2002 Olympic Scandal

[Muskoka Skater]

Hi everybody,

I'm doing a speech for school and I decided to do it on the 2002 Olympic Scandal, but I don't really know much about it since I was 7 while it was going on. All I know really is that a french judge and a russian judge exchanged there votes so the russians would win the pairs and the french would win the ice dance. I kind of know about Jean Senft the canadian judge to join in then she got it all recorded. Also didn't the russian judge, french judge, and the canadian judge get kicked out, but what I don't get is why did the Jean get kicked out? Anybody that knows anything on the subject I would greatly appreciate it. Also I've tried to research it but have not found much on the subject.

[SynchroSk8r114]

Newspaper, magazine articles on all figure skating events at the 2002 Olympics can be found at these links:
http://news.google.com/archivesearch?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIR_enUS214US215&q=olympic+figure+skating&as_ldate=2002&as_hdate=2002&um=1&scoring=t&sa=X&oi=archive&ct=title

Other good links:
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/1824-2002-winter-olympics (very basic)
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2002/04/29/skating-scandal0429.html (should explain about the judges)
http://figureskating.about.com/od/famousskaters/tp/scandals.htm (about a variety of scandals in the sport)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Olympic_Winter_Games_figure_skating_scandal (Wikipedia overview of the scandal)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISU_Judging_System (about the IJS and why/how it was created in realtion to this scandal)
http://www.time.com/time/olympics2002/article/0,8599,203477,00.html (TIME Magazine article)
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2008-01-23-skating_N.htm (by Christine Brennan, one of the best skating journalists)
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/comment/brennan/2002-02-25-brennan.htm (another Chrstine Brennan article)
http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/001252.html (elaborates on the judges' wrongdoings)
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter02/figure/story?id=1330977 (ESPN's take on everything)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11219997/ (the aftereffects of the scandal)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2002/05/04/skate_ed3__1.php (an International take on the scandal)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2002/news/figure_skating/ (Sports Illustrated newsfeed story)
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9403617/Figure-Skatings-New-Judging-System (Encyclopedia Britannica explains the IJS system)

Basically, I just went to google and typed in "2002 olympic figure skating" (all in quotes so that those search terms stay together and you don't get random things you don't want) and quite a few things popped up. I also searched "figure skating scandals" (again, all in quotes) and received a bunch of info. Use terms like that and you should be set.

I'm surprised you're having trouble finding information as this scandal was fairly significant for our sport. I feel kind of strange doing your research for you, but those links should get you started.

Good luck on the project!

[Isk8NYC]

There's plenty of information available about the 2002 scandal. What's interesting is that the figure skating judging scandal was the LAST scandal of those Games. Unfortunately, there were other ethics questions that came up about the bidding and construction processes as well.

CNN's report is pretty good: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/olympic.probe/overview/

I thought there was a book written (not by Christine Brennan) about the scandal, but the title and author escapes me right now.

ETA: Found it! It's called "Cracked Ice" and it was written by Sonia Bianchetti Garbato.
http://www.soniabianchetti.com/cracked_ice/index.html
I'm sure you can get it from the Library, but you might have to ask a Librarian.

You have to do your homework yourself, so go to it!

Here's the search I used:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=2002+Olympics+%22Judging+Scandal%22&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

[Muskoka Skater]

Thanks, this really helps

[kimberley801]

The 2002 Olympic Games were full of scandals, but much of it got cleaned up before the Olympics started. The figure skating judging scandal just added to it.

Living in SLC during the Olympics, I can tell you that there was extensive coverage in the local newspapers:

Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com
Deseret News: http://www.desnews.com

If you have trouble finding articles from these newspapers, I may still have copies of mine from the Olympics. I think I bought a copy of both papers for the duration of the games. Just PM me.

[icedancer2]

ETA: Found it! It's called "Cracked Ice" and it was written by Sonia Bianchetti Garbato.
http://www.soniabianchetti.com/cracked_ice/index.html
I'm sure you can get it from the Library, but you might have to ask a Librarian.

Sonia Bianchetti's book I think is pretty biased because she used to be an international judge (or so I've read) - so you might want to try, "The Second Mark - Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold" by Joy Goodwin. I'm almost through reading this myself and it is a fascinating look at the skaters involved and it reads like a story. I would recommend it for anyone as it is very well-written, and might give you a more un-biased take on the whole debacle, plus a lot of really interesting background information on the skaters, coaches and judges themselves.

Have fun - it sounds like a great topic!:yum:

[Isk8NYC]

Thanks - didn't know about that book; I'll try to get it from the library, too.

[techskater]

Jon Jackson's book, On Edge was also very interesting and informative - he was the US Team Leader and overheard the French Judge speaking to Bianchetti and Sally Stapleford concerning her coercion at the hotel.

[BuggieMom]

you might want to try, "The Second Mark - Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold" by Joy Goodwin. I'm almost through reading this myself and it is a fascinating look at the skaters involved and it reads like a story.
Ah! Great book! Really gave me a good look into the background of all the couples involved, I had great sympathy for the victims of the scandal. I highly recommend this one...

[Isk8NYC]

I just realized that the online Library systems let you look up books by SUBJECT. You should give it a try, MuskokaSkater - you might find some more good books or periodicals .

[icedancer2]

Ah! Great book! Really gave me a good look into the background of all the couples involved, I had great sympathy for the victims of the scandal. I highly recommend this one...

I just finished it last night and it is really good - the author is not a skater or a judge or anything and she interviewed hundreds of people to help her really get into the lives of the skaters and everyone involved.

Jon Jackson's book is okay for the snarkiness of it (which he describes in somewhat shocking terms at time (very Jon-ego-centric) - but I enjoyed this book more. It is very well written I think.

[Muskoka Skater]

Thanks, I'll try to get the book