Olympic scandal erupts over gold-winning ice skating duo as ISU responds to judging backlash
The Winter Olympics have seen a major scandal erupt during the ice dancing finals, with the scores having been called into question.
On Wednesday (February 11), American ice skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates won silver, while the French team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron took home the gold.
According to CBS Sports, Chock and Bates were 0.43 points behind the French team, and after the free dance portion of the event, five of the nine judges gave them high scores, while three others favored Beaudry and Cizeron.
In their final scores, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron racked up 225.82, while Team USA received 224.39 - a difference of 1.43 points.
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However, it was noticed that French judge Jezabel Dabouis’s scoring was noticeably different as she scored the French team higher, giving them a 137.45 in the free dance, but handed Chock and Bates a 129.74.
Earlier this week, in the rhythm dance competition, she also gave the French team six points more than the US athletes, USA Today says.
Following the result, the International Skating Union (ISU) told NBC News that a variety of scores is 'normal', adding: "It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations. The ISU has full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness."
Chock also told CBS News that it would be 'helpful if it was more understandable to the viewers, to see more transparent judging, and to understand what’s going on'.
She also said that judges should be 'be vetted and reviewed' so they are similarly 'putting out their best performance', as she continued: "Because there's a lot on the line for the skaters when they're out there giving it their all, and we deserve to have the judges also giving us their all and for it to be a fair and even playing field."
Meanwhile, a petition on Change.org was launched in response to the results, which urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the ISU to investigate the scoring and 'take decisive action' for the sake of the Games.
As of writing, it has garnered 15,844 signatures.
Chock told NBC that the pair had 'certainly gone through a roller coaster of emotions, especially in the last 24 hours', but added that they were 'proud' of what they had achieved out on the ice.
"And I think what we will take away is how we felt right after our skates and how proud we were of what we accomplished and how we handled ourselves throughout the whole week. Putting out four great performances at the Olympic Games is no small feat, and we’ve got a lot to be proud of," she said.
Meanwhile, Bates added after the event: "I feel like life is sometimes you can feel like you do everything right and it doesn’t go your way, and that’s life, and that’s sport. And it’s a subjective sport. It’s a judged sport."
UNILAD reached out to the International Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union for comment.
Britt Jones