Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles

The ladies' single skating competition of the 2014 Winter Olympics was held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia. The short program took place on 19 February 2014, and the free skating took place on 20 February. Adelina Sotnikova of Russia controversially won the gold medal, generating much controversy over the partiality of the judges and the new scoring system.

Records

For complete list of figure skating records, see list of highest scores in figure skating.

The following ISU season best scores (2013–2014) were set during this competition:

Schedule

All dates and times are (UTC+4).

Results

Short program

The short program (SP) took place on 19 February 2014.

Free skating

The Free skating took place on 20 February 2014.

Overall

The skaters are ranked according to their overall score.

Judges and officials

Short Program judges

Free Skating judges

* Technical controller: Alexander Lakernik
* Technical specialist: Vanessa Gusmeroli
* Assistant technical specialist: Olga Baranova
* Referee: Diana Barbacci Levy
* Data operator: David Santee
* Replay operator: Alexander Kuznetsov

Controversies

Immediately after the final scores were announced, journalistic questions arose regarding whether Adelina Sotnikova's performance deserved higher scores than the performances of Yuna Kim. Questions over the judges, the judging system, and the anonymity of scores were also raised in the press.

Official responses

On 21 February 2014, the International Skating Union (ISU) issued a statement which asserted all rules and procedures were applied during the competition and that no official protest had been filed by any participating nation concerning the results of the competition. Such a protest must be done within 30 minutes of the event.

ISU's 21 February 2014 statement declaring their confidence "in the high quality and integrity of the ISU judging system". Adding "judges were selected by random drawing from a pool of 13 potential judges" and all nine judges on the free skating panel were from different nations.

On 10 April, the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and the Korean Skating Union (KSU) filed an official complaint with the ISU Disciplinary Commission (DC) concerning judging. The complaint was regarding "the wrongful constitution of the panel of judges and the unjust outcome of the competition". It requested that the DC conduct a thorough investigation, "take appropriate disciplinary actions against the concerned individuals", and institute corrective actions. On 14 April, the DC ruled the complaint inadmissible because a general request for investigation is not within DC's jurisdiction and the complaint was not addressed at an individual or federation as required."Case No. 2014-03 – Decision of the ISU Disciplinary Commission"
International Skating Union. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

On 30 April, the KOC and KSU filed a second official complaint with the DC. This time the complaint was against Russian judge Alla Shekhovtsova and Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSFR), specifically citing a hug Shekhovtsova shared with Sotnikova and Shekhovtsova's marriage to the current Director General of the FSFR. On 30 May, the DC dismissed the complaint. It ruled Shekhovtsova "is not responsible for the judging panel's composition", her marriage did not create a conflict of interest, and since Sotnikova initiated the hug, Shekhovtsova did not break any rules by responding.

As of June 2014, the KOC and KSU are considering appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Opposing opinions

''USA Today'' reported "A high-ranking Olympic figure skating official … said the geographic makeup of the judging panel 'was clearly slanted towards … Sotnikova.'" The free skating panel included two Russian officials, a Russian judge and a Ukrainian judge. Journalists questioned the appointments of Russian judge Alla Shekhovtsova, the wife of the former president and the current general director of Figure Skating Federation of Russia Valentin Piseev, and Ukrainian judge Yuri Balkov, who was suspended for a year after being caught on tape attempting to fix the ice dancing competition at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The technical panel, that oversees correct execution of elements, is headed by fellow Russian Alexander Lakernik. Shekhovtseva was photographed hugging Sotnikova in the arena, raising another question of bias. The detailed score sheet shows that one judge gave Sotnikova +3 grade of execution (GOE) on all except two elements.

Journalist Alexander Abad-Santos from ''The Wire'' argued that scores given to Adelina Sotnikova were inflated. He also asserted that certain judges gave generous scores along with fellow Russian competitor Yulia Lipnitskaya. In particular, numerous +3 grade of executions were handed out to the two Russian skaters as well as nods in component scores compared to other skaters. Others noted that Sotnikova made a mistake by stepping of the double loop at the end of her combination jump. Ryan Bradley, 2011 US champion, tweeted "Are we just going to ignore that she botched the landing of her 3 jump and pretend she was perfect?" Retired national-level figure skater Tim Gerber argued that Sotnikova's triple lutz had a wrong edge on takeoff and the triple toe loop in her first jumping pass was under-rotated. Gerber also asserted that the step sequence levels were not correctly awarded for Kim and Sotnikova. He stated that Kim's step sequence should have received a level four (instead of three) and Sotnikova's step sequence should have received a level three (instead of four).

Katarina Witt, a two-time Olympic champion, stated "I am stunned by this result, I don’t understand the scoring." Several experts have also pointed out how Kim and Kostner's programs have significantly better artistry, choreography and skill on ice that should translate to higher component marks to other skaters. Sonia Garbato, seven-time Olympic figure skating judge and former high-ranking ISU official, wrote: "No fair judge … could have awarded to Adelina higher marks in choreography, performance/execution, and interpretation of the music." Four-time world champion Kurt Browning also expressed his surprise at the results, declaring that he did not understand how Kim and Sotnikova could have been so close in the programme component scores. Michael Weiss, a two-time world bronze medalist, wrote "couldn't disagree more that Yuna and Sotnikova had basically same Component marks?..in Both short & long? Home field inflation." Dick Button, two-time Olympic champion and longstanding skating analyst, commented: "Sotnikova was energetic, strong, commendable, but not a complete skater."

English-language newspapers such as Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and The Japan Times, reported on the controversial results. The issue was also reported in '' Der Spiegel'', Sueddeutsche Zeitung, and L'Équipe. In an ESPN poll, almost 75% of voters thought Yuna Kim should have won the gold medal. A petition on Change.org against the results of the event demanding an investigation and rejudgment has amassed over 2 million supporters breaking several web traffic records on the website.

Supporting opinions

Michelle Kwan, two-time Olympic medalist and five-time World champion, stated "Under the scoring system, hands down, Adelina won." Three-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko responded "It was totally fair, Adelina was ready. Kim didn't have enough technical ammunition." Tara Lipinski, the 1998 Olympic champion, together with Johnny Weir, the 2008 World bronze medalist, have also expressed their agreement with the judges' decision on Sotnikova's performance. Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion, said that while Sotnikova's skating is not as aesthetically pleasing as Kim's, her athletic style "checks off every box" and "does everything the judges are looking for." Alexei Mishin, the 1969 World medalist and coach to three Olympic champions, said that "… Sotnikova's victory is absolutely natural and objective."

On 20 February 2014, ''The New York Times'' published a technical assessment of the competition titled "How Sotnikova Beat Kim" with a point-by-point and jump-by-jump comparison of the performances of the two skaters. ''The New York Times'' also reported in a conjointly published article that Sotnikova's routine was athletically challenging stating that: "Sotnikova scored higher on the technical merit of her program. For instance, Kim did not attempt a triple loop or a double axel, triple toe loop combination, as Sotnikova did."

References

External links

Sochi 2014 Figure Skating – Ladies' Singles page

Sochi 2014 Figure Skating Results Book

2014 Winter Olympics page
at the International Skating Union
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