2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal
Encyclopedia
At the 2002 Winter Olympics
held in Salt Lake City, the figure skating competition was the source of much controversy and one of the immediate causes for the revamp of scoring in figure skating
.
, Yelena Berezhnaya
and Anton Sikharulidze
of Russia
had won the short program over Jamie Salé
and David Pelletier
of Canada
. In the free skate, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze made a minor (but obvious) technical error when Sikharulidze stepped out of a double axel. Meanwhile, Salé and Pelletier skated a flawless program, albeit one that many experts considered to be of lesser difficulty than that of the Russians. Previously, in their short program, Salé and Pelletier had tripped and fallen on their closing pose. Because the fall was not on an element, it did not receive a deduction, but it marred the program enough to land the pair in second place behind Berezhnaia and Sikharulidze. Final standings are made up of both the short and the long program marks and Salé and Pelletier had to perform substantially better than Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze in the long program to get gold.
The Canadians were the clear crowd favorite; they left the ice to a round of stormy applause and chants of "Six! Six! Six!" They received three 5.9s for technical merit, while the Russians received mostly 5.8s and 5.7s. However, for presentation, the Canadians received four 5.9s to the Russians' seven. Presentation was weighted more heavily than technical merit at the time; the Canadians needed at least five 5.9s to overtake the Russians for first. There was obvious disagreement from the crowd expressed by a chorus of boos when the presentation marks came out.
As it turned out, this margin held until the end, giving the gold medal to the Russians. Salé and Pelletier accepted their silver medal with grace but open disappointment. It was the 11th consecutive time (dating to 1960
) that a pair from the Soviet Union
, the Unified Team
, or Russia had taken the gold in the pairs competition.
The judges and officials for the pairs event were:
' Tom Hammond
, Scott Hamilton
and Sandra Bezic
) and Canadian (CBC Sports
' Bill Martini and Barbara Underhill
) announcers proclaimed that Salé and Pelletier would win as they finished their routine, and expressed outrage when the judges' marks were announced.
There was immediate suspicion of cheating. Judges from Russia, the People's Republic of China
, Poland
, Ukraine
, and France
had placed the Russians first; judges from the United States
, Canada, Germany
, and Japan
chose the Canadians. Suspicion fell almost immediately on the French judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne
. When Le Gougne returned to the officials' hotel, she was immediately confronted by Sally Stapleford, chair of the International Skating Union
's Technical Committee (and a Canadian citizen). Le Gougne had an emotional breakdown in which she allegedly said that she had been pressured by the head of the French skating organization, Didier Gailhaguet
, to vote for the Russian pair regardless of how the others performed.
She allegedly repeated this at the post-event judges' meeting the next day. It was alleged that this was part of a deal to get an advantage for French couple Marina Anissina
and Gwendal Peizerat
in the ice dance competition that was to follow a few days later. However later, in a signed statement, Le Gougne denied taking part in such a deal and also stated that she had truly believed the Russian pair deserved to win.
dominating the Olympic news.
Some in the United States and many in Russia, however, felt that Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze had deserved their win, and that it should not be marred by the alleged dishonesty of a single judge.
In response to Canadian and American outcry, International Skating Union
(ISU) President Ottavio Cinquanta
announced in a press conference a day after the competition that the ISU would conduct an "internal assessment" into the judging decision at its next scheduled council meeting. After many hostile questions from the press, Cinquanta also admitted that the event referee, Ron Pfenning, had filed an official complaint about the judging. Later on February 13, International Olympic Committee
(IOC) Director General François Carrard held a press conference in which he publicly urged the ISU to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
On February 15, Cinquanta and IOC President Jacques Rogge
, in a joint press conference, announced that Salé and Pelletier's silver medal would be upgraded to a gold. Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were allowed to keep their gold medal as well, since there was no evidence of wrongdoing on their part, and many felt that they, in fact, deserved it, as was the opinion of four of the other eight judges on the panel. Both pairs' point totals were thrown out. Le Gougne was suspended effective immediately for "misconduct."
for their roles in the scandal. Although at least one eye-witness to Le Gougne's outburst in the hotel lobby reported that she had specifically confessed to a deal with the Russians, Cinquanta claimed there was no evidence that the Russians were involved in the incident, and so the ISU never made any serious investigation of the alleged involvement.
On July 31, 2002, Russian organized crime boss Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov
was arrested by Italian authorities in Venice
on U.S. charges that he masterminded the fix. He was released from Italian police custody without being charged, amidst attempts to have him extradited to the U.S. in 2002-2003.
In addition to disciplining Le Gougne and Gailhaguet, in 2002 the ISU adopted a policy of "secret judging", in which judges' marks are posted anonymously, as part of the new ISU Judging System
for figure skating. While the ISU has claimed this secrecy frees judges from pressure from their federations, critics have pointed out that instead of preventing judges from cheating, secrecy only prevents the public and media from being able to identify cheating.
In March 2003, a group of skating officials who were unhappy with the ISU's leadership and handling of the crisis in the sport announced the formation of the World Skating Federation, in an attempt to take control of competitive figure skating away from the ISU. This attempt to set up a new federation failed, and several of the persons involved with its formation were subsequently banished from the sport by the ISU and/or their national federations. These officials included Ron Pfenning, the referee of the pairs competition at the Salt Lake City Olympics, Sally Stapleford, Jon Jackson, and other witnesses to Le Gougne's outburst.
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
held in Salt Lake City, the figure skating competition was the source of much controversy and one of the immediate causes for the revamp of scoring in figure skating
ISU Judging System
The ISU Judging System , is the scoring system on the event and on the level of competition. At the senior international level, single and pairs short programs contain eight technical elements. The actual eight elements are detailed for single skaters in ISU rule 310...
.
The competition
In the figure skating pairs competitionFigure skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics
-Full Results:Referee:* Sally-Anne StaplefordAssistant Referee:* Junko HiramatsuJudges: Wendy Langton Merja Kosonen Janet Allen Nicolae Bellu Yuri Kliushnikov Volker Waldeck Alexander Penchev Mieko Fujimori Evgenia Bogdanova Jarmila Portová -Ladies:Hughes, fourth after the technical program, skated...
, Yelena Berezhnaya
Yelena Berezhnaya
Elena Viktorovna Berezhnaya is a Russian pair skater. With partner Anton Sikharulidze, she is the 1998 and 1999 World champion, 1998 Olympic silver medalist and 2002 Olympic champion....
and Anton Sikharulidze
Anton Sikharulidze
Anton Tarielyevich Sikharulidze is a Russian pair skater. With Elena Berezhnaya, he is the 1998 and 1999 World champion, 1998 Olympic silver medalist and 2002 Olympic champion....
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
had won the short program over Jamie Salé
Jamie Salé
Jamie Rae Salé is a Canadian pair skater. With partner David Pelletier, she is a 2002 Olympic Champion and the 2001 World Champion. Salé & Pelletier's Olympic gold medal was shared with the Russian pair Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze after the 2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating...
and David Pelletier
David Pelletier
David Jacques Pelletier is a Canadian pairs figure skater. With his partner Jamie Salé, he was the co-gold medal winner at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games...
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In the free skate, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze made a minor (but obvious) technical error when Sikharulidze stepped out of a double axel. Meanwhile, Salé and Pelletier skated a flawless program, albeit one that many experts considered to be of lesser difficulty than that of the Russians. Previously, in their short program, Salé and Pelletier had tripped and fallen on their closing pose. Because the fall was not on an element, it did not receive a deduction, but it marred the program enough to land the pair in second place behind Berezhnaia and Sikharulidze. Final standings are made up of both the short and the long program marks and Salé and Pelletier had to perform substantially better than Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze in the long program to get gold.
The Canadians were the clear crowd favorite; they left the ice to a round of stormy applause and chants of "Six! Six! Six!" They received three 5.9s for technical merit, while the Russians received mostly 5.8s and 5.7s. However, for presentation, the Canadians received four 5.9s to the Russians' seven. Presentation was weighted more heavily than technical merit at the time; the Canadians needed at least five 5.9s to overtake the Russians for first. There was obvious disagreement from the crowd expressed by a chorus of boos when the presentation marks came out.
As it turned out, this margin held until the end, giving the gold medal to the Russians. Salé and Pelletier accepted their silver medal with grace but open disappointment. It was the 11th consecutive time (dating to 1960
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
) that a pair from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the Unified Team
Unified Team
The Unified Team was the name used for the sports team of the former Soviet Union at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The IOC country code was EUN, after the French name, Équipe Unifiée...
, or Russia had taken the gold in the pairs competition.
Breakdown of marks
| Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze | RUS Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
CHN People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
USA | FRA France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
POL Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
UKR Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia... |
GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
JPN Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical merit | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.7 |
| Presentation | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| Placement | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Salé & Pelletier | RUS Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
CHN People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
FRA France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
POL Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
UKR Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia... |
GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
JPN Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
| Technical merit | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Presentation | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| Placement | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
The judges and officials for the pairs event were:
| Judges and officials for the pairs event at the 2002 Winter Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Function | Name | Nation |
| Referee | Sakara Hilan | ISU |
| Assistant Referee | Alexander Lakernik | ISU |
| Judge No.1 | Marina Sanaia | Russia |
| Judge No.2 | Jiasheng Yang | China |
| Judge No.3 | Lucy Brennan | USA |
| Judge No.4 | Marie-Reine Le Gougne Marie-Reine Le Gougne Marie-Reine Le Gougne, often known simply as "the French Judge", was a central figure in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal.-Early life:... |
France |
| Judge No.5 | Anna Sierocka | Poland |
| Judge No.6 | Benoit Lavoie | Canada |
| Judge No.7 | Vladislav Petukhov | Ukraine |
| Judge No.8 | Sissy Krick | Germany |
| Judge No.9 | Hideo Sugita | Japan |
The scandal
Public reaction to the competition results in North America was strongly influenced by the television coverage of the event. During the live broadcast, both the American (NBC SportsNBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
' Tom Hammond
Tom Hammond
Tom Hammond is an American sportscaster for NBC Sports television. Hammond is one of the network's staple on-air presenters, along with Bob Costas and Dan Hicks...
, Scott Hamilton
Scott Hamilton (figure skater)
Scott Scovell Hamilton is an American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist. He won four consecutive U.S. championships , four consecutive World Championships and a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics....
and Sandra Bezic
Sandra Bezic
Sandra Marie Bezic is a Canadian pair skater, figure skating choreographer, and television commentator. With partner and brother Val Bezic, she won the Canadian Figure Skating Championships from 1970–1974 and placed ninth at the 1972 Winter Olympics...
) and Canadian (CBC Sports
CBC Sports
CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, with some additional broadcasts on bold, CBC.ca, and occasionally CBC Radio One...
' Bill Martini and Barbara Underhill
Barbara Underhill
Barbara Ann Underhill is a Canadian pair skater. With partner Paul Martini, she is the 1979-1983 Canadian national champion, the 1984 World champion, and the 1978 World Junior champion...
) announcers proclaimed that Salé and Pelletier would win as they finished their routine, and expressed outrage when the judges' marks were announced.
There was immediate suspicion of cheating. Judges from Russia, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
had placed the Russians first; judges from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
chose the Canadians. Suspicion fell almost immediately on the French judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne
Marie-Reine Le Gougne
Marie-Reine Le Gougne, often known simply as "the French Judge", was a central figure in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal.-Early life:...
. When Le Gougne returned to the officials' hotel, she was immediately confronted by Sally Stapleford, chair of the International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
's Technical Committee (and a Canadian citizen). Le Gougne had an emotional breakdown in which she allegedly said that she had been pressured by the head of the French skating organization, Didier Gailhaguet
Didier Gailhaguet
Didier Gailhaguet is a former French figure skater and the president of the Fédération Française des Sports de Glace ....
, to vote for the Russian pair regardless of how the others performed.
She allegedly repeated this at the post-event judges' meeting the next day. It was alleged that this was part of a deal to get an advantage for French couple Marina Anissina
Marina Anissina
Marina Vyacheslavovna Anissina is a French-Russian ice dancer. With partner Gwendal Peizerat, she is the 2002 Olympic champion.- Career :...
and Gwendal Peizerat
Gwendal Peizerat
Gwendal Peizerat is a French ice dancer. With Marina Anissina, he is the 2002 Olympic champion, the 1998 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2000 World Champion, and a six-time French National Champion.-Biography:...
in the ice dance competition that was to follow a few days later. However later, in a signed statement, Le Gougne denied taking part in such a deal and also stated that she had truly believed the Russian pair deserved to win.
Immediate aftermath
The Canadian press and public were outraged by the result. The American press were also quick to take up the cause of the Canadian pair. In addition, NBC, in particular, continued to play up the story and advocate the Canadians' cause until it became a media circusMedia circus
Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event where the media coverage is perceived to be out of proportion to the event being covered, such as the number of reporters at the scene, the amount of news media published or broadcast, and the level of media hype...
dominating the Olympic news.
Some in the United States and many in Russia, however, felt that Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze had deserved their win, and that it should not be marred by the alleged dishonesty of a single judge.
In response to Canadian and American outcry, International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
(ISU) President Ottavio Cinquanta
Ottavio Cinquanta
Ottavio Cinquanta , is currently President of the International Skating Union and a member of the International Olympic Committee.He has held the ISU position since 1994 and the IOC position since 1996....
announced in a press conference a day after the competition that the ISU would conduct an "internal assessment" into the judging decision at its next scheduled council meeting. After many hostile questions from the press, Cinquanta also admitted that the event referee, Ron Pfenning, had filed an official complaint about the judging. Later on February 13, International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC) Director General François Carrard held a press conference in which he publicly urged the ISU to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
On February 15, Cinquanta and IOC President Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge , is a Belgian sports bureaucrat. He is the eighth and current President of the International Olympic Committee .-Life and career:...
, in a joint press conference, announced that Salé and Pelletier's silver medal would be upgraded to a gold. Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were allowed to keep their gold medal as well, since there was no evidence of wrongdoing on their part, and many felt that they, in fact, deserved it, as was the opinion of four of the other eight judges on the panel. Both pairs' point totals were thrown out. Le Gougne was suspended effective immediately for "misconduct."
Post-Olympics aftermath
On April 30, 2002, Le Gougne and Gailhaguet were suspended by the ISU for three years and barred from the 2006 Winter Olympics2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
for their roles in the scandal. Although at least one eye-witness to Le Gougne's outburst in the hotel lobby reported that she had specifically confessed to a deal with the Russians, Cinquanta claimed there was no evidence that the Russians were involved in the incident, and so the ISU never made any serious investigation of the alleged involvement.
On July 31, 2002, Russian organized crime boss Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov
Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov
Alimzhan Tursunovich Tokhtakhounov is a Russian businessman, suspected criminal, and former sportsman of Uyghur origin. He is accused in relations with organized crime and bribing of figure skating judges in the 2002 Winter Olympics...
was arrested by Italian authorities in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
on U.S. charges that he masterminded the fix. He was released from Italian police custody without being charged, amidst attempts to have him extradited to the U.S. in 2002-2003.
In addition to disciplining Le Gougne and Gailhaguet, in 2002 the ISU adopted a policy of "secret judging", in which judges' marks are posted anonymously, as part of the new ISU Judging System
ISU Judging System
The ISU Judging System , is the scoring system on the event and on the level of competition. At the senior international level, single and pairs short programs contain eight technical elements. The actual eight elements are detailed for single skaters in ISU rule 310...
for figure skating. While the ISU has claimed this secrecy frees judges from pressure from their federations, critics have pointed out that instead of preventing judges from cheating, secrecy only prevents the public and media from being able to identify cheating.
In March 2003, a group of skating officials who were unhappy with the ISU's leadership and handling of the crisis in the sport announced the formation of the World Skating Federation, in an attempt to take control of competitive figure skating away from the ISU. This attempt to set up a new federation failed, and several of the persons involved with its formation were subsequently banished from the sport by the ISU and/or their national federations. These officials included Ron Pfenning, the referee of the pairs competition at the Salt Lake City Olympics, Sally Stapleford, Jon Jackson, and other witnesses to Le Gougne's outburst.