- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
I was just reading a Spotlight on Skating feature on 2007 Europeans by correspondent Klaus-Reinhold Kany. Kany writes:
“[Another disadvantage for third-place finishers Denkova and Staviski]: No Bulgarian judge had been drawn into the jury a couple of months ago; a fact they learned only in Warsaw.” And
“Silver medallists Domnina and Shabalin got strong support from the Russian lobby but also showed good performances overall.”
What struck me was that the article was not an editorial or opinion piece, just straightforward reporting of the facts. Is it really true – and apparently accepted by everyone in the sport as, “that’s the way it is” – that D&S had no chance to win unless a Bulgarian judge were there?
What would this absent Bulgarian judge have done to get D&S the gold? Call in some favors from the “Russian lobby?” If D&S had known beforehand that there would be no Bulgarian judge on the panel, how would that knowledge have helped them? Is the author saying that if they could have approached the Russian lobby in advance, instead of waiting until it was too late?
Has the 2010 Olympic ice dance podium already been decided? Domnina & Shabalin, gold; Virtue & Moir, silver; Davis & White, bronze?
“[Another disadvantage for third-place finishers Denkova and Staviski]: No Bulgarian judge had been drawn into the jury a couple of months ago; a fact they learned only in Warsaw.” And
“Silver medallists Domnina and Shabalin got strong support from the Russian lobby but also showed good performances overall.”
What struck me was that the article was not an editorial or opinion piece, just straightforward reporting of the facts. Is it really true – and apparently accepted by everyone in the sport as, “that’s the way it is” – that D&S had no chance to win unless a Bulgarian judge were there?
What would this absent Bulgarian judge have done to get D&S the gold? Call in some favors from the “Russian lobby?” If D&S had known beforehand that there would be no Bulgarian judge on the panel, how would that knowledge have helped them? Is the author saying that if they could have approached the Russian lobby in advance, instead of waiting until it was too late?
Has the 2010 Olympic ice dance podium already been decided? Domnina & Shabalin, gold; Virtue & Moir, silver; Davis & White, bronze?