this book was an intriguing read, it was more about the background of the three pairs then an expose into the.
system. The actual scandal was covered only briefly and without much depth, the author can't be entirely blamed for this since the International Skating Union basically made sure the truth was never known.
It was still fascinating to read the backgrounds of the pairs though, in particular the Chinese skaters, Shen and Zhao, who were held back by the second mark right up until theWorld Championships because Chinese artistry was not considered "true" artistry, which I found grossly unfair, more unfair than the initial result of the Pairs Competition at theOlympics having watched all the programs on YouTube I thought the Russians truly deserved the gold outright, but there's no denying a shady deal had been made that brought the whole judging of the event into disrepute.
It had shades of racism and prejudice against anything "different",
Shen and Zhao's story really stole the show though and I had goose bumps as I read the Epilogue about their skate at theWorld Championships.
But if one is looking for an explanation of the old system of judging this book isn't really it, if you're interested in figure skating though, it's a good read.
And perhaps unwittingly a look at the power of Western media, since as pointed out by some had thejudging split been in the Canadians favour such a furore would never have happened.
Some said "Figure Skating is fun until you watch it CLOSELY"
I agree until I finished this book, now I STRONGLY AGREE lol
Even though I'm a FS fan for a little while and acknowledge how atrociously this sport has been corrupted.
Nonetheless, the story that this book covered is a whole new level,
Figure Skating is one of the sport that has scandalous events in its history over and over.
Olympics scandal is one of them, and it's an initiation that ignited the change in FS scoring system.
I found myself enjoy reading this book, It is full of researches and interviews with rare photos
The book introduced a brief of Figure Skating background which made it friendly for non Figure Skating fan.
I didn't follow FS in, To learn FS anecdote back in the day e, g. how did this particular song perceive among the judges, which component did the judges like or dislike was fascinating story.
The book began by introducing the three main pairs fromOlympics, Russia, China, Canada,
Each grew up in a rough environment, some were abusive, some didn't support this sport whatsoever, the lack of fund etc.
and it's getting more lethal when it comes to the scoring where it's due to the country's personal gain rather than to judge the skaters performance entirely.
The scandal is somehow solved just because somebody witnessed a part of evidence and confessed the truth, but the actual puppeteer was still nowhere to be discovered, and the scandal was possibly involved with a big name Mafia!
Ridiculously, even though the federation changed its scoring system to fix the flaw,
in hindsight, it also led to another corruption loophole that caused Sochianonymous scoring scandal
Sadly, no matter how much the time passes, athletes are the victims of this unjust system.
Being the chess pieces for federation, and can do nothing about it,
Then again, Figure Skating is fun when you watch it as a casual fan,
It is such an aesthetic sport with elegance and delicacy until you realize it's a big part of a political scheme.
I really enjoyed this, It is quite dated, of course, but it was interesting to revisit the figure skating seasons latesearlys that I remember more vividly than any others.
Goodwin writes about the sport and its personalities very effectively, I heard all the Tamara Moskvina sections as if they were in her voice! In fact, though the Salt Lake City controversy is well covered, the deep dive into Berezhnaya/Sikharudlidzes, Shen/Zhaos, and Salé/Pelletiers stories is by far the most engaging part.
I also found its prompted reflection on the very different coaching cultures in the West versus Russia and China and how we see that playing out to this day.
I think we see that especially in Russia, which retains aspects of the old Soviet system, as recent events have made plain.
It also made me think about how some of the skaters Ive admired have been shaped by practices that would be denounced as clearly abusive in a modern western context.
A must read for every skating fan, Especially for younger fans, like myself, who were too young to remember the Salt Lake City Olympics, The author gives a great history of skating in Canada, the Soviet Union, and China, It was interesting to see the origins of main players in the skating world nowyears later Moskvina and the Harbin pairs school in particular, as well as Didier, who is still reeking havoc on the sportyears later.
years later and judges are still corrupt and federations pressure their judges but so it goes in our sport.
Very interesting, maybe partly because I have a skating background, I've been a fan of figureskating since childhood, But it wasn't until I read this book that I developed a real appreciation and understanding for those skaters that make it to the pinnacle of their sport.
And also a real perspective, cynicism and downright disapproval for the International Skating Union ISU and their games of politics, fraud and corruption that continues to mar this beautiful sport to its present day.
To say that Joy Goodwin takes an indepth look at the scandal that rocked theSalt Lake City Winter Olympics, an event that has forever marred the legacy of those Games, is really only going skin deep in to whatcould have been and what the ISU and its own avarice tragically turned it into.
She starts from the beginning, from the infancy of the three pairs teams that are forever linked to the controversy, explaining how each country ended up playing a role in how they skated, and ultimately how it led to the showdown at the Salt Lake Games.
Three different countries China, Russia, Canada each with their own way of doing things, their own system of building their talent into elite competitors.
It ultimately leads each team to find their strengths in different elements of the sport, For the Russians, it is the skating, For the Chinese, it is the execution of difficult elements,
And for Canada, it is the performance, and by extension, the often elusive and unquantifiable heart.
In, all three countries found themselves with what some would call 'generational talent' talent that only comes once every few decades.
And in any
other era, all three would be gold medal favourites at the Olympics, Unfortunately, all three would find themselves at the peak of their competitive careers at the same time,
And there can only be one gold medalist,
The way she transitions from the past to that now infamous day inis artful, and connects well throughout.
The information she shares is both informative as well as interesting, And her insight is second to none as to what had eventually unfolded halfway through Salt Lake, why it ended the way it did.
Her insight is sadly relevant evenyears later, In light of what happened in the newly instituted team event at theSochi Olympics, followed soon after by the ice dance and women's singles competition, I found myself going back to this book and reviewing theincident, what led to it and what ultimately 'resolved' the scandal.
And when I say resolved I mean insofar as to get the Canada a second gold medal.
Because, as I learned from this book, the ISU escaped scotfree of any real repercussions of what they allowed to transpire.
Heck, the Ukrainian judge that is currently involved in thewomen's singles scandal is actually mentioned in detail in this book about her suspension for scorefixing in!
It explained so much, both of Canada's overall clout within the ISU and internationally as a whole and why Canadians always seemed to be inclined to generate 'higher than average' scores under the new scoring system.
Which ultimately extends to what is wrong with the new scoring system,
Problems that, until reading this book, I had not had any clue was there,
This book taught me so much about the sport, about figureskating as a whole as much as its ugly side.
Yes it made me into a real cynic, But this book is also why after, and even afterdespite how angry those Olympics made me, I'll remain a figureskating fan.
Because this book, like the sport it writes about, is more than about the scandal, You only have to read the amazing stories of the three pairs teams to know that figureskating isn't about the judges, or the medals, it's about the skaters and what they can do to an audience when they find their Olympic moment.
But I still hope that Ottavio Cinquanta and ISU and its opaque system of bribery, fraud and corruption is hung and quartered for how they treat these fabulous people, the people that generates their pay cheque.
Beautifully written and actually interesting and fun to read, It is not very often that a true story book could make me turn the pages past the middle of the night.
And this one does.
The actual story is so controversial, scandalous, but the author manages to stay away from the yellow gossip.
Instead she brings to the reader the events that lead to the competition, All the hard work, all the sacrifice, the true story of these six true olympic champions, and I do mean all of them deserve this title.
More so, all their trainers, their families deserve the same honours and actually they have their own place in this book.
The novel manages to make you see all the angles of the story, across the continents, through different decades and political and economic systems.
It really makes you love all the contestants, even sympathise with "the villain",
You get to see all the beauty of this sport, To me this is the greatest feat that the author achieves with this novel, you could actually "see", experience all the skating programs, the jumps, the throws, the beautiful gestures, the grandeur of the costumes, the ecstatic audience.
. . It is trully a sign of good writing when she can make you experience those hard, complicated elements, that are done in mere seconds, and somehow the narrative is not slow, you still get excited, still tense your muscles as if you are watching it live at the olympic rink.
Or even more you get to feel the skating through the athletes eyes, as if you are the one skating, you are the one competing.
. . Great, great work! Meticulously researched, compelling and unforgettable story about not just the cheating scandal at the Salt Lake City Olympics pairs final, but about the amount of work that goes into training for an Olympic medal.
The three pairs at Salt Lake city were arguably the best three pairs ever to compete, each holding a world championship title or more than one.
Also if you are a fan and watched the Salt Lake Olympics I guarantee your memories amp dismay over the outcome will be just as strong as ever.
Wonderful read. the perspective on the Chinese pair is easily the best part of the book, a great read for an Olympic year So much background on the skaters that it feels as though the author simply ran out of space and had to rush through the part that most interesting sectionhow the controversy over the judging happened.
Although the author did an amazing job of research regarding the skaters lives, I was left feeling disappointed.
The Second Mark: Courage, Corruption, And The Battle For Olympic Gold by Joy Goodwin is an indepth look at the three pairs teams who medaled at theWinter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
It discusses the six skaters, and how all of their humble beginnings lead to Olympic greatness, It also looks at the lives of their coaches and parents, to examine how their support systems were able to push the skaters and help them achieve their ultimate potential.
As the book progresses, it leads up to the Olympic event, the controversial results, and the judging scandal that followed.
It is fascinating to view this book in a historical context the Russian and Chinese teams were coming to their physical peak at a time when the political climates of their respective countries were turning on their heads.
The Russian tradition of pairs figure skating had lead to ten consecutive Olympic gold medals before, but when the Soviet Union collapsed, so did the state funding supporting the athletes and their training.
Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikahrulidze had started their training under the old Soviet system, but had to find a way to maintain access to ice and training time in a changing world.
Though this struggle was nothing compared to Elena's need to overcome an abusive relationship and neardeath incident with her former pairs partner.
They started in a system where two young children who were not particularly interested in becoming skaters were pushed by the state to achieve greatness, then, right when they were about to reach it, the state support that had created a dynasty of Olympic champions melted away.
In China, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo were born to parents who had lived through China's Cultural Revolution and all the repercussions that led to meager earnings and an inability to improve their social standings afterwards.
At a young age they were separated from their families and lived at the athletic training facility, Zhao Hongbo because his natural athletic gifts were apparent at a young age, Shen Xue because she worked harder than any other child and had a father who would help her push herself to the limit.
As their abilities and world standings progressed, their coach was able to gradually convince the Chinese government for the need of Western influence in terms of choreography and style.
In the days of their coach, Yao Bin, such a thing would have been unthinkable, The cultural changes and government support allowed two children who were born in poverty to achieve greatness for a country whose earlier competitors had been laughed off Olympic ice.
The Canadian team of Jamie Salé and David Pelletier had a similarly long though very different road than the other teams contending for the Olympic title.
David Pelletier had a mother who pushed him into skating, and though he initially did well because of an innate talent, he eventually found a true love for the sport once he started skating pairs.
Jamie Salé had a charismatic spark, though she was not, perhaps, the most gifted skater technically speaking, She, too, had a real love for pairs skating, But the North American system, where parents scrape together enough to afford lessons and ice time for their children, and where appropriate partners are found by luck more than by careful assessment and planning of coaches, is not the easiest method to create a great pairs team.
Both Jamie and David spent most of their careers with different partners, It was only once they started skating together that they had a meteoric rise to the top of the sport.
Where the other teams had been skating together for years, Jamie and David had much less time together before their attempt at an Olympic title.
Where the other teams faced more pressure from coaches, parents, and their state governments, Salé and Pelletier had to deal with their own intense emotions and passions to make the team work.
The book concludes with a thorough description of the Olympic event, and the days following when the events of the judging scandal came to light.
It is an odd tale, involving the French skating federation and a man wanted by the FBI for being a member of an international mafia ring.
The entire event resulted in dual gold medals for the Russian and Canadian teams, which was entirely unsatisfying for anyone, except, perhaps, the North American media.
The Canadians were robbed of their Olympic moment, and the Russian victory was tarnished, Though there were hearings to discuss the events of the Olympic scandal, there was not any real effort to look into the root of the problem, and it was decided that anonymous judging would protect the judges from feeling federation pressure in the future.
The final events of this book are now a decade past, but it is interesting to see how the repercussions of the judging scandal are affecting the sport to this day.
Though this book makes no mention of it as it was published only two years after the Salt Lake Olympics, the "new" IJS scoring system was put in place to prevent such controversial results and questions of cheating in the future.
Many have attributed the new system with removing the soul of skating and causing a rapid decline in the popularity of the sport.
It is also amusing to note that, due to the anonymity of judges and the way that scores are assessed, it is almost easier for judges to cheat under the new system than the old.
Fans can now cry out against the harsh judgements of the technical caller, and question the inflated PCS scores of skaters whose performances were marred by several falls, but it doesn't quite have the same thrill as seeing the score.
flash across the screen. Moreover, with skaters pushing their bodies to the limit to increase the base values of their program, it is increasingly difficult to have the physical stayingpower of skaters past.
The sport now has an almost tootechnical quality about it, where difficult elements are valued above the beauty of a pure, smooth, gliding edge.
Reading this book makes one want to go back and rewatch programs of the past, And in doing so you realize that they made you feel something, There is an art, a beauty, an intangible elegance to these performances that just doesn't seem to be possible in the sport today.
I won't deny that the elements being attempted by today's athletes are much more difficult than in the past.
But I will also say that the difficulty is much more obvious that seamless quality is gone, At the time, the judging scandal may have felt like it only affected the results of one competition, but in reality the incident would affect the future of the sport more profoundly than anyone would have guessed.
In the end I have to say this was a truly fantastic and engaging book, The lives of these skaters, coaches, and parents are fascinating, and the book itself is very well written.
You feel for all of the skaters, and, even knowing the results, you find yourself rooting for all of them.
I did feel that the writing of the book colored the skating of the Olympic event in favor of the Canadian team perhaps a bit more than it should have I remember watching the event and, despite a minor bobble from the Russian team, thinking, on that night, that they had justifiably won.
There was an etherial quality to their skating that feels somewhat downplayed in the text, However, I can appreciate the argument that the skating by the Canadian team was more technically correct and I do agree that the judging of the event was unfair.
And, despite the fact that the scandal and hoopla surrounded the Russians and Canadians, after finishing the book I felt that the Chinese team displayed the greatest amount of Olympic spirit.
Inspiring, disheartening, and fascinating, The Second Mark is a great read for skating fans, but would be a fascinating personal interest story even if you don't know much about the sport.
I highly recommend it to all,
Random slightly tangential side note does there exist a skating book about roller or ice where Ottavio Cinquanta is not the villain He squashed the Olympic dreams of many on one side of the fence, and seems to have supported fixing the results on the other.
In an odd way the decline of both sports can be traced back to the man, and it is almost tragic how one person can cause such severe problems and remain in power.
.