The "Ice Queen", how they refer in Korea, or Yuna Kim, Olympic Champion of figure skating took silver medal during Sochi -2014 Games. Actually I watched the transmission till 4 am, and to tell the truth I was really disappointed and upset by such result.
I think it was the ugliest worst Olympic Games I have ever seen.Can't believe that I stayed whole night just to see how judges + extra judge who's name begins on Pu... organized all this high quality theater spectacle, invited all these talented skaters, just to give One Gold Medal to Russian girl, who really to my opinion does not deserve the title of Olympic champion.
Such a FIASCO
Kim Yuna (23) of Korea has won the silver medal in the ladies’ figure skating in Sochi, earning a total score of 219.11. She earned a score of 74.92 in the short program, and earned 144.19 in the free skate portion. She had clean programs for both, with what can only be described as pure beauty and elegance. However, the gold medal went to Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova (17), who earned an overall score of 224.59 (SP- 74.64, FS- 149.95). She had a clean program for the short program, but not on the free skate, where she had a two-footed landing on a jump sequence. There is significant controversy over the decision. Both skaters undoubtedly performed beautifully. However, did Sotnikova deserve a gold medal? Did she really outperform Kim’s flawless programs, coming very close to the world record performance in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics? Figure skating is a hugely subjective sport: it relies heavily on the judges’ discretion. Today, the results of the Ladies’ figure skating has left a question on whether the scoring can be relied on to be truly impartial. The scoring seems to have been biased towards certain athletes. Many believe that Kim Yuna has been robbed of a gold medal; Kim, most prominently, being under-scored while Sotnikova, and another Russian skater Yulia Lipnitskaya, being significantly over-scored.
Detailed Scoring Sheets of Short Program and Free Skate
Short program detailed scoring sheet:
Free skate detailed scoring sheet:
Here are the results for your perusal: look through it closely. Although randomized, the sheets show that the judges gave questionably high scores to Sotnikova and questionably low scores to Kim. Even though I am not a figure skating judge, the scoring does seem odd. Kim Yuna is a proven athlete, and she has broken multiple world records throughout her career. She has received consistently high scores, being the first one to break the 140 and 150 mark for the free skate and the 200 mark for overall score. She has won the gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, smashing the world record. Kim was the overwhelming favorite, and most were sure of her second gold after her stunning performances in Sochi. Sotnikova, meanwhile, is an athlete no one expected to be on the podium. She has barely moved to seniors from the juniors. Did Sotnikova really out perform Kim, and more so with a large margin of 5.48?
Russian wins gold- In Sochi, Russia
The winner of the gold medal, Adelina Sotnikova, is Russian. Surprise, surprise. There has been heavy accusations of Russia exploiting its position as the host country, especially in Korea. Entering the Olympics, Sotnikova was not a contender for the podium, but she has walked away with the gold medal. This had led to accusations, including my own, of whether Russia being the host nation has heavily influenced the results. LA Times’ Sport columnist Bill Plaschke explicitly directly outrage over the decision at Russia, in a tweet where he accused Russia of needing “a champion after last night’s hockey debacle…at [the] expense of Korea.”
Fishy judges
The nationalities of the judges brings more suspicion upon the scoring. Note the presence of several Russian judges, in addition to judges from countries friendly with Russia, in the panel; thus fueling to the controversy. Among the judges, Yury Balkov of Ukraine has previously been suspended for trying to fix the Free Dance event during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. Another judge, Russia’s Alla Shekhovtseva, is the wife of the executive director and previous president of the Russian figure skating federation. The mere presence of a Russian judge should raise eyebrows, but the sheer numbers of judges linked with Russia, and with involvement in previous match-fixing history, raises serious concerns regarding the judges’ decision, especially now with the controversies regarding the results.
Sotnikova and Shekhovtseva
Sotnikova and Shekhovtseva
Many express doubts and outrage over scoring
Kim Yuna’s incredulously low scores has made many, including prominent individuals, fans and viewers all over the world, to question the judges and the scoring.
“I am stunned by this result, I don’t understand the scoring.” Katarina Witt, two-time Olympic gold medalist of Germany, commented on German television.
“Adelina Sotnikova was excellent tonight, but Yuna Kim was robbed.” NBC Olympic Researcher Alex Goldberger tweeted.
“Oh…” CBC’s figure skating analyst Carol Lane could only manage a shocked remark immediately after Kim Yuna’s free skate scores were announced.
“…among the most questionable and debated in figure skating’s checkered judging history.” The Chicago Tribune reported regarding the results of the Women’s Figure Skating.
ESPN.com has initially titled the article regarding the results as “homecooking,” which changed to “home-ice advantage,” then finally settled on “A Nation’s Heroine.” They all seem to be taking jabs, although increasingly subtly, at Russian Sotnikova’s gold medal win.
