SILVER TURNS GOLD FOR CANADIANS SKATERS TO SHARE TOP PRIZE IN PAIRS WITH RUSSIAN DUO.

Byline: Paul Oberjuerge Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY - Jamie Sale and David Pelletier will have their golden moment, after all.

Owning up to the greatest judging scandal in Olympics history, the International Skating Union recommended, and the International Olympic Committee approved, a decision Friday to award the Canadian duo a second set of gold medals from pairs figure skating at the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Games.

Skating Union President Ottavio Cinquanta said French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne admitted under his questioning to ``misconduct'' in ranking the Russian pair of Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze ahead of the Canadians during the pairs free skate Monday.

``She acted in a way that was not adequate to guarantee both pairs equal conditions,'' Cinquanta said. ``We have declared misconduct. The investigation is not concluded, but we have got enough evidence to take the first decision.''

Said Pelletier: ``Case closed for us; case not closed for skating.''

Cinquanta said the Skating Union plans formally to award Sale and Pelletier their gold medals in a special ceremony before Thursday's women's free skate.

The Russian pair will not be asked to surrender their gold medals. They were controversial winners Monday night in a 5-4 vote by a judging panel selected by the Skating Union. Their slim majority included Le Gougne's vote.

Public reaction in the United States and Canada to the outcome was swift and overwhelmingly negative, and rumors questioning the judges' decision swirled almost immediately inside the skating world.

By Tuesday, scrutiny was fixed on the French judge, and on Wednesday the president of the French federation conceded that Le Gougne acted improperly.

Sale and Pelletier, meanwhile, became overnight celebrities. They did 13 hours of television interviews Tuesday, their agent said.

Cinquanta said Le Gougne has been suspended from judging indefinitely.

Cinquanta indicated Le Gougne ``submitted to a certain pressure'' from sources he did not identify. He also declined to speculate on possible motive in the matter, and maintained that there was no evidence of Russian involvement.

Le Gougne's name was the only one mentioned. Cinquanta said the four other judges who voted for the Russians were not under suspicion, saying ``it was a very tough competition. ... The point is the conduct of one judge.'' IOC President Jacques Rogge pressured the Skating Union to act ahead of Monday's regularly scheduled meeting after the incident threatened to eclipse the XXIXth Winter Games.

Rogge denied that the Olympics have suffered a loss of credibility.

``I don't think this has created damage to the Olympic movement because it was resolved fast, in the best possible way, taking in interest of the athletes and the interests of the sport,'' Rogge said.

He also suggested that the scandal is more an issue for the Skating Union than the IOC.

``I don't see how the IOC could have been embarrassed,'' Rogge said. ``This was a matter that was in the hands and under the responsibility of an international federation. ... So absolutely no embarrassment.''

The Canadian delegation was ecstatic with the outcome, a decision that came with unprecedented swiftness in Olympic history. Canada dropped its plan to meet with an international sports arbitrator later Friday.

``This is a great day ... for sport and in particular for fair play and equity at the Olympic Games,'' said Michael Chambers, president of the Canadian Olympic Association. ``Frankly, we climbed a mountain here and, lo and behold, we reached the top.''

The skaters were happy the truth finally came out.

``The truth comes out,'' said Sale, who enumerated a list of people she wished to thank before concluding, ``and most importantly the fans and all the people across the world that have supported us from Monday and been on our side.''

Cinquanta said the Skating Union was sensitive to public outcry on the issue.

``I must say that public opinion helped a great deal, and I think that's a very positive thing,'' he said. ``The public has helped us move quickly.''

Valentin Piseyev, head of Russia's figure skating association, suggested that the Skating Union capitulated.

``This is an unprecedented decision that turned out to be a result of pressure by the North American press, and turned out in favor of the fanatically loyal (North American) fans,'' Piseyev said.

Demonstrating the reach the pairs skate decision attained in recent days, President George W. Bush issued a statement Friday declaring, ``I do think it's the right thing to award two gold medals for the skaters, the Canadian skaters.''

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matviyenko said she was upset that the scandal has taken the luster off her country's victory, its 11th consecutive in the event going back to 1964.

Still at issue is the broader topic of judging in skating, infamous for its inscrutability over recent decades. Cinquanta said he intends to put forward a proposal to the Skating Union to improve the system.

``For the future of our sport, this has to be (solved),'' Sale said.

Awarding two gold medals in one event is not unprecedented; this is the fourth such occasion in Olympic history.

``We hope it doesn't happen again,'' Rogge said.

The most recent double-gold incident came out of the 1992 Olympics, when a judge of synchronized swimming incorrectly entered a score for Canada's Sylvie Frechette, allowing Kristen Babb-Sprague to win the event. A year later, Frechette also was awarded a gold medal.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Three previous examples of duplicate medals being awarded:

--1924: Anders Haugen, a U.S. ski jumper, was placed fourth at the first Winter Games in Chamonix. Almost 50 years later, a historian checking records determined that Haugen's distance had been miscalculated and that he should have finished third. Haugen was awarded the bronze medal at a special ceremony in Oslo, when he was 83.

--1984: Third place in the 100-meter hurdles initially was declared a dead heat between American Kim Turner and France's Michele Chardonnet, but officials then decided Turner was ahead at the finish. After the IOC again reviewed tapes of the finish, the French sprinter received a bronze of her own 3 1/2 months after the games.

--1992: After the games, the IOC awarded a gold in synchronized swimming to Canada's Sylvie Frechette because of a judging error. A judge had meant to give Frechette a score of 9.7, but accidentally typed in 8.7. American Kristen Babb-Sprague also got to keep her gold.

Other examples of Olympic medals that were awarded later:

--1912: American Jim Thorpe was stripped of his decathlon and pentathlon golds a year after the Olympics because he had played professional baseball. The medals were returned to his family in 1983.

--1952: Sweden's Ingemar Johansson was disqualified ``for not fighting his best'' in the final super heavyweight bout and denied his silver medal. Johansson finally got his silver 29 years later.

--1964: Pairs skaters Marika Kilius and Hans-Jurgen Baumler of Germany returned their silver medals two years after the Innsbruck Games following allegations that they signed professional contracts before the start. The IOC returned their medals in 1987.

--1968: Featherweight Albert Robertson of the United States was disqualified from the title bout at Mexico City for a low blow. The IOC gave him the silver medal after the games.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

(color) Canadian skaters David Pelletier and Jamie Sale show their pleasure after the decision that awarded the duo gold medals.

Roberto Borea/Associated Press

Box:

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF (see text)