Olympic ice dancing protest filed

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Lithuanian officials Tuesday filed an appeal with the International Skating Union, protesting the results of Monday night's free dance portion of the ice dance competition.

The appeal, filed after the Lithuanian pair of Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas finished fifth, contends that judges did not properly deduct points from two other couples who fell but placed higher.

John Domanskis, attache for the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee, charged at a news conference Tuesday that if the points were deducted, Drobiazko and Vanagas would have won the bronze medal.

"These required deductions as described by the International Skating Union were not applied as they should have been and consequently deprived the Lithuanian ice dance couple the chance to win an Olympic medal," Domanskis said.

The Italian duo of Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio took the bronze with technical merit scores ranging from 5.5 to 5.7. Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz of Canada were fourth with scores between 5.4 and 5.7.

Deductions outlined under ISU rules call for a 0.2 decision for the fall of one partner and 0.3 for the fall of both partners.

"Falls during obligatory elements like steps and lifts don't change the opinion of the judges," Vanagas said. "That's very sad. It is a bad lesson for the future."

Vanagas insisted he and his partner do not want Monday's results overturned, only "to help those (skaters) coming after us."

The protest is the third filed with the ISU at the Salt Lake City Games. The most highly publicized involved Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who ultimately were given gold medals in the pairs competition after ISU officials uncovered evidence of a conspiracy involving judging of the pairs and ice dance events.

The less publicized protest, which was rejected by the ISU, involved the semifinals of the men's 1,000-meter short-track speed skating competition.

Japan's Satoru Terao tried unsuccessfully to overturn his disqualification for making contact with two other skaters.