Tarnished
Judges should focus on performance

Once again the Olympic figure skating competition has stolen the spotlight at the Games. The complicated jumps and intricate footwork of the sport are overshadowed by scandal.

Of course controversy is nothing new to figure skating. Remember Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding? This year, however, it is the judges and not the skaters who are drawing the public’s attention.

During the Pairs free skating contest Tuesday, the Canadian couple appeared to skate flawlessly. Therefore, spectators were shocked when the Russian couple was awarded the gold and the Canadian couple the silver.

Judging a figure skating competition is highly subjective, yet in this case, something more than subjectivity might have affected the results.

According to news reports, French judge Marie Reine Le Gougne said she voted for the Russians in the free skating competition because of pressure from the French figure skating association.

Bear in mind, the responsibility of the judges is to evaluate the performance of the athletes. They should judge the quality of skaters’ performance without bias and outside influences.

The result of the pairs competition has been appealed and the Canadian Olympic Association has requested an investigation into the judging of figure skating. Regardless of the results of the appeal, however, trust has been lost. The judges have shown that their decisions are not infallible. Outside influences do influence judges decisions.

Athletes should be judged based on their performance, not based on the flag they represent. The Olympics are supposed to be a competition for the world’s best athletes, not a dialogue between countries.

When the Olympic Games are concluded and all the awards handed out, the true spirit of the Games should be remembered, not the scandals and controversies caused by competing countries.

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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002