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Controversy: S. Korea DQ'd in short track relay, China gets gold
By Chris Chase
February 25, 2010
Another Olympics, another short track speedskating controversy involving South Korea.
Eight years after Kim Dong-Sung had his gold medal stripped when judges determined he cut off Apolo Anton Ohno, the country was served another crushing disqualification when its women's 3,000 meter relay team had gold taken away when it was ruled that a skater had illegally bumped a Chinese competitor on a turn. The DQ moved China to the gold medal position and gave the United States a surprise bronze.
If the disqualification of Kim Dong-Sung in 2002 is any indication, South Koreans will be irate with the decision. According to Olympic historian David Wallechinsky, in the hours after Kim's DQ, his fans flooded IOC servers with 16,000 angry emails protesting the call. It certainly won't help matters that the ref who disqualified Kim eight years ago was the same ref who made the fateful decision Wednesday in Vancouver.
Yes, South Korea, Jim Hewish did it to you again. The chief referee was in a precarious situation though. The offending bump was obvious, but it wasn't clear that it should lead to a disqualification. Relays tend to be judged a little looser than regular short track events, so there was thought that Hewish might let the contact go. But after three minutes of deliberation, he decided that the bump had impeded China's progress.
It wasn't the wrong call, but it wasn't the right one either. Short track rulings are judgment calls and this was the definition of one. The ruling was a no-win proposition that was going to make one side furious no matter what.
By sliding into bronze medal position, the Americans won the nation's first short track women's medals since 1994. It seemed to be a bittersweet moment for the quartet. They seemed pleased with the bronze but also had looks that suggested that they knew they hadn't earned one. It's an appropriate sentiment at the time -- how much should one really celebrate lucking onto the podium -- but one that should hopefully fade over time. They may have backed into bronze, but as the fourth-best relay team in the world. Don't say it wasn't earned.
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Vonn 'bummed out' by rival Mancuso's 'popularity contest' claim
By Chris Chase
February 25, 2010
The frosty relationship between American skiing stars Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso may have grown a little more contentious Wednesday. Mancuso was flagged off the course during the women's giant slalom because she started while Vonn was trying to untangle herself from the netting after crashing in the previous run.
This came after Mancuso took a shot at Vonn in a Sports Illustrated report that claimed the U.S. ski team was being hurt by "a popularity contest."
"People are having a hard time reaching their potential because it's such a struggle for attention," Mancuso told Sports Illustrated. "You come to meetings after races and it's like it's a bad day if Lindsey didn't do well."
Vonn, who told Reuters she was "bummed out" by Mancuso's statements, reiterated her support for her teammate.
The tensions boiled over Wednesday after Mancuso left while Vonn was still on the course following her crash. She left at the correct one-minute start interval, but was flagged because Vonn had yet to clear and the racing conditions were unsafe.
Mancuso was taken to the top of the mountain after her aborted run and had to wait for 13 more skiers before she could make her first official slalom. By then, conditions had deteriorated on the mountain, with snow and fog making the course much more treacherous. Mancuso ended up in 18th place before Wednesday afternoon's second run.
Vonn had taken a turn too fast during her run, crashing on her left hip and tumbling into the safety netting. She broke her finger in the accident. Mancuso didn't know this and started before Vonn had extricated herself. The two-time Vancouver medalist was seen crying after the run and later Tweeted: "i was flagged in gs, that is [expletive]! well now its time to use that anger and fight scond run!!"
(That message has since been taken down. The IOC could levy a fine for criticism of race officials.)
Mancuso has not blamed Vonn for the issue, nor should she. It's not like Lindsey meant to fall, and it's certainly not Vonn's fault that she couldn't get herself out of the netting in time. But this incident adds another layer to a complicated relationship between the rivals.
Some NBC viewers thought they saw iciness when the two were interviewed after finishing first and second in the downhill last week. Neither Vonn nor Mancuso praised each other during the chat, and Vonn looked perturbed when the reporter shifted focus from her to her teammate. And Yahoo!'s Charles Robinson noticed that the two barely spoke when they received their downhill medals.
A recent New York Times article describes the pair as friends, but there's plenty of "read between the lines" stuff in the piece that suggests otherwise:
• Vonn and Mancusco are described as the "yin and yang" of U.S. skiing.
• Mancuso says, "We used to be good friends, but now we don't hang out as much."
• When talking about Mancuso, Vonn is said to focus on their early days in junior skiing.
• A former friend compared the relationship to that of Maverick and Iceman from the movie "Top Gun." It's been awhile since I saw that one, but I'm pretty sure the characters of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer didn't get along until the final scene. (Although maybe the friend is referring to occasions when Vonn sang "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and Mancuso did this.)
It's a complicated dynamic between the old friends and current rivals. It only got more complicated Wednesday.
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