Didier Gailhaguet
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Béziers, France | 22 August 1953
Sport | |
Country | France |
Sport | figure skating |
Didier Gailhaguet (born 22 August 1953) is a French former figure skater, coach and official. He served as the president of the Fédération française des sports de glace (FFSG) from 1998 to 2004 and again from 2007 to 2020; both of his tenures ended as the result of scandals. At the peak of his power, he was one of figure skating's most influential and controversial officials, dubbed the "little Napoleon."[1]
Career[]
Skating and coaching[]
As a skater, Gailhaguet competed at the senior level for five seasons, appearing at the World Championships in all five. He won the French national title twice, and represented France at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, where he placed thirteenth.
As a coach, Gailhaguet's most famous student was Surya Bonaly, who he began coaching in 1984. He aggressively promoted Bonaly to the public, including manufacturing a backstory that she had been born on Réunion and found abandoned on a beach; in fact, she had been born in France.[2][3] Under his guidance, Bonaly became the ladies' World Junior Champion in 1991, and on the senior level won the French national title four times consecutively, as well as two European titles. Bonaly left Gailhaguet's school at the conclusion of the 1991–1992 season, following the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.[4][5]
Federation president and scandals[]
First taking the reins of the FFSG in 1998, Gailhaguet was a central figure in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal, in which French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne said that she had judged wrongly in the pairs competition under pressure from Gailhaguet as part of an arrangement between the FFSG and the Russian skating federation. Witnesses of Le Gougne's statement were Sally-Anne Stapleford (Great Britain), (Sweden), (Germany), and (USA). Gailhaguet's chauffeur in Salt Lake City additionally testified to having overheard evidence of his involvement in the scandal. Le Gougne later rescinded her statement and said she had been pressured to make it.[6]
Gailhaguet was excluded from any International Skating Union event for three years, beginning 30 April 2002, and has been excluded as an ISU council member.[6] He resigned as president of the FFSG on 12 May 2004 but was re-elected to that position in December 2007.
Another scandal engulfed Gailhaguet in February 2020 when he was accused by retired pair skater Sarah Abitbol of having covered up abuse allegations against one of his allies, longtime coach and FFSG official Gilles Beyer.[7][8] This coincided with Gailhaguet's efforts to defend pair skater Morgan Ciprès, who was accused of having sent a picture of his penis to a 13-year-old girl at his training center in Florida.[9] The scandal attracted nationwide news coverage and denunciations from prominent skaters, including Olympic ice dance champion Gwendal Peizerat, who said Gailhaguet's control of FFSG affairs had previously meant that "to oppose him is to become persona non grata." This resulted in an ultimatum from Sports Minister Roxana Mărăcineanu that Gailhaguet resign as FFSG president lest the organization otherwise be decertified. Initially defiant, he ultimately agreed to resign his post, and was succeeded by Nathalie Péchalat.[10][11]
Results[]
Event | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winter Olympics | 13th | |||||
World Championships | 19th | 10th | 13th | 10th | 13th | |
European Championships | 19th | 10th | 8th | 7th | 9th | |
French Championships | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st |
References[]
- ^ "French figure skating boss resigns over sex abuse scandal". Yahoo! News. 8 February 2020.
- ^ "Surya Bonaly, Corps et lames: episode 5". Binge. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ Johnette Howard. "Over easy for Surya Bonaly the skating has never been the hard part". Vault. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Surya s'eclipse". L'Humanité (in French). 31 March 1992.
- ^ Clarey, Christopher (17 December 1992). "California Training Helps Bonaly Bloom: French Skater Discovers U.S." The New York Times.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Clarey, Christopher (1 May 2002). "FIGURE SKATING; 2 French Officials Suspended 3 Years In Skating Scandal". The New York Times.
- ^ "Patinage artistique : l'ancienne championne Sarah Abitbol affirme avoir été violée par son ancien entraîneur" [Figure skating: Former champion Sarah Abitbol states that she was raped by her former coach]. L'Equipe (in French). 29 January 2020.
- ^ Collin, Jean-Christophe; Fleurot, Grégoire (28 January 2020). "La fin de l'omerta sur les violences sexuelles : la jeunesse volée des patineuses" [The end of the omerta surrounding sexual violence: The stolen youth of skaters]. L'Equipe (in French).
- ^ Brennan, Christine (10 December 2019). "Olympic figure skater, coaches being investigated for sexual abuse allegations". USA Today.
- ^ Gaubert, Julie (8 February 2020). "French skating chief Didier Gailhaguet resigns amid sexual assault scandal". Euronews.
- ^ "Figure skating: Nathalie Pechalat becomes French ice sports boss after rivals pull out citing coronavirus". The Straits Times. 15 March 2020.
External links[]
- Didier Gailhaguet at Olympic.org (archived)
- Didier Gailhaguet at OlympicChannel.com (archived)
- Didier Gailhaguet at Olympics.com
- Didier Gailhaguet at Olympedia
- Didier Gailhaguet at The-Sports.org
- Didier Gailhaguet at Sports Reference (archived)
- 1953 births
- Living people
- French male single skaters
- Figure skaters at the 1972 Winter Olympics
- Olympic figure skaters of France
- Figure skating officials
- French figure skating coaches
- Sportspeople from Béziers