You can't figure out skating
By GEORGE GROSS -- Toronto Sun
Figure skating has gone through more scandals than some Hollywood marriage relationships.
Crooked judging was in many instances responsible for gifted performers having skated away from the sport.
Latest to take that step is Sandra Bezic, former star Canadian pairs skater and one of the world's best choreographers. Her talents were recognized by world and Olympic champions such as Canada's four-time world champion Kurt Browning, as well as Olympic champion Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi of the United States.
Sandra, who fought the figure skating establishment for years, has finally decided to walk away, much to the chagrin of performers hoping to work with her in the future. Tomorrow night at 8:00, The CBC's Sports Journal will feature the reasons for her decision to quit.
The attractive and talented Sandra gave up her career in figure skating because "this is a mess, and I don't want to be part of it anymore."
I am surprised she lasted this long. Figure skating problems, in particular the judging systems, have plagued the sport for decades and straightlaced Canadians had to bear the brunt on many occasions.
Take the case of Dr. Suzanne Francis-Morrow, an Olympic pairs bronze medallist and one of the best international judges, who was not inclined to be part of a judging clique.
It was in the 1960s when the then Soviet Union's outstanding pair of Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov battled against then West Germany's Hans Jurgen Baumler and Marika Killius.
The majority of the judges from western countries supported their own, but Dr. Francis evaluated the two pairs on their skating merits and gave her vote to the Soviets. From that day on, the western media referred to Dr. Francis as "Canada's Red Suzi," even though the Soviets were better skaters, which they proved in future years.
There were many cases before that when judges came up with the craziest decisions based on their allegiance to a certain skater, or pair. In the 1950s, for instance, French skater Jacqueline DuBief should have won the global title, but didn't. After the event, a skating official walked up to her and said he was sorry for what had happened, but that he guaranteed her she'd win the global crown the following year. She did.
Or, in the 1960 Olympics at Squaw Valley, Canada's Otto and Maria Jelinek were a cinch to win the bronze medal. However, they finished fourth because the judges felt that an American pair should get the bronze at home. A couple of weeks later, the world championship was held in Vancouver. The Jelineks didn't skate as well as they did in Squaw Valley, yet finished on the podium.
Another case went in a Canadian skater's favour. In the 1963 world championship at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Canada's Don McPherson trailed Alain Calmat of France and Manfred Schnelldorfer of Germany and seemed destined for a bronze medal.
The judges had a different idea. One group favoured Calmat, placed him first and Schnelldorfer third. The other group was for Schnelldorfer, placing him first and Calmat third. Both groups had McPherson in second place to prevent the rival skater from reaching second spot. Guess what? The strategy backfired on both groups of judges. With no majority of first-place votes, McPherson won gold on a majority of second place marks.
Space won't permit providing a complete list of all judges' manipulations over the years. While some might say that the victory by Sarah Hughes in Salt Lake City in 2002 showed that the judges were assessing actual performances versus pre-determined rankings, it obviously is the exception rather than the rule.
And for that, I don't blame Sandra Bezic one bit for leaving the sport, although she still remains in my eyes a jewel of a figure skating choreographer.
GROSSLY ABBREVIATED: Hungary's Laszlo Papp, the only boxer in history to win three Olympic gold medals in two different weight classes, died last week in Budapest. He was 77. Papp won Olympic gold in the middleweight class in London in 1948 and followed it up with gold in the light-middleweight class in Helsinki in 1952 and then in the 1956 Games in Melbourne. He turned professional at 31, won 27 fights, 15 by knockouts ... Hamilton's Ron Foxcroft, the inventor of the famous Fox 40 Whistle which is being used in the NBA, NFL, NCAA, CFL, FIBA, FINA and FIFA, was honoured recently at the Canadian basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Almonte, Ontario. He was inducted into the Hall in 1999 ... Dick Bradbeer is beating the drums for Mississauga's first Sports Summit on Saturday, November 15. The event will be held in mayor Hazel McCallion's favourite hangout, the Living Art Centre in Mississauga from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The topics to be discussed are "Bidding and Hosting Successful Events and Tournaments," "Fundraising and Grants" and "Sponsorship." Registration is $ 20 and includes lunch. Guest speaker is former quarterback Chuck Ealey. Call 905-896-5853 for info.
