- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
I think the theory goes that Plushenko was given fourth place despite a bad performance because there was always the slight possibility that Yagudin would totally bomb in the long, and then they would not have anyone to give the gold medal to.Joesitz said:Was Evgeni held up in the SP in SLC?
But I think it is more like, the great skaters are so much better than everyone else in their basic skating skills, that even when they miss a jump or two, they are still ahead of the pack.
About politicking at the lower levels, though, I am sure that Soogar is right. One of the jobs of a coach is to hobnob with the judges and officials to get their skater noticed. It's not so much cheating as just, well, here is a rink full of 100 little kids all of about the same ability. So if you have a well-known coach, that coach can spread the word, hey, guys, take a look at this one.
Mathman