With only a few weeks until the Summer Olympic Games in Rio,
the sports community is going abuzz with news of the Russian doping scandal,
which they know has been going on since at least 2014. Some believe it began
before that. With that, I decided to get smart on it. Here are some key
takeaways I have found thus far:
1. The ISU is considering banning Russia from
hosting the 2016 Rostelecom Cup.
The Rostelecom Cup is one of 6 events in the Grand Prix of
Figure Skating. These Grand Prix events allow the skaters to compete
internationally. Doing well in these events enables skaters to improve their
world standing and ranking within the sport. Skate America is the first event
in the series, and this signals the beginning of the new figure skating season.
The Rostelecom Cup is usually the third event in this
series. I have only seen one reference mentioning the banning of Russia for
hosting the Rostelecom Cup. No official word has come from the International
Skating Union (ISU) as of yet.
2. Evgeni Plushenko has already spoken out
regarding his innocence.
He has stated in a few sources that he took no doping and
has always competed fairly.
3. There will continue to be fallout from the
2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
There was so much discussion following the Olympics of
possible judging scandals and controversy. This stemmed mainly from the Russian
skaters’ personal relationships with the head of the Russian Skating
Federation, which (surprise, surprise) was one of the judges on the panel. And
with the IJS Rules, the judging was anonymous, so they could score whatever
they wanted and no one could say a damn thing. They have just recently removed
this anonymous judging, a change which I greatly welcome. These judges need to
be held accountable. The atmosphere at this Olympics was different than any I
had seen in the past. Instead of the hosting country being more of an
objective, unbiased spectator, as we have seen in previous games, the tone was
strongly pro-Russia throughout. There is nothing wrong with having pride in
your country (‘Merica!), but the blatant favoritism in the building for all the
Russian athletes seemed inappropriate on an Olympic stage. This is just my
opinion, and I’m wondering if anyone else noticed it.
All of this drama involving the judges was not ruled as a
scandal by either the ISU or the Olympic Committee. However, it did raise some
suspicions as to what transpired during these games.
Russia won the first ever Team Event in figure skating, and
I believe they won that fairly. Their overall group of skaters was collectively
stronger than the other teams. Where I, and many others, disagree with the
decisions, is in the Ladies’ event. I have remained silent on this matter for a
long time, and that was because I didn’t see the events until today. We had a
thunderstorm come through with tornado warnings, and our satellite went out
just as Carolina Kostner was taking the ice. The day after this event, I saw
many of my friends discussing this issue, and how Kim Yuna was robbed. I had to
admit, I thought she would have won it. Adelina Sotnikova wasn’t even the
Russian skater anyone was talking about at these games. What the hell happened?
This all sounded like a bunch of crap to me, and I wasn’t really interested in
seeing what happened. That whole Olympic experience was jacked up, with the
exception of Meryl and Charlie bringing home the Gold for Ice Dance.
I’ll put the performances here, and you guys can judge who
should have won here:
Kim Yuna
Adelina Sodnikova
In my mind, the clear winner here was Kim. Their jumping
passes were similar in difficulty, although Adelina had a bit more spring in
her jumps. Both had a small bobble on one of the jumps. However, Kim’s overall
program had much better flow and cohesion along with all the elements. Adelina’s
arms were flailing about throughout most of the program, which did not create a
very good posture or line.
And there’s one more lady in the mix here:
Carolina Kostner
Carolina Kostner went away with the bronze medal for this
lovely rendition of “Bolero”. This was a risky choice given the still iconic
performance from Torvill and Dean in the 1984 Olympics. She made it her own and
had great musical interpretation.
Here’s how I would have placed them:
Gold- Yuna
Silver- Sodnikova
Bronze- Kostner
So you may ask: What does this have to do with the doping
scandal?
Hang on, I’m getting there.
In 2012, Carolina Kostner’s boyfriend was found guilty of
doping and was banned from the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In 2015, Carolina
was brought to trial and was found guilty of covering for him and lying on his
behalf. She was banned from figure skating for 16 months, a ban that just
recently has been lifted. Oh yeah, and she broke up with that guy. Bye Felicia!
Some also speculate that this scandal could end with Kim
Yuna retroactively receiving the gold medal for those Olympics, which many
thought she rightly deserved.
4. What will happen to the Russian sport
officials involved in the doping scandal?
If the Russians come out of this doping scandal unscathed, a
situation that even their government knew about and secretly condoned, that
would be a complete injustice and utter bullshit. Given the punishment that
Carolina Kostner received, there should at least be a ban for some time for all
involved.
I will make no accusations that the Russian athletes in the
2014 Games were using performance enhancing drugs. No one knows that yet, and
it has yet to be proven.
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