Caught in a trap

French judge claims she was caught out

PARIS (AP) -- Marie-Reine Le Gougne, the skating judge at the center of the Winter Olympics scandal, said Thursday she had been the victim of a trap set by top skating officials and the North American media -- which made her falsely accuse her own federation of pressuring her.

Speaking at her first news conference since voting for the Russians in the pairs competition in Salt Lake City, the French judge again defended her vote, and claimed she is one of the best judges in the world.

"I found myself in a trap," Le Gougne said at the headquarters of the French skating federation, with federation president Didier Gailhaguet at her side. "They made me say what they wanted me to say."

"I am one of the most competent judges in the world," she said, urging that she be reinstated by the International Skating Union.

Le Gougne was suspended indefinitely by the ISU for misconduct, four days after the pairs free program. The charge grew from statements she made in a review meeting the day after the competition, accusing Gailhaguet of pressuring her to vote for the Russians.

"For 12 hours or so (after the vote) I wasn't myself any more," Le Gougne said. "I have never had any pressure from Didier, or from any other official in my federation."

Le Gougne described the events that led her to accuse Gailhaguet, starting with the vote itself.

"As soon as I put my pen down, I was subjected to a series of physical, verbal and moral attacks," Le Gougne said, attributing the physical attacks to members of the public at the skating rink. She didn't give details of the attacks.

She said the verbal attacks came mostly from the chairwoman of the ISU's figure skating technical committee, Sally Stapleford, in the lobby of their Salt Lake City hotel.

"She criticized me for not putting the Canadian couple first ... She said terrible things to me, like 'How are you going to get elected to the ISU (technical committee) if you can judge like that?'," Le Gougne said.

"She's the one who then suggested to me: 'Did you come under any pressure?' No answer. 'Is it Didier?' No answer. From then on, she wrote the scenario herself. I was at the bottom of a hole, I couldn't even string three words together."

Stapleford has acknowledged she spoke with Le Gougne in their hotel after the competition, but hasn't made public what was said.

Jon Jackson, an ISU judge and attorney from San Francisco, has said he was present during the exchange. According to Jackson, Le Gougne approached Stapleford and said: "I did this for my dance team. It's a deal with the Russians, first place for first place."

On Thursday, Le Gougne said she had "never seen" Jackson and didn't know him, and that her conversation with Stapleford had been one-on-one. But she later said three "friends" of Stapleford's appeared in the lobby toward the end of their discussion, and that Stapleford went to them saying: "Marie-Reine said this!" She didn't specify what Stapleford told them.

Le Gougne said that the next day, she was pursued by TV cameras when she arrived for the event review meeting.

"The setup was being put together," Le Gougne said, saying that those who opposed her wanted her to break down at the meeting, because her previous comments had been in private, with no witnesses.

"Mr. (Ron) Pfenning (the pairs referee) read a wonderful letter calling us dishonest, the judges who put the Russian couple first. He congratulated the others. That word, dishonest, destroyed me."

Pfenning has previously said Le Gougne "burst out that she was pressured by her federation. She mentioned the name Didier." He said the outburst appeared spontaneous.

Le Gougne was suspended for misconduct on the Friday following Monday's pairs free program. The ISU based the suspension on a statement signed by Le Gougne, the content of which hasn't been made public.

But Le Gougne said Thursday that in the statement, she retracted her accusation against Gailhaguet.

"(ISU President Ottavio) Cinquanta asked me: 'Marie-Reine, is it true that you accused Didier Gailhaguet at the event review meeting?' I said yes, I did it, but I was in an emotional state such that I wasn't in tune with reality. That's what I signed."

Le Gougne rejected accusations she has repeatedly changed her story since first speaking to the press about the scandal.

"I've always said the same thing, which is strictly the truth," she said.

She again defended her decision to give Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze a higher mark than she awarded to the Canadian couple, despite an obvious technical error by Sikharulidze, which she described as "small."

"The level was much higher technically for the Russians," she said.

Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier took silver but were later awarded joint gold with the Russians.

Le Gougne also urged her suspension be lifted.

"There were five of us who put the Russians first. Why have I been suspended?" Le Gougne asked. "If I must be suspended, then I ask that all nine judges be suspended."

The ISU is to meet next month to make a final decision about the affair.

 

Related information
Stories
Confusion about French judge's story continues
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.