Figure Skating Scandal: Judges Accused of 'National Bias' After Controversial Pairs Final
Canada filed formal protests after Russian neutral team's gold, alleging Eastern European judges inflated component scores by 0.8 points.
MILANO CORTINA, Italy – The pairs figure skating final ended in chaos Saturday night when three nations filed formal protests alleging that judges had unfairly favored the Russian neutral team.
The controversy centers on Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, who finished 4th (231.02) — just 0.89 points behind the Americans.
THE ALLEGATION
"We have submitted video evidence showing identical elements scored 0.8 points higher for the Russian team than for the Canadian team," said Mike Slipchuk, high-performance director of Skate Canada. "That is not judging. That is manipulation."
Canada, Japan, and the United States have filed formal protests with the ISU. All three requested that the medal ceremony be postponed pending review. The IOC denied that request — the ceremony proceeded as scheduled.
THE REACTIONS
"I am heartbroken," Stellato-Dudek said. "We skated the best we have ever skated. And it wasn't enough because of where we were born."
Mishina, the gold medalist, declined to comment. Her coach, Tamara Moskvina (80, coaching her 10th Olympics): "We skated clean. The scores are the scores. Complaints are for losers."
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The ISU investigation is expected to conclude within 60 days. If the protest is upheld, medals could be reallocated — though such a move would be unprecedented in figure skating history.
Devin Mallonee
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