Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles explained

Event:Ladies' singles
Games:2014 Winter
Venue:Iceberg Skating Palace
Sochi, Russia
Dates:19 February 2014 (short program)
20 February 2014 (free skating)
Competitors:30
Nations:20
Win Value:224.59
Win Label:Winning score
Gold:Adelina Sotnikova
Goldnoc:RUS
Silver:Yuna Kim
Silvernoc:KOR
Bronze:Carolina Kostner
Bronzenoc:ITA
Prev:2010
Next:2018

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. 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:

Component Skaters Score Date Ref
Short program74.9219 February 2014[24]
Free skating149.9520 February 2014[25]
Total score224.59[26]

Schedule

All dates and times are (UTC+4).

DateTimeRound
19 February 2014 19:00 Short program
20 February 2014 19:00 Free skating

Results

Short program

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

Pl.NameNation
1align=left Yuna Kimalign=left 74.9239.0335.899.048.619.118.899.210.0017
2align=left Adelina Sotnikovaalign=left 74.6439.0935.558.828.579.118.899.040.0029
3align=left Carolina Kostneralign=left 74.1237.4936.639.008.799.369.259.390.0026
4align=left Gracie Goldalign=left 68.6336.5532.088.047.718.148.048.180.0022
5align=left Yulia Lipnitskayaalign=left 65.2333.1533.088.438.078.148.438.29–1.0025
6align=left Ashley Wagneralign=left 65.2131.4333.788.398.118.618.508.610.0027
7align=left Polina Edmundsalign=left 61.0432.9828.067.116.717.216.937.110.0012
8align=left Akiko Suzukialign=left 60.9728.7132.268.187.798.008.118.250.0024
9align=left Maé-Bérénice Méitéalign=left 58.6330.8327.807.076.647.046.937.070.0028
10align=left Nathalie Weinzierlalign=left 57.6331.9425.696.506.146.576.366.540.0018
11align=left Li Zijunalign=left 57.5530.0127.547.076.576.966.896.930.0023
12align=left Valentina Marcheialign=left 57.0227.5229.507.327.047.547.367.610.0021
13align=left Kaetlyn Osmondalign=left 56.1827.5128.677.186.967.187.147.390.008
14align=left Zhang Kexinalign=left 55.8032.6823.126.115.615.795.755.640.007
15align=left Kanako Murakamialign=left 55.6026.7228.887.396.937.257.217.320.0020
16align=left Mao Asadaalign=left 55.5122.6333.888.578.298.148.648.71–1.0030
17align=left Elene Gedevanishvilialign=left 54.7027.5127.196.896.506.896.717.000.0016
18align=left Kim Hae-jinalign=left 54.3729.2325.146.545.896.396.116.500.0011
19align=left Gabrielle Dalemanalign=left 52.6128.0724.546.325.936.116.146.180.003
20align=left Elizaveta Ukolovaalign=left 51.8729.7222.155.645.325.615.615.500.0014
21align=left Nicole Rajičováalign=left 49.8026.6323.175.895.505.935.795.860.0013
22align=left Brooklee Hanalign=left 49.3226.3722.955.825.545.865.685.790.009
23align=left Park So-younalign=left 49.1425.3523.796.145.686.005.896.040.002
24align=left Anne Line Gjersemalign=left 48.5626.1322.435.685.365.715.505.790.0015
Did not advance to free skating
25align=left Jenna McCorkellalign=left 48.3425.3423.005.895.366.045.715.750.005
26align=left Kerstin Frankalign=left 48.0026.6421.365.615.145.395.395.180.006
27align=left Viktoria Helgessonalign=left 47.8421.8327.017.116.576.506.826.75–1.0019
28align=left Natalia Popovaalign=left 47.4224.3023.126.005.545.825.825.710.004
29align=left Jelena Glebovaalign=left 46.1922.5923.606.115.755.895.895.860.001
30align=left Isadora Williamsalign=left 40.3718.9321.445.395.145.395.395.500.0010

Free skating

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

Pl.NameNation
1align=left Adelina Sotnikovaalign=left Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso-->149.9575.5474.419.188.969.439.509.430.0021
2align=left Yuna Kimalign=left Adios Nonino - Astor Piazzolla-->144.1969.6974.509.218.969.439.399.570.0024
3align=left Mao Asadaalign=left 142.7173.0369.688.758.368.798.798.860.0012
4align=left Carolina Kostneralign=left Bolero - Maurice Ravel-->142.6168.8473.779.148.719.439.219.610.0020
5align=left Gracie Goldalign=left The Sleeping Beauty - P. Tchaikovsk-->136.9069.5768.338.578.258.618.648.64–1.0022
6align=left Yulia Lipnitskayaalign=left Schindler's List - John Williams-->135.3466.2870.068.688.468.689.008.96–1.0019
7align=left Ashley Wagneralign=left Samson and Delilah - C. Saint-Saens-->127.9961.0766.928.468.078.508.368.430.0023
8align=left Akiko Suzukialign=left 125.3560.5765.788.367.828.218.298.43–1.0015
9align=left Polina Edmundsalign=left 122.2163.0260.197.547.297.577.617.61–1.0017
10align=left Valentina Marcheialign=left 116.3155.5660.757.467.187.757.717.860.0016
11align=left Maé-Bérénice Méitéalign=left Europe, We Will Rock You, La Grange-->115.9060.8656.047.116.577.147.077.14–1.0014
12align=left Kanako Murakamialign=left 115.3856.9658.427.546.937.367.327.360.0010
13align=left Kaetlyn Osmondalign=left Cleopatre - Philippe Chany-->112.8055.9757.837.256.967.327.257.36–1.007
14align=left Li Zijunalign=left 110.7555.7954.967.046.576.826.966.960.0013
15align=left Zhang Kexinalign=left 98.4149.8448.576.435.716.116.145.960.0011
16align=left Gabrielle Dalemanalign=left 95.8348.4047.436.115.755.826.005.960.003
17align=left Kim Hae-jinalign=left 95.1145.2550.866.616.076.296.506.32–1.009
18align=left Brooklee Hanalign=left 94.5248.7146.816.005.435.965.866.00–1.002
19align=left Park So-younalign=left 93.8348.7246.116.045.505.825.755.71–1.001
20align=left Elene Gedevanishvilialign=left 92.4539.8553.606.936.326.756.756.75–1.008
21align=left Nathalie Weinzierlalign=left Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin-->89.7338.4752.266.716.396.466.646.46–1.0018
22align=left Anne Line Gjersemalign=left 85.9841.2444.745.645.325.615.715.680.005
23align=left Elizaveta Ukolovaalign=left 84.5542.9443.615.615.295.295.685.39–2.004
24align=left Nicole Rajičováalign=left 75.2030.3945.815.825.545.505.895.89–1.006

Overall

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

RankNameNation
align=left Adelina Sotnikovaalign=left 224.59274.641149.95
align=left Yuna Kimalign=left 219.11174.922144.19
align=left Carolina Kostneralign=left 216.73374.124142.61
align=left Gracie Goldalign=left 205.53468.635136.90
align=left Yulia Lipnitskayaalign=left 200.57565.236135.34
align=left Mao Asadaalign=left 198.221655.513142.71
align=left Ashley Wagneralign=left 193.20665.217127.99
align=left Akiko Suzukialign=left 186.32860.978125.35
align=left Polina Edmundsalign=left 183.25761.049122.21
10align=left Maé-Bérénice Méitéalign=left 174.53958.6311115.90
11align=left Valentina Marcheialign=left 173.331257.0210116.31
12align=left Kanako Murakamialign=left 170.981555.6012115.38
13align=left Kaetlyn Osmondalign=left 168.981356.1813112.80
14align=left Li Zijunalign=left 168.301157.5514110.75
15align=left Zhang Kexinalign=left 154.211455.801598.41
16align=left Kim Hae-jinalign=left 149.481854.371795.11
17align=left Gabrielle Dalemanalign=left 148.441952.611695.83
18align=left Nathalie Weinzierlalign=left 147.361057.632189.73
19align=left Elene Gedevanishvilialign=left 147.151754.702092.45
20align=left Brooklee Hanalign=left 143.842249.321894.52
21align=left Park So-younalign=left 142.972349.141993.83
22align=left Elizaveta Ukolovaalign=left 136.422051.872384.55
23align=left Anne Line Gjersemalign=left 134.542448.562285.98
24Nicole Rajičová125.002149.802475.20
Did not advance to free skating
25align=left Jenna McCorkellalign=left 48.342548.34colspan=2
26align=left Kerstin Frankalign=left 48.002648.00colspan=2
27align=left Viktoria Helgessonalign=left 47.842747.84colspan=2
28align=left Natalia Popovaalign=left 47.422847.42colspan=2
29align=left Jelena Glebovaalign=left 46.192946.19colspan=2
30align=left Isadora Williamsalign=left 40.373040.37

Judges and officials

Short Program judges[30]

Judge 1: Robert Rosenbluth
Judge 2: Karen Howard
Judge 3: Franco Benini
Judge 4: Birgit Föll
Judge 5: Diana Stevens
Judge 6: Nobuhiko Yoshioka
Judge 7: Katarina Henriksson
Judge 8: Adriana Domanska
Judge 9: Koh Sung-Hee

Free Skating judges[31]

Judge 1: Birgit Föll
Judge 2: Yuri Balkov
Judge 3: Franco Benini
Judge 4: Zanna Kulik
Judge 5: Nobuhiko Yoshioka
Judge 6: Alla Shekhovtsova
Judge 7: Hélène Cucuphat
Judge 8: Karen Howard
Judge 9: Adriana Domanska

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Figure Skating Schedule and Results . Sochi 2014 . . 11 January 2014 . 10 April 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140410171342/http://www.sochi2014.com/en/figure-skating-schedule-and-results . dead .
  2. Web site: Figure skating judging: How did Adelina Sotnikova beat Kim Yu-na?. Christian Science Monitor. Mark. Sappenfield. February 20, 2014.
  3. Web site: How Sotnikova Beat Kim, Move by Move. Adam. Leib. New York Times. February 20, 2014.
  4. Web site: An Olympic First: The Judges Got It Right in Figure Skating. Alice. Park. February 21, 2014. Time.
  5. Web site: Surprise winner Sotnikova rode the home crowd to gold. Sports Illustrated. Brian. Cazeneuve. February 20, 2014.
  6. Web site: The Atlantic. Why People Think Adelina Sotnikova's Figure Skating Gold Medal Was Rigged. Alexander. Abad-Santos. February 21, 2014.
  7. Web site: Bryan Armen Graham. The Atlantic. The Sad, Perfect End of Kim Yuna's Figure-Skating Reign. February 22, 2014.
  8. Web site: ESPN. Adelina Sotnikova won't defend Olympic figure skating gold medal in Pyeongchang. Associated Press.
  9. Web site: Bleacher Report. Olympic Figure Skating Controversy: Judging System Is Most to Blame for Uproar. Mari-Jo Borzilleri. February 21, 2014.
  10. Web site: Brennan: Official says judges slanted toward Adelina Sotnikova. USA Today. Christine Brennan. HTML. English. February 21, 2014.
  11. News: Pilon . Mary . Who Were the Figure Skating Judges? . The New York Times . 20 February 2014 . 21 February 2014.
  12. News: Zaccardi . Nick . 5 June 2014 . Olympic figure skating judging complaints rejected by ISU . . 6 June 2014.
  13. Web site: New York Times. Jeré. Longman. Russian Is Surprise Winner in Women's Figure Skating. February 20, 2014.
  14. Web site: Los Angeles Times. Record-breaking petition seeks probe into Sochi figure-skating win. Amy Hubbard. February 21, 2014. HTML. English.
  15. Web site: Schrager: Judging controversy no surprise in figure skating . FOX Sports . Peter . Schrager . 21 February 2014 . 25 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150105200430/https://www.foxsports.com/olympics/story/judging-controversy-no-surprise-in-figure-skating-022114 . 5 January 2015.
  16. Web site: Adelina Sotnikova's Upset Victory Is Hard to Figure. New York Times. Juliet. Macur. February 20, 2014.
  17. News: Sarkar . Pritha . 20 February 2014 . Sotnikova's win raises judging questions . Reuters . Sochi, Russia . 24 March 2014.
  18. News: . 20 February 2014 . Judges on thin ice after controversial Russian win . . 18 May 2014.
  19. Web site: USA Today. Reaction to Adelina Sotnikova's gold medal win over Carolina Kostner and Yuna Kim. Maggie. Hendricks. February 20, 2014.
  20. News: http://www.sport-express.ru/olympic14/figureskating/news/672488/. Ivanov. Vladimir. 21 February 2014. sport-express.ru. 16 April 2014. Russian. ru:Алексей Мишин: "Некоторые слишком ревностно отнеслись к победам Сотниковой". Alexei Mishin: "Some reacted too jealously to Sotnikova's victory".
  21. Web site: ISU Statement on the ISU Judging System . 21 February 2014 . International Skating Union . 25 February 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140221235630/http://www.isu.org/en/news-and-events/news/2014/02/isu-statement-on-the-isu-judging-system# . 2014-02-21 . dead .
  22. http://static.isu.org/media/149883/case-2014-03-korean-oc-and-su-vs-shekhovtseva-final-decision-for-publication-30052014.pdf "Case No. 2014-03 – Decision of the ISU Disciplinary Commission"
  23. News: Kim . Narae . 5 June 2014 . South Korea slip up in Sochi figure skating complaint . . Seoul . 6 June 2014 . 14 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714121842/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/05/uk-olympics-figureskating-kim-idUKKBN0EG0N920140605 . dead .
  24. Web site: ISU Judging System - Season Bests Short Program Scores 2013/2014, Ladies . ISU Results . International Skating Union . 23 March 2014.
  25. Web site: ISU Judging System - Season Bests Free Skating Scores 2013/2014, Ladies . ISU Results . International Skating Union . 23 March 2014.
  26. Web site: ISU Judging System - Season Bests Total Scores 2013/2014, Ladies . ISU Results . International Skating Union . 23 March 2014.
  27. Web site: Olympic Winter Games 2014 Ladies Short Program Scores . ISU Results . International Skating Union . 25 March 2014.
  28. Web site: Olympic Winter Games 2014 Ladies Free Skating Scores . ISU Results . International Skating Union . 25 March 2014.
  29. Web site: Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014, Ladies Result . ISU Results . International Skating Union . 25 March 2014.
  30. Web site: Pilon . Mary . Panel of Judges . ISU.org . 22 February 2014.
  31. News: Pilon . Mary . Who Were the Figure Skating Judges? . The New York Times . 20 February 2014 . 21 February 2014.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.