2002 Olympic Winter Games Figure Skating Scandal - Post-Olympics Aftermath

Post-Olympics Aftermath

On April 30, 2002, Le Gougne and Gailhaguet were suspended by the ISU for three years and barred from the 2006 Winter Olympics for their roles in the scandal. Although at least one eye-witness to Le Gougne's outburst in the hotel lobby reported that she had specifically confessed to a deal with the Russians, Cinquanta claimed there was no evidence that the Russians were involved in the incident, and so the ISU never made any serious investigation of the alleged involvement.

On July 31, 2002, Russian organized crime boss Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov was arrested by Italian authorities in Venice on U.S. charges that he masterminded the fix. He was released from Italian police custody without being charged, amidst attempts to have him extradited to the U.S. in 2002-2003.

In addition to disciplining Le Gougne and Gailhaguet, in 2002 the ISU adopted a policy of "secret judging", in which judges' marks are posted anonymously, as part of the new ISU Judging System for figure skating. While the ISU has claimed this secrecy frees judges from pressure from their federations, critics have pointed out that instead of preventing judges from cheating, secrecy only prevents the public and media from being able to identify cheating.

In March 2003, a group of skating officials who were unhappy with the ISU's leadership and handling of the crisis in the sport announced the formation of the World Skating Federation, in an attempt to take control of competitive figure skating away from the ISU. This attempt to set up a new federation failed, and several of the persons involved with its formation were subsequently banished from the sport by the ISU and/or their national federations. These officials included Ron Pfenning, the referee of the pairs competition at the Salt Lake City Olympics, Sally Stapleford, Jon Jackson, and other witnesses to Le Gougne's outburst.