Back in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, the figure skating world was shaken up after allegations surfaced that judging in the pairs figure skating competition had been fixed.
Fans knew the competition would likely come down to Canada’s Jamie Salé and David Pelletier or Russia’s Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. But after their respective performances were complete and Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were awarded the gold medal, questions about the judging began to arise after many believed the Canadian pair deserved to be Olympic champions.
Meddling, a four-part docuseries from Peacock, provides an in-depth look at the scandal, the four athletes involved and the judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, in the middle of it. Ultimately, Salé and Pelletier were also awarded gold medals, and the judge was suspended.
Executive producer and 1998 Olympic figure skating gold medalist Tara Lipinski teamed up with her husband, Todd Kapostasy, who’s also an executive producer and the docuseries’ director, to provide a deep look into the scandal.
For The Win recently spoke with Lipinski about why she wanted to tell this story and how its impact on the figure skating world is still felt.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.