Figure_skating_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics_–_Ladies'_singles

Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles

Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles

2014 Olympic figure skating event

Quick Facts Ladies' singles at the XXII Olympic Winter Games, Venue ...

The ladies' single skating competition of the 2014 Winter Olympics was held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia. The short program took place on 19 February 2014, and the free skating took place on 20 February.[1] Adelina Sotnikova of Russia won the gold medal, generating much controversy over the partiality of the judges and the new scoring system.

Result and subsequent debate

With an overall score of 224.59 points, seventeen-year-old Adelina Sotnikova became one of the youngest figure-skating Olympic champions, edging out silver-medalist and defending-champion Yuna Kim and bronze-medalist Carolina Kostner.[2]

After the short program, Kim was in first place, .28 points ahead of Sotnikova.[2] In the free-skate program, Sotnikova performed, in terms of base points, a more challenging routine than Kim, giving her more opportunities for points.[2][3][4] In addition to more triple jumps and more difficult footwork (as determined by the caller), Sotnikova performed a double Axel-triple toe loop, challenging combination that Kim did not attempt.[3][4][5] However, Sotnikova's routine also featured a relatively significant error—she stepped out of a jumping combination— while Kim's program was executed without any glaring missteps.[6][7] The judges assessed Kim's free-skate program as having demonstrated greater artistry; her component score was .09 points higher than Sotnikova's.[2] But Sotnikova's base technical score (a measurement of the difficulty of executed moves) was 3.94 points higher than Kim's, and her grade of execution score (based on the average technical evaluation of each element, examining whether the proper edge was used, the speed carried into and out of a jump, jump positioning, and more) was scored 1.91 points higher.[2]

The result sparked a debate over the judges' objectivity,[8][9] spurred in part by the composition of the judging panel, which included judges from four former Soviet bloc nations, including Russia.[10][11] The Russian judge, Alla Shekhovtsova, was one of several people Sotnikova embraced prior to the flower ceremony.[12][13][6] Over 1.7 million people signed a Change.org petition calling for an investigation into the outcome.[14] That petition attracted a million signatures faster than any previous Change.org petition; at one point, it was attracting 100,000 new signatures every 15 minutes, with 90% of signatures coming from inside Korea.[14][9]

Several commentators attributed the result to the revised scoring system that had been adopted in 2006, a system generally thought to "favor mathematics at the expense of artistry":[13][2][9] Alice Park, writing for Time, suggested that, contrary to popular belief, Sotnikova's surprising win was a consequence of objectivity rather than subjectivity: specifically, she argued, the redesigned scoring system heavily rewarded technical difficulty, giving a substantial advantage to those with more challenging starting programs, while de-emphasizing the judge's impression of performers.[4] Bryan Armen Graham, writing for The Atlantic, contended that the polarized reaction to the result was due to a generational gap brought about by the changed scoring system, saying, "Those who came up watching figure skating under the old 6.0 system are probably accustomed to more leeway in the judging."[7] Some in the skating community also seemed to take this view:[9] While noting that she "personally enjoyed Yuna Kim's performance more," Michelle Kwan, two-time Olympic medalist and five-time World champion, stated, "Under the scoring system, hands down, Adelina won."[15] Four-time men's champion Kurt Browning said that "Yuna Kim outskated [Sotnikova], but it's not just a skating competition anymore—it's math."[16] And Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion, said that, while Sotnikova's skating was not as aesthetically pleasing as Kim's, her athletic style "check[ed] off every box" and "d[id] everything the judges are looking for."[13]

Beyond the scoring system, the results seemed to divide former professional skaters: Katarina Witt, a two-time Olympic champion, said, "I am stunned by this result, I don't understand the scoring."[17][18] Two-time bronze medalist Michael Weiss attributed Sotnikova's scores to "home-field inflation."[19] But three-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko said that the result "was totally fair," as "Kim didn't have enough technical ammunition."[13] And Alexei Mishin, the Russian 1969 world medalist and coach to three Olympic champions, said that "Sotnikova's victory [was] absolutely natural and objective," and claimed that "some are [simply] jealous of Sotnikova's success."[20]

Official responses

On 21 February 2014, the International Skating Union (ISU) issued a statement which asserted all rules and procedures were applied during the competition and declared confidence "in the high quality and integrity of the ISU judging system", noting "judges were selected by random drawing from a pool of 13 potential judges" and that all nine judges on the free skating panel were from different nations.[21]

On 10 April, the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and the Korean Skating Union (KSU) filed an official complaint with the ISU Disciplinary Commission (DC) concerning judging. The complaint was regarding "the wrongful constitution of the panel of judges and the unjust outcome of the competition". It requested that the DC conduct a thorough investigation, "take appropriate disciplinary actions against the concerned individuals", and institute corrective actions. On 14 April, the DC ruled the complaint inadmissible because a general request for investigation is not within DC's jurisdiction and the complaint was not addressed at an individual or federation as required.[22][12][23]

On 30 April, the KOC and KSU filed a second official complaint with the DC. This time the complaint was against Russian judge Alla Shekhovtsova and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSFR), specifically citing a hug Shekhovtsova shared with Sotnikova and Shekhovtsova's marriage to the current Director General of the FSFR. On 30 May, the DC dismissed the complaint. It ruled Shekhovtsova "is not responsible for the judging panel's composition", her marriage did not create a conflict of interest, and, since Sotnikova initiated the hug, Shekhovtsova did not break any rules by responding.[22][12][23]

Records

For complete list of figure skating records, see list of highest scores in figure skating.

The following ISU season best scores (2013–2014) were set during this competition:

More information Component, Skaters ...

Schedule

All dates and times are (UTC+4).

More information Date, Time ...

Results

Short program

The short program (SP) took place on 19 February 2014.[27]

More information Pl., Name ...
  • TSS - Total Segment Score; TES - Technical Element Score; PCS - Program Component Score; SS - Skating Skills;  TR - Transitions;  PE - Performance/Execution
  • CH - Choreography; IN - Interpretation; Ded - Deduction; StN - Starting Number

Free skating

The Free skating took place on 20 February 2014.[28]

More information Pl., Name ...
  • TSS - Total Segment Score; TES - Technical Element Score; PCS - Program Component Score; SS - Skating Skills;  TR - Transitions;  PE - Performance/Execution
  • CH - Choreography; IN - Interpretation; Ded - Deduction; StN - Starting Number
  • Skaters perform in groups of six. After the first two groups (12 skaters), the rink is re-iced.

Overall

The skaters are ranked according to their overall score.[29]

More information Rank, Name ...

Judges and officials

Short Program judges[30]

Judge 1: United States Robert Rosenbluth
Judge 2: Canada Karen Howard
Judge 3: Italy Franco Benini
Judge 4: Germany Birgit Föll
Judge 5: United Kingdom Diana Stevens
Judge 6: Japan Nobuhiko Yoshioka
Judge 7: Sweden Katarina Henriksson
Judge 8: Slovakia Adriana Domanska
Judge 9: South Korea Koh Sung-Hee

Free Skating judges[31]

Judge 1: Germany Birgit Föll
Judge 2: Ukraine Yuri Balkov
Judge 3: Italy Franco Benini
Judge 4: Estonia Zanna Kulik
Judge 5: Japan Nobuhiko Yoshioka
Judge 6: Russia Alla Shekhovtsova
Judge 7: France Hélène Cucuphat
Judge 8: Canada Karen Howard
Judge 9: Slovakia Adriana Domanska

  • Technical controller: Russia Alexander Lakernik
  • Technical specialist: France Vanessa Gusmeroli
  • Assistant technical specialist: Finland Olga Baranova
  • Referee: Switzerland Diana Barbacci Levy
  • Data operator: United States David Santee
  • Replay operator: Russia Alexander Kuznetsov

References

  1. [1]
    "Figure Skating Schedule and Results". Sochi 2014. SOOC. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  2. [2]
    Sappenfield, Mark (February 20, 2014). "Figure skating judging: How did Adelina Sotnikova beat Kim Yu-na?". Christian Science Monitor.
  3. [3]
    Leib, Adam (February 20, 2014). "How Sotnikova Beat Kim, Move by Move". New York Times.
  4. [4]
    Park, Alice (February 21, 2014). "An Olympic First: The Judges Got It Right in Figure Skating". Time.
  5. [5]
    Cazeneuve, Brian (February 20, 2014). "Surprise winner Sotnikova rode the home crowd to gold". Sports Illustrated.
  6. [6]
    Abad-Santos, Alexander (February 21, 2014). "Why People Think Adelina Sotnikova's Figure Skating Gold Medal Was Rigged". The Atlantic.
  7. [7]
    Bryan Armen Graham (February 22, 2014). "The Sad, Perfect End of Kim Yuna's Figure-Skating Reign". The Atlantic.
  8. [8]
    "Adelina Sotnikova won't defend Olympic figure skating gold medal in Pyeongchang". ESPN. Associated Press.
  9. [9]
    Mari-Jo Borzilleri (February 21, 2014). "Olympic Figure Skating Controversy: Judging System Is Most to Blame for Uproar". Bleacher Report.
  10. [10]
    Christine Brennan (February 21, 2014). "Brennan: Official says judges slanted toward Adelina Sotnikova" (HTML). USA Today.
  11. [11]
    Pilon, Mary (20 February 2014). "Who Were the Figure Skating Judges?". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  12. [12]
    Zaccardi, Nick (5 June 2014). "Olympic figure skating judging complaints rejected by ISU". NBC Sports. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  13. [13]
    Longman, Jeré (February 20, 2014). "Russian Is Surprise Winner in Women's Figure Skating". New York Times.
  14. [14]
    Amy Hubbard (February 21, 2014). "Record-breaking petition seeks probe into Sochi figure-skating win" (HTML). Los Angeles Times.
  15. [15]
    Schrager, Peter (21 February 2014). "Schrager: Judging controversy no surprise in figure skating". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  16. [16]
    Macur, Juliet (February 20, 2014). "Adelina Sotnikova's Upset Victory Is Hard to Figure". New York Times.
  17. [17]
    Sarkar, Pritha (20 February 2014). "Sotnikova's win raises judging questions". Reuters. Sochi, Russia. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  18. [18]
    "Judges on thin ice after controversial Russian win". The Irish Times. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  19. [19]
    Hendricks, Maggie (February 20, 2014). "Reaction to Adelina Sotnikova's gold medal win over Carolina Kostner and Yuna Kim". USA Today.
  20. [20]
    Ivanov, Vladimir (21 February 2014). Алексей Мишин: "Некоторые слишком ревностно отнеслись к победам Сотниковой" [Alexei Mishin: "Some reacted too jealously to Sotnikova's victory"]. sport-express.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  21. [21]
    "ISU Statement on the ISU Judging System". International Skating Union. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  22. [22]
    "Case No. 2014-03 – Decision of the ISU Disciplinary Commission" Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine. International Skating Union. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  23. [23]
    Kim, Narae (5 June 2014). "South Korea slip up in Sochi figure skating complaint". Reuters. Seoul. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  24. [24]
    "ISU Judging System - Season Bests Short Program Scores 2013/2014, Ladies". ISU Results. International Skating Union. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  25. [25]
    "ISU Judging System - Season Bests Free Skating Scores 2013/2014, Ladies". ISU Results. International Skating Union. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  26. [26]
    "ISU Judging System - Season Bests Total Scores 2013/2014, Ladies". ISU Results. International Skating Union. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  27. [27]
    "Olympic Winter Games 2014 Ladies Short Program Scores" (PDF). ISU Results. International Skating Union. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  28. [28]
    "Olympic Winter Games 2014 Ladies Free Skating Scores" (PDF). ISU Results. International Skating Union. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  29. [29]
    "Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014, Ladies Result". ISU Results. International Skating Union. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  30. [30]
    Pilon, Mary. "Panel of Judges". ISU.org. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  31. [31]
    Pilon, Mary (20 February 2014). "Who Were the Figure Skating Judges?". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
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