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Not again Russia claims bias in women's figure skating finalsPosted: Friday February 22, 2002 10:29 AMUpdated: Friday February 22, 2002 4:04 PM
SALT LAKE CITY (CNN) -- Russian officials are saying the judging of the women's figure skating finale won by 16-year-old American Sarah Hughes was biased and demand that the Russian skater who finished with silver get a gold medal. While the Russians submitted a protest of Thursday night's competition in which Irina Slutskaya finished second and American Michelle Kwan received the bronze, Hughes' coach Robin Wagner said she thought "clearly last night" the teen's performance "was the best." But Leonid Tyagachev, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, said Slutskaya had an "absolute possibility" to win the competition. "As far as this issue was corrected during the Canadian pair competition, we feel that it will be most likely to be possible to be corrected this time as well," Tyagachev said. In last week's pairs figure skating competition, officials granted a gold medal to the Canadian skaters, who first got a silver after skating a perfect final routine while the Russians, whose performance had obvious flaws, got the gold. In Thursday's competition, Hughes got the gold after a skating a perfect, technically difficult routine while the Slutskaya made minor slips in a less difficult routine. Hughes, whose performance Thursday thrilled American skating fans, said Friday she is "just happy" she has a "gold medal." "In my heart I know that's the best I've ever done," said Hughes, who came in fourth in the short program Tuesday night and won the free skate Thursday night. Slutskaya came in second in both. The results of both programs are calculated together to determine the winners, with the free skate given more weight. Zhanna Gromova, Slutskaya's coach, told CNN the results of both the short and free skating programs in the competition are being protested. She thought Slutskaya should have won both programs and expressed regrets that the Russians failed to make an appeal after the first program. There is a widespread belief in Russia that America used its influence to grab the gold medal, because advertising money and Olympic prestige is so great in the United States that a victorious American is better for the sport. The Russians also are upset about the disqualification of a Russian cross-country skier after drug tests and what they claim is referee bias in hockey. President Vladimir Putin, the country's parliament, and other Russian officials have weighed in the matter, and Thursday, Russian Olympic officials threatened to pull all their athletes from the 2002 Winter Games if their concerns are not investigated. "We believe that the attitude toward our team is not objective," Putin said in Moscow. "This situation to a large extent has to do with the change of a generation in the International Olympics Committee. As we all know, Juan Antonio Samaranch left and he was replaced by Mr. (Jacques) Rogge. And unfortunately, we have to state that for the new leadership of the International Olympic Committee, the first try was not successful." Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Russia "addressed" the IOC leadership "to take proper measure to ensure a normal atmosphere for the Russian athletes." The disqualified skier was Larissa Lazutina, who tested positive for an elevated level of hemoglobin, in violation of doping rules. Her removal Thursday knocked the entire four-woman Russian cross-country team -- a top contender -- out of the 20-km relay event. Russian officials also made non-specific complaints about the refereeing of the Russia-Czech Republic hockey game Wednesday night, which Russia won 1-0. They said poor judgment calls nearly forced their team to lose. In the dramatic pairs figure skating controversy last week, a gold medal was awarded to the Canadian pair after allegations that a judge in the competition acted improperly and was pressured by Russian officials to lean toward the Russian skaters. The Russian skaters kept their gold medals. The Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, passed a resolution calling on Russian athletes to boycott the closing ceremony unless the IOC reruns the cross-country race, bars North American hockey referees, and apologizes to the Russian Olympic team. Tyagachev said committee members gave 24-hour notice Thursday afternoon to Rogge that their team will pull out of the Olympics if their grievances are not addressed. The 24-hour deadline would expire just before Friday night's highly anticipated semifinal hockey match between Russia and the United States. In response, IOC Director-General Francois Carrard admitted emotions and tensions are running high, but said he was confident the Russians would stay in the Olympics. The Russian team filed a protest with Rogge, who promised to investigate the grievances and double-check the accuracy of decisions, Carrard said. Rogge also was sending a letter to Putin to "explain" the IOC decision. At the same time the Russians lodged their complaints, South Korea protested a decision in Wednesday night's controversial 1500-meter short track final that saw South Korean Kim Dong-sung disqualified after crossing the finish line first. Officials ruled he had improperly blocked a U.S. skater.
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