Reference no: EM131423360

The Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games (WOGs) will go down in history as the watershed Games. The bid scandal crisis of late 1999 and early 2002 led to a number of reactions from the IOC as to how it operates and to its attempts to be more transparent and equitable in the competitions. It was with some relief that the 2002 WOGs opened and the athletes began to compete.

Olympic historians have documented the issues that occurred at previous Olympic games. It is a history rife with wrangling and posturing. This Olympics was to be no different. Of the many issues that arose in the 2002 WOGs, the gold medal for pairs figure skating gained worldwide attention.

Canadian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier had, according to all accounts, skated a flawless, technically sound program. It was a gold medal skate. It was, however, the Russian pair of Yelana Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze who were awarded the gold. There was considerable shock over the decision. Sale and Pelletier, while disappointed, accepted their fate with humility. They were in fact feted widely and invited onto many television programs.

Shortly after the event more details of the judging became known. A French judge for the pairs competition openly admitted that she had traded points for the Russian pairs skaters in return for additional points being awarded to the French ice dance pair. This was a pre-arranged vote-swapping arrangement.

Later the French judge recanted her admission of vote swapping. She said she had been put under pressure by the president of the French figure skating union to vote in this manner. In the end an investigation was held to try to sort the whole mess out. With the irregularity in voting fully in public view, the IOC decided to award the Canadian pair a gold medal and thereby a share in the win. From media reports and general conversation, this seemed just for all concerned. The furore, however, did not subside. Nor did the questioning of how subjectively judged competitions are held.

Conduct your own additional research on the situation, include two additional references in your assignment, and respond to the following questions directly into the Dropbox or by attaching a Word document. Underline your references to ethical principles for full credit on the assignment, as this should help you to remember to include them in your responses to the following:

1. Evaluate the actions of the French judge and the skating union president in this case from an ethical standpoint.

2. Was the IOC's "fix" in its decision to award the Canadian figure skating pair an equal gold medal a good or warranted one? Provide moral and ethical standards for your response.

3. What would your actions have been if you were the Canadian chef de mission at these games? What ethical principles would you have espoused?