly ARE embarrassed by the relative dearth of medals awarded their way so this may be a good deflection. I expected more professionalism from them as a delegation however. All through those years of Soviet bloc voting, the USA never went through the tantrums now exhibited by the Russians. It's one thing to lodge a protest; it's quite another to take potshots at the new IOC president. One imagines the Russian delegation must be taking orders from above. Maya Plisetskaya would probably have lots to say about who's calling the shots within the Russian delegation. She didn't seem to think much was changing in the Russian way of conducting business even while we westerners (whom she called "naive") were praising glastnost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandra Posted February 23, 2002 Share Posted February 23, 2002 It's only just begun....1972 U.S. men's basketball team is renewing its protests that the gold medal was awarded to the Soviets, not the U.S. "We think we have a real shot at it," team captain says on ABC News. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BW Posted February 23, 2002 Share Posted February 23, 2002 Where's Dick Button when we need him? Or President Clinton...or better yet, Dick Cheney our current VP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliet Posted February 23, 2002 Share Posted February 23, 2002 All of this comes just-in-time for tonight's Russia-vs-USA ice hockey semifinal game...on the 22nd anniversary of the 'Miracle on Ice' game (Lake Placid 1980). ******* GUESS WHO WON!!!!!! Ta Da!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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