In sports venues around the world, it is not only the stories of heroes and winners that are being written. But history also remembers the rogues who were so blinded by the vision of glory and success that they spat on the rules of fair play.
Fraud and cheats are as intrinsic to sport as a white foam cap is to a good beer. They were always here, they are still here, and they will certainly not disappear in the future. While there is not much we can write about future cheaters, there is plenty we can write about those who have cheated in the past. The following chapters feature ten athletes who are more famous for their scams than their performances.
In contrast to disciplines in which an athlete’s performance can be accurately measured, skating is entirely in the power of the subjective evaluation of a panel of judges. Thus, skaters and figure skaters do not actually compete with each other but try to make the best possible impression on the judges.
Back in 2002, the sporting world was rocked by the so-called “Skategate” affair. The Russian pair Berezhna – Sikharulidze won the pairs competition at the Salt Lake City Olympics by one vote over the Canadian couple Saleova – Pelletier. However, with the support of NBC, North Americans unleashed a considerable media campaign accusing the jury of fraud. French judge Reine Le Gougne, who allegedly “helped” the Russian couple at the insistence of mafioso Alimzhan Tochtachunov, was guilty of this.
In the end, the Olympics Committee charmingly resolved the matter. Additionally, a gold medal was also awarded to the Canadian pair, and there was even a repeat of the ceremony, which NBC pushed for.
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