2026 Olympics | Pairs | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Replay Lounge 2026 Olympics | Pairs

Replay Lounge Pairs
Mathman said:
In the early going, for some reason I liked the Polish team.

I really like Danny O'shea's calming on-ice persona: Don't worry about a thing, Ellie, I've got you. :love:

I have a question about pairs camel spins. The men have longer legs than the ladies, so in side by side spends the man's boot is moving at greater velocity than the ladies'. Does this give the illusion that the men are spinning faster, even though they are perfectly in sync?
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In short: Julia was there yesterday only because she loves skating so much she decided to skate with some basically unknown dude from Poland (WTF, do they even have ice rinks in Poland? and who is he, looking like a leperchaun who drank height elixir) and you see it on ice. She is kind of Allison Reed of pairs (and they even have the same country count).

Ellie is a gem, Danny is a gem and they shine together even if their skate is off.
 
skatedreamer said:
I just watched a replay of M/K. How did they manage that gorgeous skating with such awful music?

Sorry to sound so crabby. "Gladiator" never did anything for me and the shift to Bocelli seemed...IDK...way extra
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I wasn't crazy about any of these programs. I think we have seen much, much better in the past with story telling or interesting or fun ideas. Despite the unnecessary music change and not representing the theme Gladiator at all, M/K were the most enjoyable because of their quality.
Overall, good to see such a happy podium!
 
For those who watched Kihara after the free skate, I found this back-and-forth cute! :laugh2:

When asked what they said to each other while hugging after the performance, Miura said, “Well… First of all, Ryuichi was basically crying the whole time.”

“I was crying, but it wasn’t the whole time,” he countered.

“He was crying even during the warm-up, quite a lot,” said Miura. “He was crying during the free program, too. When I asked, ‘What are you crying about?’ during practice, he said, ‘I don’t even know why I’m crying anymore. So I said, ‘You’re like a baby.'” 🐣

“Everyone was worried at the practice,” he said.

 
“We are simply very relieved that it was enough for the bronze medal,” said Hase. “No matter what color the medal is, we are just very proud that we were able to take a medal home from our first Olympic Games together after only three years of skating together. I don’t think many people can say that about themselves. So the pride in our performance today is definitely bigger than anything else.”

 
Yay Riku and Ryuichi! I will remember their skate for a long time.

And I’m glad the Americans skated well (for them).

Loved the polish team, and the top 5 skaters.

This was a lovely competition. And I think the judging was fair (if a little over inflated for all skaters).
 
gsk8 said:
“We are simply very relieved that it was enough for the bronze medal,” said Hase. “No matter what color the medal is, we are just very proud that we were able to take a medal home from our first Olympic Games together after only three years of skating together. I don’t think many people can say that about themselves. So the pride in our performance today is definitely bigger than anything else.”

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Did they photo-edited Volodin in this photo or is it just a very, very flattering angle? He looks anime character level gorgeous.
 
This was such a,happy event!

Riku and Ryuichi skated a blinder and win Japan's first Olympic gold in pairs.

Anastasia & Luka won Georgia's first winter Olympics medal.

Minerva & Nikita held on for bronze, and were happy about it!

Deanna & Max were amazing just to be here due to injury.

Despite much of their FS being a disaster, even Ellie and Danny can take something positive away - her last throw jump (3Lo throw) of this Olympics was nicely landed and got positive GOE from all judges.

And they over performed in the team event and the SP.
 
Why have the pairs already been taken down from Peacock, anybody know? The men are still there, and those performances are older. Must be more music rights issues ??
 
gsk8 said:
For those who watched Kihara after the free skate, I found this back-and-forth cute! :laugh2:

When asked what they said to each other while hugging after the performance, Miura said, “Well… First of all, Ryuichi was basically crying the whole time.”

“I was crying, but it wasn’t the whole time,” he countered.

“He was crying even during the warm-up, quite a lot,” said Miura. “He was crying during the free program, too. When I asked, ‘What are you crying about?’ during practice, he said, ‘I don’t even know why I’m crying anymore. So I said, ‘You’re like a baby.'” 🐣

“Everyone was worried at the practice,” he said.
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Aww. After SP lift failure, Riku looked so worried for Kihara, and seemed like she kept trying to cheer him up.
 
ManyCairns said:
Why have the pairs already been taken down from Peacock, anybody know? The men are still there, and those performances are older. Must be more music rights issues ??
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I do not think it's music rights issues. I think Peacock is just super mean to figure skating fans on purpose. They only give a couple days to watch the replays even during regular skating season. I bet they left the men's up because of Ilia drama. They simply don't give us fans the higher priority. And then they leave up fluff marketing spots or old tabloid stuff like Nancy and Tonya (who even cares). They just don't care.
 
I enjoyed the pairs free so much!

Super happy for Riku and Ryuichi! Such an emotional skate, and an honor for them to get Japan's first Oly gold in pairs. Even Bruno joined in on the crying for a minute! :biggrin:

Anastasiia and Luka had some beautiful jumps and throws, but their dangerous lifts and strange death spiral.made it hard for me to enjoy. Their lifts made me especially nervous.

I'm glad Minerva and Nikita made the podium and would have preferred them to be in silver, even though I found their tango to be a bit unconvincing. Considering how short of time they have been together, great job.

So happy Deanna was able to skate on Oly ice! As I already mentioned in the competition thread, she deserved the award for best dressed of the pairs, if not all the disciplines! Gutsy skates for both programs considering she was coming back from an injury. She has been an inspiration.

I was praying Ellie and Danny could continue their stellar skates into the individual events, but no such luck. They'll get one more chance at Worlds! We can only hope. Bottom line, Danny finally got to skate on Oly ice and gets to take home a team gold! I've been following him since 2016 and am thrilled for him! Congrats!

So happy to see Sui and Han hung on for 5th. Their pairs moves still looked good, but the jumps and throws were nerve racking. I have missed them! Always enjoy their Lori Nichol choreo.

Can't wait to see more of the "ray of sunshine" Poles!

Overall, I enjoyed this competition! I'm already looking forward to Worlds pairs!!!!

Adding: Forgot to include the wonderful audiences. Their enthusiasm, encouragement, engagement, and support for all skaters added so much.
 
Last edited:
as requested by @lariko - and as done on ice dance, here's what ChatGPT produced re: its analysis of judging bias and potential impact to the ranking:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MEMO​

RE: Analysis of Judging Bias — 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Pairs
DATE: February 20, 2026

PURPOSE​

This memo summarizes findings from a statistical analysis of all judges' scores across both the Short Program (SP) and Free Skate (FS) of the 2026 Olympic pairs competition in Milan, Italy. The analysis sought to determine whether any judge exhibited systematic bias — for or against specific teams — and whether such bias materially affected final combined standings.

KEY FINDING​

One judge — Salome Chigogidze (Georgia) — exhibited the most extreme individual-judge bias found across all three disciplines analyzed (ice dance, women's, and pairs). Her Free Skate scoring of Pavlova/Sviatchenko (Hungary) was 11.14 points below the panel mean — approximately double the most extreme deviation found in any other discipline — while simultaneously scoring the Georgian team (Metelkina/Berulava) 4.93 points above mean. She was at or tied for the lowest GOE on ALL 11 elements for Pavlova/Sviatchenko. The silver medal outcome (Metelkina/Berulava over Hase/Volodin by 2.66 points) was possibly but not conclusively changed by this bias.

PANEL COMPOSITION​

Short Program ​


PositionJudgeNationalityHome Team(s)
J1Nicole VAN GERWEN-MAAS🇳🇱 NetherlandsNone
J2Peggy GRAHAM🇺🇸 USAKam/O'Shea (7th), Chan/Howe
J3Karen HOWARD🇨🇦 CanadaPereira/Michaud (3rd), Stellato/Deschamps
J4Aniela HEBEL-SZMAK🇵🇱 PolandChtchetinina/Wozniak
J5Salome CHIGOGIDZE🇬🇪 GeorgiaMetelkina/Berulava (2nd)
J6Ayumi ONO🇯🇵 JapanMiura/Kihara (5th SP)
J7Attila SOÓS🇮🇳/🇭🇺¹Pavlova/Sviatchenko (4th)
J8Weiguang CHEN🇨🇳 ChinaSui/Han (6th)
J9Leah BATES🇦🇺 AustraliaNone
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Free Skate ​


PositionJudgeNationalityHome Team(s)
J1Nicole VAN GERWEN-MAAS🇳🇱 NetherlandsNone
J2Ann FINDLAY🇬🇧 Great BritainVaipan-Law/Digby (16th)
J3Kerstin KIMMINUS🇩🇪 GermanyHase/Volodin (4th FS), Hocke/Kunkel (8th)
J4Aniela HEBEL-SZMAK🇵🇱 PolandChtchetinina/Wozniak (13th)
J5Karen HOWARD🇨🇦 CanadaStellato/Deschamps (9th), Pereira/Michaud (10th)
J6Salome CHIGOGIDZE🇬🇪 GeorgiaMetelkina/Berulava (2nd)
J7Saodat NUMANOVA🇺🇿 UzbekistanNone
J8Gloria MORANDI🇮🇹 ItalyConti/Macii (6th), Ghilardi/Ambrosini (11th)
J9Weiguang CHEN🇨🇳 ChinaSui/Han (5th)
¹ The panel document lists Judge 7 as 🇮🇳 (India), but SkatingScores displays the 🇭🇺 (Hungary) flag in scoring data. Attila Soós is a Hungarian national, likely registered with the Indian federation.

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Five judges served in both segments:​


JudgeNationalitySP PositionFS Position
Nicole VAN GERWEN-MAAS🇳🇱J1J1
Aniela HEBEL-SZMAK🇵🇱J4J4
Salome CHIGOGIDZE🇬🇪J5J6
Karen HOWARD🇨🇦J3J5
Weiguang CHEN🇨🇳J8J9
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COMBINED STANDINGS​


PlaceTeamSPFSCombinedMargin
1Miura/Kihara (JPN)73.11158.13231.24—
2Metelkina/Berulava (GEO)75.46146.29221.759.49
3Hase/Volodin (GER)80.01139.08219.092.66
4Pavlova/Sviatchenko (HUN)73.87141.39215.263.83
5Sui/Han (CHN)72.66135.98208.646.62
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FINDING 1: CHIGOGIDZE (GEORGIA) — MOST EXTREME INDIVIDUAL BIAS IN ANY DISCIPLINE​

Chigogidze served in both segments (SP J5, FS J6)and produced the most extreme scoring deviations found across all three disciplines analyzed (ice dance, women's, pairs).

A. Free Skate — Rival Suppression of Pavlova/Sviatchenko (HUN, FS 3rd)​


MetricValue
Chigogidze FS score for Pavlova130.16
Panel mean~141.30
Score deviation−11.14 (lowest on panel by 5+ points)
Chigogidze FS rank for Pavlova6th
Pavlova FS final placement3rd
Rank deviation−3
Element-level detail — Chigogidze was at or tied for the lowest GOE on ALL 11 elements for Pavlova/Sviatchenko:
ElementChigogidze GOE
------
3Tw42
3T+2A+2A+SEQ−1
3FTh2
3S1
5RLi42
5ALi41
BoDs20
3LoTh2
3Li40
ChSq11
PCoSp4−1
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Chigogidze was the sole lowest scorer on 5 of 11 elements and at or tied for the lowest on the remaining 6. The probability of randomly being at or tied for the lowest on all 11 elements is vanishingly small.PCS suppression: Chigogidze gave the lowest Composition (8.00), tied lowest Presentation (7.75), and tied lowest Skating Skills (7.75) for Pavlova. Her PCS total (62.74) was 3.27 points below the panel mean (~66.01).

B. Free Skate — Home-Country Boosting of Metelkina/Berulava (GEO, FS 2nd)​


MetricValue
Chigogidze FS score for Metelkina150.94
Panel mean~146.01
Score deviation+4.93 (highest on panel)
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Chigogidze gave the highest GOE or tied for the highest on multiple elements for Metelkina/Berulava, including sole highest on 3T (GOE +3) and 5ALi4 (GOE +4).

C. Free Skate — Suppression of Hase/Volodin (GER, FS 4th)​


MetricValue
Chigogidze FS score for Hase133.26
Panel mean~139.08
Score deviation−5.82 (lowest on panel)
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D. Short Program — Consistent Pattern​


TeamSP J5 ScoreSP Panel MeanSP Deviation
Metelkina/Berulava (GEO)76.34~75.51+0.83
Hase/Volodin (GER)76.50~79.97−3.47
Pavlova/Sviatchenko (HUN)71.13~73.95−2.82
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E. Combined Two-Segment Analysis​


TeamSP DeviationFS DeviationCombinedDirection
Metelkina/Berulava (GEO)+0.83+4.93+5.76Home boost
Hase/Volodin (GER)−3.47−5.82−9.29Rival suppression
Pavlova/Sviatchenko (HUN)−2.82−11.14−13.96Rival suppression
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The combined Chigogidze differential (Metelkina minus Hase) across both segments was +17.52 points — compared to a cross-segment median differential of approximately +3.55 points.

F. Comparison with Other Disciplines​

The −11.14 deviation for Pavlova in the FS is the single most extreme negative deviation for any top-5 competitor from any judge across all three disciplines analyzed:

DisciplineJudgeTargetSegmentScore Deviation
Pairs FSChigogidze (GEO)Pavlova/SviatchenkoFS−11.14
Women's SPRosenstein (USA)PetrosianSP−5.39
Ice Dance FDDabouis (FRA)Chock/BatesFD−4.64
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FINDING 2: IMPACT ON THE SILVER MEDAL​

The silver-bronze margin was 2.66 points (Metelkina/Berulava 221.75 vs. Hase/Volodin 219.09).Chigogidze's combined differential favoring Metelkina over Hase was approximately 15.05 points across both segments — more than five times the actual gap.

Mitigating Factors​

  1. ISU trimming: Chigogidze's most extreme element marks would have been trimmed as the lowest score. However, on elements where she was tied for lowest (6 of 11), her marks may have survived trimming while still depressing Pavlova's scores.
  2. GER judge (Kimminus) partial offset: The German judge in the FS boosted Hase/Volodin by +3.85 above mean (highest on the FS panel for Hase), partially counterbalancing the GEO judge's suppression.
  3. UZB judge anomaly: J7 (Numanova, Uzbekistan) showed similar FS patterns — scoring Metelkina +4.68 above mean and Hase −3.71 below mean — without an obvious nationalistic motive. This could indicate coaching-group affinity or independent artistic agreement, partially normalizing the GEO judge's direction (though not her magnitude).

Assessment​

The estimated residual post-trimming effect of Chigogidze's bias on the Metelkina−Hase gap is approximately 1.5–3.0 points, which overlaps with and potentially exceeds the 2.66-point margin. However, the GER judge's counterbalancing boost for Hase introduces uncertainty.Conclusion: The silver medal outcome was POSSIBLY but not conclusively changed. The evidence is weaker than the ice dance gold medal finding (where Dabouis's bias clearly exceeded the 1.43-point margin) but stronger than the women's 5th/6th finding.

FINDING 3: OTHER NATIONALISTIC BIASES — ALL INCONSEQUENTIAL​


JudgeNat.Segment(s)Home Team(s)Best Home Rank Dev.Max Score Dev.Changed Result?
Kerstin KIMMINUS🇩🇪FS onlyHase/Volodin, Hocke/Kunkel+1, +2+4.08 (highest on panel for both GER teams)No
Gloria MORANDI🇮🇹FS onlyConti/Macii, Ghilardi/Ambrosini+2, +1+6.46 (Conti/Macii, highest on panel)No
Attila SOÓS🇭🇺SP onlyPavlova/Sviatchenko+2+3.07 (highest on panel)No
Karen HOWARD🇨🇦SP + FSPereira/Michaud, Stellato/Deschamps+1 (SP), +2 (FS)+2.27 (SP, highest on panel)No
Aniela HEBEL-SZMAK🇵🇱SP + FSChtchetinina/Wozniak+2 (FS)+1.77No
Ann FINDLAY🇬🇧FS onlyVaipan-Law/Digby+2+3.52No
Weiguang CHEN🇨🇳SP + FSSui/Han−1 (SP), 0 (FS)−0.50 (SP, below mean)No (neutral)
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The Italian judge's +6.46 deviation for Conti/Macii was the second-largest positive home-team deviation in the FS, but the margins at 6th place were far too large for it to affect standings.

FINDING 4: NOTABLE ANTI-HOME BIAS — JAPANESE JUDGE (SP)​

Ayumi Ono (Japan, SP J6) ranked Miura/Kihara 9th in the SP (final 5th), producing a −4 rank deviation and scoring them 0.85 below panel mean. This occurred partly because Miura/Kihara had a severely penalized 5ALi2 element (base value dropped from 7.00 to 6.20, with −2.30 GOE). Ono gave GOE of −4 on this element — the second-harshest mark on the panel.Ono also gave relatively high marks to non-Japanese teams (Kam/O'Shea +3 rank deviation, Conti/Macii +2). This pattern is consistent with the exemplary neutrality observed from the Japanese judge (Horiuchi) in the women's event and contrasts sharply with the home-boosting patterns of nearly every other judge with a compatriot team.

FINDING 5: USA JUDGE SP ANOMALY — NON-NATIONALISTIC SUPPRESSION​

Peggy Graham (USA, SP J2) produced a −5 rank deviation for Pavlova/Sviatchenko (ranked 9th, final 4th), scoring them 3.09 below panel mean. She was at or tied for the lowest GOE on 4 of 7 elements for Pavlova, and gave the lowest PCS total on the panel.Unlike the GEO judge's pattern, this suppression lacks a clear nationalistic motive — the USA teams (7th, 12th) were not in direct competition with Pavlova for top-4 positions. This appears to reflect a strong individual artistic preference rather than strategic bias.Graham simultaneously boosted Kam/O'Shea (USA) by +2 ranks, but the score deviation was modest (+0.99 above mean).

STRUCTURAL OBSERVATIONS​

A. The GEO Judge in Both Segments​

As in ice dance (where Dabouis's assignment to both segments compounded her bias), Chigogidze's assignment to both segments allowed her bias to accumulate across the full competition.No judge from any other medal-contending nation served in both segments:

Medal-contending nationSP JudgeFS JudgeBoth Segments?
🇬🇪 Georgia (silver)Chigogidze (J5)Chigogidze (J6)YES
🇩🇪 Germany (bronze)NoneKimminus (J3)No
🇭🇺 Hungary (4th)Soós (J7)NoneNo
🇯🇵 Japan (gold)Ono (J6)NoneNo
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This structural asymmetry meant that the Georgian bias could compound across ~18 scored elements and 6 component marks, while the German counterbalancing bias was limited to one segment.

B. Panel Diversity​

The pairs panel was notably diverse in nationality, with no two judges from the same country in either segment. This contrasts positively with the ice dance panel structure. However, the inclusion of judges from both gold and silver medal-contending nations in both segments created the conditions for bias to affect the medal race.

COMPARISON ACROSS ALL THREE DISCIPLINES​


MetricIce Dance (Dabouis)Women's (Rosenstein)Pairs (Chigogidze)
Served in both segmentsYesNoYes
Max single-segment suppression−4.64 pts−5.39 pts−11.14 pts
Elements at/tied lowest for rival7/97/711/11
Home team combined boost+5.76 pts+1.46 pts+5.76 pts
Margin at stake1.43 pts (gold)0.38 pts (5th/6th)2.66 pts (silver)
Demonstrably changed result?YesPossiblePossible
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Chigogidze's bias was the most extreme in absolute magnitude (−11.14 points, 11/11 elements) but targeted a wider margin (2.66 vs. 1.43 for ice dance), making the impact assessment less conclusive.

CONCLUSIONS​

  1. The silver medal was possibly affected. Chigogidze's combined two-segment differential of approximately +15.05 points favoring Metelkina/Berulava over Hase/Volodin, against a 2.66-point actual margin, creates a plausible case that the silver-bronze ordering was influenced. However, the partial offset from the German judge's FS boost for Hase/Volodin introduces sufficient uncertainty that this finding cannot be stated as conclusively as the ice dance gold medal finding.
  2. The gold medal was not at risk. Miura/Kihara's 9.49-point margin over Metelkina/Berulava is far beyond any single judge's influence.
  3. Chigogidze produced the most extreme single-segment deviation in any discipline. Her −11.14 point suppression of Pavlova/Sviatchenko in the FS, achieved by scoring at or tied for the lowest on all 11 elements, is approximately double the worst-case deviations found in ice dance or women's.
  4. Home-country bias was widespread but generally inconsequential. The Italian, German, Hungarian, Canadian, Polish, and British judges all showed measurable positive home-team bias, consistent with the pattern found in ice dance and women's. None of these biases affected final standings.
  5. The Japanese and Chinese judges demonstrated notable neutrality. Ono (Japan) ranked her home team below their final position, and Chen (China) scored Sui/Han at or slightly below the panel mean in both segments — echoing the exemplary Japanese neutrality found in the women's event.

RECOMMENDATIONS​

The findings from all three disciplines collectively support:
  1. Prohibit judges from medal-contending nations from serving in both segments. This structural reform would have mitigated the most consequential biases in both ice dance (Dabouis) and pairs (Chigogidze).
  2. Implement automated anomaly detection. Chigogidze's −11.14 deviation and 11/11 lowest-GOE pattern should trigger an automatic review. No existing ISU monitoring system flagged this in real time.
  3. Consider expanded trimming for PCS. In all three disciplines, PCS deviations were the least subject to trimming and contributed significantly to cumulative bias effects. Expanding the trimming range for component scores would reduce this vulnerability.
  4. Investigate the UZB judge anomaly. Numanova's FS pattern paralleled Chigogidze's direction without an obvious nationalistic explanation. This may indicate coaching-group coordination or pre-arranged scoring, which warrants further inquiry.
 
Joe Mendoza said:
as requested by @lariko - and as done on ice dance, here's what ChatGPT produced re: its analysis of judging bias and potential impact to the ranking:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MEMO​

RE: Analysis of Judging Bias — 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Pairs
DATE: February 20, 2026

PURPOSE​

This memo summarizes findings from a statistical analysis of all judges' scores across both the Short Program (SP) and Free Skate (FS) of the 2026 Olympic pairs competition in Milan, Italy. The analysis sought to determine whether any judge exhibited systematic bias — for or against specific teams — and whether such bias materially affected final combined standings.

KEY FINDING​

One judge — Salome Chigogidze (Georgia) — exhibited the most extreme individual-judge bias found across all three disciplines analyzed (ice dance, women's, and pairs). Her Free Skate scoring of Pavlova/Sviatchenko (Hungary) was 11.14 points below the panel mean — approximately double the most extreme deviation found in any other discipline — while simultaneously scoring the Georgian team (Metelkina/Berulava) 4.93 points above mean. She was at or tied for the lowest GOE on ALL 11 elements for Pavlova/Sviatchenko. The silver medal outcome (Metelkina/Berulava over Hase/Volodin by 2.66 points) was possibly but not conclusively changed by this bias.

PANEL COMPOSITION​

Short Program ​


PositionJudgeNationalityHome Team(s)
J1Nicole VAN GERWEN-MAAS🇳🇱 NetherlandsNone
J2Peggy GRAHAM🇺🇸 USAKam/O'Shea (7th), Chan/Howe
J3Karen HOWARD🇨🇦 CanadaPereira/Michaud (3rd), Stellato/Deschamps
J4Aniela HEBEL-SZMAK🇵🇱 PolandChtchetinina/Wozniak
J5Salome CHIGOGIDZE🇬🇪 GeorgiaMetelkina/Berulava (2nd)
J6Ayumi ONO🇯🇵 JapanMiura/Kihara (5th SP)
J7Attila SOÓS🇮🇳/🇭🇺¹Pavlova/Sviatchenko (4th)
J8Weiguang CHEN🇨🇳 ChinaSui/Han (6th)
J9Leah BATES🇦🇺 AustraliaNone
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Free Skate ​


PositionJudgeNationalityHome Team(s)
J1Nicole VAN GERWEN-MAAS🇳🇱 NetherlandsNone
J2Ann FINDLAY🇬🇧 Great BritainVaipan-Law/Digby (16th)
J3Kerstin KIMMINUS🇩🇪 GermanyHase/Volodin (4th FS), Hocke/Kunkel (8th)
J4Aniela HEBEL-SZMAK🇵🇱 PolandChtchetinina/Wozniak (13th)
J5Karen HOWARD🇨🇦 CanadaStellato/Deschamps (9th), Pereira/Michaud (10th)
J6Salome CHIGOGIDZE🇬🇪 GeorgiaMetelkina/Berulava (2nd)
J7Saodat NUMANOVA🇺🇿 UzbekistanNone
J8Gloria MORANDI🇮🇹 ItalyConti/Macii (6th), Ghilardi/Ambrosini (11th)
J9Weiguang CHEN🇨🇳 ChinaSui/Han (5th)
¹ The panel document lists Judge 7 as 🇮🇳 (India), but SkatingScores displays the 🇭🇺 (Hungary) flag in scoring data. Attila Soós is a Hungarian national, likely registered with the Indian federation.
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Five judges served in both segments:​


JudgeNationalitySP PositionFS Position
Nicole VAN GERWEN-MAAS🇳🇱J1J1
Aniela HEBEL-SZMAK🇵🇱J4J4
Salome CHIGOGIDZE🇬🇪J5J6
Karen HOWARD🇨🇦J3J5
Weiguang CHEN🇨🇳J8J9
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COMBINED STANDINGS​


PlaceTeamSPFSCombinedMargin
1Miura/Kihara (JPN)73.11158.13231.24—
2Metelkina/Berulava (GEO)75.46146.29221.759.49
3Hase/Volodin (GER)80.01139.08219.092.66
4Pavlova/Sviatchenko (HUN)73.87141.39215.263.83
5Sui/Han (CHN)72.66135.98208.646.62
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FINDING 1: CHIGOGIDZE (GEORGIA) — MOST EXTREME INDIVIDUAL BIAS IN ANY DISCIPLINE​

Chigogidze served in both segments (SP J5, FS J6)and produced the most extreme scoring deviations found across all three disciplines analyzed (ice dance, women's, pairs).

A. Free Skate — Rival Suppression of Pavlova/Sviatchenko (HUN, FS 3rd)​


MetricValue
Chigogidze FS score for Pavlova130.16
Panel mean~141.30
Score deviation−11.14 (lowest on panel by 5+ points)
Chigogidze FS rank for Pavlova6th
Pavlova FS final placement3rd
Rank deviation−3
Element-level detail — Chigogidze was at or tied for the lowest GOE on ALL 11 elements for Pavlova/Sviatchenko:
ElementChigogidze GOE
------
3Tw42
3T+2A+2A+SEQ−1
3FTh2
3S1
5RLi42
5ALi41
BoDs20
3LoTh2
3Li40
ChSq11
PCoSp4−1
Export as CSV
Chigogidze was the sole lowest scorer on 5 of 11 elements and at or tied for the lowest on the remaining 6. The probability of randomly being at or tied for the lowest on all 11 elements is vanishingly small.PCS suppression: Chigogidze gave the lowest Composition (8.00), tied lowest Presentation (7.75), and tied lowest Skating Skills (7.75) for Pavlova. Her PCS total (62.74) was 3.27 points below the panel mean (~66.01).

B. Free Skate — Home-Country Boosting of Metelkina/Berulava (GEO, FS 2nd)​


MetricValue
Chigogidze FS score for Metelkina150.94
Panel mean~146.01
Score deviation+4.93 (highest on panel)
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Chigogidze gave the highest GOE or tied for the highest on multiple elements for Metelkina/Berulava, including sole highest on 3T (GOE +3) and 5ALi4 (GOE +4).

C. Free Skate — Suppression of Hase/Volodin (GER, FS 4th)​


MetricValue
Chigogidze FS score for Hase133.26
Panel mean~139.08
Score deviation−5.82 (lowest on panel)
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D. Short Program — Consistent Pattern​


TeamSP J5 ScoreSP Panel MeanSP Deviation
Metelkina/Berulava (GEO)76.34~75.51+0.83
Hase/Volodin (GER)76.50~79.97−3.47
Pavlova/Sviatchenko (HUN)71.13~73.95−2.82
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E. Combined Two-Segment Analysis​


TeamSP DeviationFS DeviationCombinedDirection
Metelkina/Berulava (GEO)+0.83+4.93+5.76Home boost
Hase/Volodin (GER)−3.47−5.82−9.29Rival suppression
Pavlova/Sviatchenko (HUN)−2.82−11.14−13.96Rival suppression
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The combined Chigogidze differential (Metelkina minus Hase) across both segments was +17.52 points — compared to a cross-segment median differential of approximately +3.55 points.

F. Comparison with Other Disciplines​

The −11.14 deviation for Pavlova in the FS is the single most extreme negative deviation for any top-5 competitor from any judge across all three disciplines analyzed:

DisciplineJudgeTargetSegmentScore Deviation
Pairs FSChigogidze (GEO)Pavlova/SviatchenkoFS−11.14
Women's SPRosenstein (USA)PetrosianSP−5.39
Ice Dance FDDabouis (FRA)Chock/BatesFD−4.64
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FINDING 2: IMPACT ON THE SILVER MEDAL​

The silver-bronze margin was 2.66 points (Metelkina/Berulava 221.75 vs. Hase/Volodin 219.09).Chigogidze's combined differential favoring Metelkina over Hase was approximately 15.05 points across both segments — more than five times the actual gap.

Mitigating Factors​

  1. ISU trimming: Chigogidze's most extreme element marks would have been trimmed as the lowest score. However, on elements where she was tied for lowest (6 of 11), her marks may have survived trimming while still depressing Pavlova's scores.
  2. GER judge (Kimminus) partial offset: The German judge in the FS boosted Hase/Volodin by +3.85 above mean (highest on the FS panel for Hase), partially counterbalancing the GEO judge's suppression.
  3. UZB judge anomaly: J7 (Numanova, Uzbekistan) showed similar FS patterns — scoring Metelkina +4.68 above mean and Hase −3.71 below mean — without an obvious nationalistic motive. This could indicate coaching-group affinity or independent artistic agreement, partially normalizing the GEO judge's direction (though not her magnitude).

Assessment​

The estimated residual post-trimming effect of Chigogidze's bias on the Metelkina−Hase gap is approximately 1.5–3.0 points, which overlaps with and potentially exceeds the 2.66-point margin. However, the GER judge's counterbalancing boost for Hase introduces uncertainty.Conclusion: The silver medal outcome was POSSIBLY but not conclusively changed. The evidence is weaker than the ice dance gold medal finding (where Dabouis's bias clearly exceeded the 1.43-point margin) but stronger than the women's 5th/6th finding.

FINDING 3: OTHER NATIONALISTIC BIASES — ALL INCONSEQUENTIAL​


JudgeNat.Segment(s)Home Team(s)Best Home Rank Dev.Max Score Dev.Changed Result?
Kerstin KIMMINUS🇩🇪FS onlyHase/Volodin, Hocke/Kunkel+1, +2+4.08 (highest on panel for both GER teams)No
Gloria MORANDI🇮🇹FS onlyConti/Macii, Ghilardi/Ambrosini+2, +1+6.46 (Conti/Macii, highest on panel)No
Attila SOÓS🇭🇺SP onlyPavlova/Sviatchenko+2+3.07 (highest on panel)No
Karen HOWARD🇨🇦SP + FSPereira/Michaud, Stellato/Deschamps+1 (SP), +2 (FS)+2.27 (SP, highest on panel)No
Aniela HEBEL-SZMAK🇵🇱SP + FSChtchetinina/Wozniak+2 (FS)+1.77No
Ann FINDLAY🇬🇧FS onlyVaipan-Law/Digby+2+3.52No
Weiguang CHEN🇨🇳SP + FSSui/Han−1 (SP), 0 (FS)−0.50 (SP, below mean)No (neutral)
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The Italian judge's +6.46 deviation for Conti/Macii was the second-largest positive home-team deviation in the FS, but the margins at 6th place were far too large for it to affect standings.

FINDING 4: NOTABLE ANTI-HOME BIAS — JAPANESE JUDGE (SP)​

Ayumi Ono (Japan, SP J6) ranked Miura/Kihara 9th in the SP (final 5th), producing a −4 rank deviation and scoring them 0.85 below panel mean. This occurred partly because Miura/Kihara had a severely penalized 5ALi2 element (base value dropped from 7.00 to 6.20, with −2.30 GOE). Ono gave GOE of −4 on this element — the second-harshest mark on the panel.Ono also gave relatively high marks to non-Japanese teams (Kam/O'Shea +3 rank deviation, Conti/Macii +2). This pattern is consistent with the exemplary neutrality observed from the Japanese judge (Horiuchi) in the women's event and contrasts sharply with the home-boosting patterns of nearly every other judge with a compatriot team.

FINDING 5: USA JUDGE SP ANOMALY — NON-NATIONALISTIC SUPPRESSION​

Peggy Graham (USA, SP J2) produced a −5 rank deviation for Pavlova/Sviatchenko (ranked 9th, final 4th), scoring them 3.09 below panel mean. She was at or tied for the lowest GOE on 4 of 7 elements for Pavlova, and gave the lowest PCS total on the panel.Unlike the GEO judge's pattern, this suppression lacks a clear nationalistic motive — the USA teams (7th, 12th) were not in direct competition with Pavlova for top-4 positions. This appears to reflect a strong individual artistic preference rather than strategic bias.Graham simultaneously boosted Kam/O'Shea (USA) by +2 ranks, but the score deviation was modest (+0.99 above mean).

STRUCTURAL OBSERVATIONS​

A. The GEO Judge in Both Segments​

As in ice dance (where Dabouis's assignment to both segments compounded her bias), Chigogidze's assignment to both segments allowed her bias to accumulate across the full competition.No judge from any other medal-contending nation served in both segments:

Medal-contending nationSP JudgeFS JudgeBoth Segments?
🇬🇪 Georgia (silver)Chigogidze (J5)Chigogidze (J6)YES
🇩🇪 Germany (bronze)NoneKimminus (J3)No
🇭🇺 Hungary (4th)Soós (J7)NoneNo
🇯🇵 Japan (gold)Ono (J6)NoneNo
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This structural asymmetry meant that the Georgian bias could compound across ~18 scored elements and 6 component marks, while the German counterbalancing bias was limited to one segment.

B. Panel Diversity​

The pairs panel was notably diverse in nationality, with no two judges from the same country in either segment. This contrasts positively with the ice dance panel structure. However, the inclusion of judges from both gold and silver medal-contending nations in both segments created the conditions for bias to affect the medal race.

COMPARISON ACROSS ALL THREE DISCIPLINES​


MetricIce Dance (Dabouis)Women's (Rosenstein)Pairs (Chigogidze)
Served in both segmentsYesNoYes
Max single-segment suppression−4.64 pts−5.39 pts−11.14 pts
Elements at/tied lowest for rival7/97/711/11
Home team combined boost+5.76 pts+1.46 pts+5.76 pts
Margin at stake1.43 pts (gold)0.38 pts (5th/6th)2.66 pts (silver)
Demonstrably changed result?YesPossiblePossible
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Chigogidze's bias was the most extreme in absolute magnitude (−11.14 points, 11/11 elements) but targeted a wider margin (2.66 vs. 1.43 for ice dance), making the impact assessment less conclusive.

CONCLUSIONS​

  1. The silver medal was possibly affected. Chigogidze's combined two-segment differential of approximately +15.05 points favoring Metelkina/Berulava over Hase/Volodin, against a 2.66-point actual margin, creates a plausible case that the silver-bronze ordering was influenced. However, the partial offset from the German judge's FS boost for Hase/Volodin introduces sufficient uncertainty that this finding cannot be stated as conclusively as the ice dance gold medal finding.
  2. The gold medal was not at risk. Miura/Kihara's 9.49-point margin over Metelkina/Berulava is far beyond any single judge's influence.
  3. Chigogidze produced the most extreme single-segment deviation in any discipline. Her −11.14 point suppression of Pavlova/Sviatchenko in the FS, achieved by scoring at or tied for the lowest on all 11 elements, is approximately double the worst-case deviations found in ice dance or women's.
  4. Home-country bias was widespread but generally inconsequential. The Italian, German, Hungarian, Canadian, Polish, and British judges all showed measurable positive home-team bias, consistent with the pattern found in ice dance and women's. None of these biases affected final standings.
  5. The Japanese and Chinese judges demonstrated notable neutrality. Ono (Japan) ranked her home team below their final position, and Chen (China) scored Sui/Han at or slightly below the panel mean in both segments — echoing the exemplary Japanese neutrality found in the women's event.

RECOMMENDATIONS​

The findings from all three disciplines collectively support:
  1. Prohibit judges from medal-contending nations from serving in both segments. This structural reform would have mitigated the most consequential biases in both ice dance (Dabouis) and pairs (Chigogidze).
  2. Implement automated anomaly detection. Chigogidze's −11.14 deviation and 11/11 lowest-GOE pattern should trigger an automatic review. No existing ISU monitoring system flagged this in real time.
  3. Consider expanded trimming for PCS. In all three disciplines, PCS deviations were the least subject to trimming and contributed significantly to cumulative bias effects. Expanding the trimming range for component scores would reduce this vulnerability.
  4. Investigate the UZB judge anomaly. Numanova's FS pattern paralleled Chigogidze's direction without an obvious nationalistic explanation. This may indicate coaching-group coordination or pre-arranged scoring, which warrants further inquiry.
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I am so on board with ALL these recommendations. Shame on the Georgian judge for doing this to Pavlova/Svyatchenko and the American/Uzbekistani as well. Thank you for this analysis!
 
sissy7 said:
@Joe Mendoza, I laughed sooo hard! Soós Attila, the Indian figure skating judge:laugh4::laugh4::laugh4: Thanks for this, made my day!!
Click to expand...
It actually includes a note indicating an entry error, not analysis error:

The panel document lists Judge 7 as 🇮🇳 (India), but SkatingScores displays the 🇭🇺 (Hungary) flag in scoring data. Attila Soós is a Hungarian national, likely registered with the Indian federation.
 
I doubt Soos is registered with the Indian federation :). The intelligence just confused their flags, I suspect :)

Also, if we are going to be serious about recommendations : why not simply not allow judges who have been suspended previously from returning to Olympics judging ? Salomé wouldn't be a factor here if the ISU simply didn't allow formerly suspended judges to serve at worlds/olympics.
 
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