McCallion
Quest

All that glitters doesn't necessarily have to be Gold

By: Kevin Heenan

Very seldom in life do we ever get a second chance, and there are many in this world who never get a first chance in their lives for that matter. However, there are those who do get a second chance, and in doing so, end up realizing the goal they we're striving for on their first effort. A good example of such a scenario is the recent events that plagued Jamie Sale and David Pelletier at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. After finishing 2^nd to the Russian pair of Bereznaia and Sikharulidze, an investigation was launched against the judging, as it was evident in the eyes of everyone from the fans watching to Jamie and David's Russian opponents, that an obvious mistake had been made.

Through the investigation, it was found that the French judge had purposely given the Russians higher marks regardless of their performance, and subsequently, the Canadian pair of Sale and Pelletier were awarded their Gold medals. And yet, despite how proud we were to see our Canadian athletes receive their much deserved medals, there is somewhat of a dark cloud hanging over their belated reward. You see in life, there are a very select few who may have been better off in the long run had they not been given a second chance. Though it saddens us to think it, our beloved Canadian figure skating pair of Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, may have inadvertently fallen into that category.

Though the nation's spirit was greatly lifted by what many claimed was a long overdue, justly deserved victory, many of us can't help but ask ourselves, what did the whole event and media frenzy really prove? Sure, they may have been awarded the gold, but lest we forget, they do share it with another excellent skating pair. Let's be honest, the investigation into the judging was not intended to, and nor did it ever conclusively prove which couple skated the best. Thus, the Olympic governing body might as well have declared no winner, because, when it was all said and done, there were two gold medals awarded. And who are we to question the Russians as the winners, regardless of the French judges marks? She was not the only judge that awarded higher marks to the Russians over the Canadians. Did no one think to mention that the Canadian judge awarded the Canadian pair with two marks of 5.9 in the long program? Those marks could very well be deemed bias by anyone who watched the skating event. In my opinion, the Canadians would have been better off not vying for the gold. Instead, they should have accepted the silver and should have focused their attention on the upcoming World Championships. Here, they would have had a more opportune moment to prove that they were indeed the best.

Secondly, the media frenzy created by the scandal and the subsequent interviews and public appearences have prevented the duo of Sale and Pelletier from continuing their established routine of practicing and participating in events. In fact, they lost so much valuable time because of their media exposure that they chose not to attend the World Championships this year. Had they focused on accepting the decision, they could have returned to their practice routine and could have then concentrated on capturing first at the World Championships.

The story itself also has damaged the psyche of other notable Canadian olympians. Excessive media coverage of Sale and Pelletier's claim for gold effectively prevented the other sports and Canadian athletes from getting the exposure and praise that they deserve. Because every article and news story was centered around the figure skating scandal, Canadians like Marc Gagnon and Catriona LeMay Doan (gold medal winners) went practically unnoticed towards the end of Salt Lake City 2002 . Without the so called scandal, some of our athletes, who worked just as hard to get where they are ,would have gotten their due time to celebrate on the international stage.

Getting the Gold medal after being denied it at first, was not necessarily the best thing for Sale and Pelletier, no matter how proud it made everyone back home. Had they not been given that second chance, perhaps more positive things could have been accomplished. But because of that second chance, their dream of a being the best in the world will have to wait. In the end, some athletes that missed their moment of glory this Olympics, now may be denied that rare second chance to relive it. As the old saying goes...sometimes in every dark cloud there is a silver lining. The trouble was, they should have kept the "silver" lining instead of going for gold.