REAL SPORTS Most Important Moments in Sports 2014 edition
The 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, featured a score of multiple-medal performances by outstanding athletes, first medals for countries, and unfortunately, not the first of what has become too many figure-skating judging discrepancies.
Slovenian skier extraordinaire Tina Maze finished tied for the gold in the downhill, earning the first gold medal for Slovenia in any Winter Olympics event, and later, she won a gold medal for the giant slalom.
Belarus’ Darya Domracheva was dominant in the biathlon, entering five events and taking the gold in three to become, like Maze, the first Winter Olympic champion from her nation. Domracheva brought home half of the six medals won by Belarus at Sochi.
Norway’s Marit Bjoergen became the most-awarded female Winter Olympian in history, having won six gold medals out of her total of 10 medals. In 2014, she took gold for the 15-kilometer skiathlon, the 30k freestyle, and in the team sprint.
Dutch speed skater Ireen Wuest entered five events, winning silver in the 1,000-meter, 1,500m and 5,000m events and gold in the 3,000m and in the team pursuit. Wuest became the Netherlands’ most decorated Winter Olympian and has suggested that she may return for the 2018 Games.
However, it wouldn’t be the Olympics without a figure-skating controversy. With a scoring system that is overly complex, a laxness over judges’ potential conflicts of interest (one judge was married to the general director of the Russian figure skating federation) and past misbehaviors on the part of some judges (Ukrainian judge Yuri Balkov has previously been suspended for prejudging events), no winter sport generates more cries of foul than figure skating.
When Russian skater Adelina Sotnikova won the gold over favorite Yuna Kim of South Korea, there were quick accusations of favoritism, followed by equally quick denials from the International Olympic Committee. Inflated scores for Russian skaters became a hot topic of debate, and the makeup of the judging panel was questioned.
The IOC needs to ensure that such controversies are avoided in future events, both to protech its reputation and to ensure fairness to the athletes. Otherwise, the integrity of the sport will continue to be questioned. [RS]
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