Sotnikova’s win overshadowed by judging row
Print Edition
Leave it to figure skating and judging, where winning can be obscured by whining.
Any sport without a finish line or clock or some definitive standard is subject to skepticism about the results. It has happened at the Olympics before, and now it’s happened at Sochi after Adelina Sotnikova skated away with the gold medal, the first for a Russian woman in the individual event.
Social media was ablaze yesterday with questions and accusations, particularly from South Koreans who saw countrywoman Kim Yu-na denied a second straight Olympic title. Others wondered about the makeup of the judging panel and why there is so little transparency in the judging.
Perhaps this simple fact can be offered as an explanation: Under the current points system, adopted after the judging scandal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, Sotnikova, 17, did exactly what she needed to come out on top.
“Today’s figure skating comprises those evaluations that include a program, steps, jumps,” Sotnikova’s coach Elena Buyanova said. “We were not behind in our complexity, rotations, and I think we should be proud of our girls.”
Watching from his NBC broadcast location, 1984 Olympic champ Scott Hamilton was intrigued by the 17-year-old Sotnikova’s strategy, which he said worked perfectly for the scoring format. It was more than enough to beat Kim and Carolina Kostner, whose bronze medal was the first in Olympic singles figure skating for Italy.
“Adelina collected more points. That is really the only way you can describe it,” Hamilton said. “If you look at Yu-na of the past, this was not a program as difficult as she has done, and she left the opportunity for someone to collect points.
“It may not have been as beautiful as Yu-na and Carolina, but under the rules and the way it works, she did all that.”
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