The controversy over the pairs competition has the reputation of Olympic figure skating in a death spiral. That’s sort of like an upside down triple lutz with a double toe loop, only different. After the gold medal went to the Russians and not the Canadians the crowd, along with much of the international skating committee, cried foul. Now with allegations of illegal vote trading swirling in Salt Lake City, once again, figure skating finds itself with high marks for controversy.
People have long argued that figure skating is more spectacle than sport; more about costumes, music, mood, sex and sometimes politics, than about athletic competition. And, that maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t even belong in the Olympics. Aesthetics on ice, sport, and subjectivity.
Guests:
Suzanne Blake, sports reporter for the CBC
Sally Jenkins, columnist for the Washington Post
and Allan Guttmann, sports historian at Amherst College.