SOCHI, Russia – Elvis Stojko had been prepared. It absolutely was minutes after the women’s Olympic figure skating opposition, and Stojko got a detailed outcome piece at hand. He started initially to tick off, aspect by component, why he considered Adelina Sotnikova of Russia deserved to beat protecting champ Yuna Kim of southern area Korea and Carolina Kostner of Italy.
“Adelina came crammed,” Stojko said. “performed the other two convey more gorgeous skating? Completely. But it’s a hobby, and that had been completely fair.”
It was not surprising that Stojko, a two-time Olympic sterling silver medalist from Canada known for their athleticism, have these an opinion about an end result sure to become being among the most debateable and debated in figure skating’s checkered judging background.
His opinion that Sotnikova had earned her surprise victory Thursday according to the math of the scoring system, adopted after the 2002 pairs skating scandal, was shared by several other former skaters, including some known more for their artistry and style, such as Olympic medalists Philippe Candeloro of France and Paul Wylie of the U.S.
“There isn’t a problem with the outcome, other than the (margin) from it,” Wylie mentioned. “The expectations happened to be these people were probably crown Queen Yuna one last time, when it didn’t arrive at go, it really is like, ‘just how did that arise?’ “
But actually they had questions about the judging, which smelled of residence cooking to sate a roaring Russian crowd within Iceberg Skating Palace
Sotnikova, 17, ninth in this past year’s community championships, turned this lady country’s earliest Olympic ladies singles champ by 5.48 information over Kim. The Russian’s blend of huge leaps, rate and energy generated the case for jpeoplemeet login strengthening that margin within the technical markings, plus it led the evaluator to have carried away so she did not shed it on ingredient score.
“The ratings are shown by judges,” Kim stated. “I’m not during the best situation to discuss it. Nothing is that will changes using my terminology.”
A week ago, 2010 Olympic champ Evan Lysacek associated with U.S. got pondered whether Kim’s decreased a multiple cycle jump for the free skate might damage the girl. That showed prophetic: Kim did six multiple leaps, Sotnikova seven, and also the seventh is a triple loop which is why the Russian obtained 6.7 points.
Sotnikova done with points to for Kim. Kostner got 3rd at . The three had gone inside complimentary skate split by below a place.
“possibly Yuna didn’t get sufficient guidelines in small program since they failed to need to duplicate just what had happened in Vancouver, where we know ahead of the cost-free skate who was simply gonna victory,” Candeloro stated.
S. is next, with teammates Ashley Wagner and Polina Edmunds seventh and ninth, correspondingly. The U.S. lady gone without a medal in straight Olympics the very first time since 1948.
Russia’s Yulia Lipnitskaya, 15, that has being an international experience on her behalf brilliant skating from inside the group occasion, fell in both singles products and finished fifth.
Canada’s Jamie purchase, whom obtained a sets gold medal on 2002 Olympics after a French judge accepted she got pressured to correct the outcome and only deal’s victorious Russian competitors, tweeted she had just saw the women’s complimentary skate once more and “we FIRMLY DISAGREE w/results like MANY other people. #ISU now what?”
The Global Skating Union has established a rating system so mathematically intricate, its incomprehensible. In addition, it permits judging and technical screens getting substantial conflicts of great interest (one assess on Thursday’s screen, Alla Shekhovtseva, is actually hitched for the former Russian Skating Federation chairman) you need to include cheaters (another assess, Yuri Balkov of Ukraine, had been suspended for his part in prejudging a meeting).
Joannie Rochette of Canada, the 2010 ladies’ bronze medalist, receive Thursday’s benefit “weird” but would not discuss the judges because she got, like other lovers, just perplexed.
“I wasn’t positive I grasped because I see much top quality in Yuna, and that I discover a girl in Adelina with unrefined moments,” Browning stated. “But I happened to be smart sufficient to operate and check out the scars before I mentioned something.”
Gracie Silver associated with U
Browning saw obvious explanations for why Sotnikova’s technical marks comprise 5.85 details better than Kim’s, like the southern area Korean obtaining lowered base values on a spin and a maneuvering sequence. Exactly what perplexed him is how Sotnikova’s element ratings Thursday could possibly be almost nine factors raised above the woman typical component ratings in four past contests in 2010.
Sotnikova made one little technical error, a two-footed landing on 3rd hop in a combination, that she was penalized.
“I happened to be looking forward to the errors she usually helps make, and she never generated all of them,” said 1984 Olympic champ Scott Hamilton, posting comments for NBC.
“I looked at what sort of component score (principles) is authored, and Adelina inspections off every package. It is not as great looking as Yuna or Carolina, but she do everything the evaluator are searching for.”
Sotnikova’s free skate confirmed a whole lot more refinement than her helter-skelter brief plan, whether or not she hammed it at the conclusion with a revolution from the evaluator. They acknowledged by using the second-highest no-cost skate score in history.
