The ice dancing competition in Sochi has led to gold medals for Americans Meryl Davis and Charles White, leaving the 2010 gold medalists Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue with the silver. And while many observers thought the ice dancing was of high quality, it has led to conspiracy theories in Canada that the fix was in.
The whole thing was sparked before the Olympics by a French report that speculated a Russian and American judge made a deal to ensure Davis and White would win, despite denials by the U.S. Figure Skating Association and downplaying by both the Americans and Canadians.
And when Davis and White won the short program on Sunday, it led Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno (the closest thing to a Canadian Dan Shaughnessy) to insinuate the fix was in. She didn't mince any words in this borderline offensive rant:
"Strip away the sequins, wipe off the pancake makeup, delete the frozen-in-place smiles, and what’s left is a tawdry whore of a sport where the judges are the johns.
If the fix is not in against Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, then I’m the Princess of Wales."
Ok, you can forgive DiManno for defending the Canadians' honor, but it gets even worse.
"The U.S. has never won an ice dance championship at the Olympics. Obviously, the judges have decided it’s time.
That’s how they do it in this sleazy game. They too often take it out of the hands of the skaters."
She does have a point on the judging, but did DiManno have any proof besides the speculative French report? No. Is there an instance that perhaps Davis and White skated a touch better? In her mind, absolutely not. She ended her column with this bitter sentence on the fix:
"I think everybody knows."
Everybody? Everybody in the entire world? That's a big assumption.
Even after the results were made final on Monday, it did not stop Canadians from sounding off on the judging:
No point in being disappointed over Virtue and Moir "winning" silver. We all knew ahead of time that the fix was in.
— Jonathon Jackson (@jonathonj1970) February 17, 2014
I didn't see Moir/Virtue skate, but that doesn't matter. The fix was in. Shame on IOC for not shuffling the American and Russian judges out.
— Andy Campbell (@fredcityandy) February 17, 2014
I woke found out Virtue & Moir won silver. So the fix was in. RUS got Gold in team, USA got Gold in ice dance. IOC, time to investigate. >:(
— AMC (@AMCBold) February 17, 2014
In its primetime coverage on Monday, CBC chose to address the "controversy" and even asked viewers if they thought the fix was in.
Q1: How many of you believe there actually was something amiss in the ice dance judging today? #CBCOlympics (be sure to tag your response)
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 18, 2014
It appears as if most of you agree that the scores were predetermined. Q2: If it was fixed, are the athletes to blame? #CBCOlympics
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 18, 2014
Although some dismissed that the results were predetermined:
@CBCOlympics No, the Americans won it – they skated beautifully too Saying something was amiss disrespects them & their effort.#CBCOlympics
— Rosemary Kennedy (@rkennadie) February 18, 2014
@Tompdog9 @cbcolympics I can't believe we are so upset at a silver medal that we call cheating. Makes me sad.
— Canadian Dad (@CanadianDadBlog) February 18, 2014
So apparently this result is not going to sit well with Canadians. Perhaps defeating Russia in men's hockey or winning the gold medal in women's hockey could offset the ire.
