With many great moments came much controversy, drama at Beijing Games
Doping scandal surrounding Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva stole the headlines
As the Winter Olympics have come to a close, and the eyes of the sports world turn away from Beijing, these past three weeks have left fans with plenty to remember and look forward to — but with that, came much controversy and drama.
From disqualifications for ski jumping suits, an ongoing doping scandal involving the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), and judging issues in men's snowboarding events, there have been plenty of headlines throughout.
Fifteen-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva stole the spotlight — and continues to — following the discovery that she had tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine on Dec. 25 at the Russian nationals.
The result, which came from a Swedish lab, didn't come to light until Feb. 9, after she helped the Russians win gold in the team event.
Being the favourite in the women's singles event, speculation ran rampant as to how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would handle the situation and if she would be able to compete again.
Following a hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, she was ruled eligible to compete, except a medal ceremony for the team event was cancelled and the investigation would be ongoing. In addition, if she were to medal in the women's event, there would no medal ceremony, which would also deny the other medallists their moment on the podium.
The situation put a dark cloud of sorts over the Olympics as many expressed their frustration and also questioned the IOC's decision-making in handling the Russians, who have already endured sanctions after the 2014 Sochi Games for state-sponsored doping that extended into the past two Olympic Games.
But Valieva, who led after the short program, faltered in the free skate, and to the surprise of everyone in the skating world, finished fourth. It also saved the IOC another awkward situation. Valieva and the rest of her ROC teammates could still be stripped of their gold medals once the investigation concludes. Canada, which finished fourth, could be in line for a bronze medal if the Russian skaters get their medals taken away.
WATCH | Russia's Kamila Valieva to compete, but Olympic medal ceremony delayed:
Ski jumping suits
The International Ski Federation (FIS) also came under fire after four teams in the mixed-team ski jumping event were disqualified for suit infringements. Germany, Austria, Norway (who had two athletes disqualified), and Japan were all out of the event for infringements.
Due to the nature of the event, and wind resistance playing a key role in performance, suits and skis get checked regularly to ensure there are no unfair advantages.
"I think they checked it in a new way today compared to what they had done previously, I think it's very strange that they would suddenly change how they do it in the middle of a tournament," Norwegian jumper Silje Opseth told Reuters.
Canada was able to grab bronze in what ended up being a smaller field, but many were outraged with one athlete saying the controversy had "destroyed" women's ski jumping.
Snowboard judging
Then there was the judging in men's snowboarding. It all began with the slopestyle event a few days into the Games, where Canadians Max Parrot and Mark McMorris had won gold and bronze, respectively, in the event.
Speaking with CBC Sports, McMorris revealed that he felt as though he had "the run of the day" and that "the whole industry knows what happened." The head judge Iztok Sumatic also publicly admitted to missing a mistake by Parrot that could have altered the scoring – Parrot and McMorris were separated by less than three points.
Eventually, McMorris apologized to Parrot, but the issue on the judging side remains an issue moving forward.
WATCH | Did the wrong Canadian win gold? A closer look at Parrot, McMorris slopestyle runs:
In the halfpipe, Japanese star Ayumu Hirano, who had won gold, also questioned the judging along with many others including analysts of the competition, and fans on social media.
Executing the same run on his final go, he was given a score 4.25 points higher than the previous one, leading him to his first Olympic gold following two consecutive silvers in the event.
The issue spilled into the big air event, the final one of the Games, as American Red Gerard made his stance known after the qualifying event, claiming he had been underscored for a switch backside 1620 in which he received 75.50 points on his first attempt, while McMorris earned an 81.50 for the same trick.
COVID-19 tests, complaints of conditions
Going into the Olympics, much was made of the playbook and how COVID-19 would effect the athletes at the Games.
A number of athletes, including Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans, who had tested positive for COVID-19 and went into isolation had complained about the quarantine hotels consisting of inadequate facilities, lack of internet connection, bad food and no training equipment, according to multiple sources.
Within hours, the duo had received clearance to continue on anyway – the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) received an email from the Chinese Public Health System advising them that Gill and Hewitt could continue to compete under the Close Contact provisions.
The duo would go on to upset their former coach Morris and Homan in a stunner, leaving Canada in a do-or-die situation going into their final game against the eventual gold medallists Italy, where they lost by a millimetre in extra ends.
