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Tuesday, 14 February 2006 |
Olympic skating chiefs allow China's Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao to continue
Skating chiefs have chosen to back the decision to allow Chinese
skaters Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao to carry on their Olympic pairs routine
after a terrible fall on Monday.
Zhang Dan suffered a heavy fall but got started again after consultation with officials before claiming the silver medal.
However, International Skating Union secretary Fredi Schmid denied the
decision was made because of sympathy for the couple and he said that
"The rules were respected".
"What they performed on the ice justified the marks they received."
The fall looked as if it would end the couple's medal hopes when a
dazed Zhang Dan tried to get up after she had attempted a rare
quadruple Salchow.
Zhang Dan fell back on to the ice with an injured knee and eventually
had to be helped to her feet by Zhang Hao, but she would not give up.
Nearly five minutes after the fall, the skating couple picked up their
routine from the point where Zhang Dan had stumbled, and then completed
their display.
"They started again within two minutes from the moment the referee indicated they must skate," Fredi Schmid explained.
"The referee must weigh up what has happened. It looked like a potential injury and the referee made his call.
"In circumstances when somebody is in very obvious pain, I don't think
the interruption offers any advantage when they struggle to finish the
performance. "
And he added, "This skater had the courage to finish and she was obviously in pain."
Elsewhere in the Games, Russian couple Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim
Marinin took the gold medal and China's Shen Xue and Hongbo Zhao
claimed the bronze medals.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 20 February 2006 )
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