- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Herma Szabo: The judging scandal that forced the ISU to change its rules!
The more things change the more they stay the same.
There is an interesting one-page feature in the latest issue of International Figure Skating about the legendary Austrian skater Herma Szabo, the first ladies’ Olympic champion (1924).
In 1927 Szabo was the five-time and defending World Champion. At Worlds that year she was upset by 14-year-old phenom Sonia Henie in a controversial vote of three to two. There were three Norwegian judges on the panel, all of whom voted for Henie. The other two judges were from Germany and Austria, and they voted for Szabo.
Quite naturally this caused a big hullabaloo. Amid charges of bias and collusion among the Norwegian judges, the ISU was forced to calm the clamor by passing the “only one judge per country” rule.
Thenceforth, collusion among judges was forced to go international.
BTW, Szabo was also the first lady to skate in a short skirt cut above the knee (at 1923 Worlds). To add insult to injury, Henie was given credit for that fashion innovation, too.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
There is an interesting one-page feature in the latest issue of International Figure Skating about the legendary Austrian skater Herma Szabo, the first ladies’ Olympic champion (1924).
In 1927 Szabo was the five-time and defending World Champion. At Worlds that year she was upset by 14-year-old phenom Sonia Henie in a controversial vote of three to two. There were three Norwegian judges on the panel, all of whom voted for Henie. The other two judges were from Germany and Austria, and they voted for Szabo.
Quite naturally this caused a big hullabaloo. Amid charges of bias and collusion among the Norwegian judges, the ISU was forced to calm the clamor by passing the “only one judge per country” rule.
Thenceforth, collusion among judges was forced to go international.
BTW, Szabo was also the first lady to skate in a short skirt cut above the knee (at 1923 Worlds). To add insult to injury, Henie was given credit for that fashion innovation, too.