At long last, Canadian skaters Jamie Salé and David Pelletier have their gold medals following the bag-of-cats controversy in last week’s pairs-skating-judging scandal. Congratulations. And now, I think we can safely say to the pair, in the words of Truman Burbank: "Good morning! And in case I don’t see you: good afternoon, good evening, and good night!" Sheesh. Let’s move beyond this thing.

Fortunately, the lords of the rings at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) fully understood that the 2002 Salt Lake games were in serious danger of being completely overshadowed by this otherwise legitimate story and dealt with the repercussions quickly. IOC president Jacques Rogge, overseeing his first games since taking over from long-time head Juan Antonio Samaranch, did not allow this crying game to fester, and quickly instructed the International Skating Union to dig deep and get to the bottom of the charges of bribery and/or vote-rigging. Rogge was wise enough to know that this tempest would undoubtedly be the story of the Winter Games unless a swift resolution could be reached, and probably said in effect to the International Skating Union, "Get these people off the front pages and allow the rest of the athletes to get back on them!"

The decision to award the Canadian pair their own separate gold medals was a Solomonic decision that really did not hurt anyone. Yes, the Russians who originally won the gold were subjected to unwarranted scrutiny and bad press, but they did get another opportunity to stand on the podium, and this time got to soak up the adulation of the crowd, as opposed to the stunned silence that greeted the judges’ verdict on their disputed long program last Monday. Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze were gracious enough to appear with the Canadians on Sunday night, seemingly letting bygones be bygones despite the fact that they resented having to share the spotlight, which they felt was rightfully theirs. While the Russians’ statements in the days leading up to the resolution sounded somewhat arrogant in their outright dismissal of any judging controversy, their classy behavior during the medal ceremony can only prop up their championship legacy and help to uphold the sportsmanship that is supposedly the centerpiece of these quadrennial events.

Now, however, the line forms on the right for those who feel that they, too, were unfairly judged at past visits to Olympus. Step right in, Mr. Roy Jones Jr., victim of one of the most outrageous judging decisions in Olympic boxing history. At the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea, Jones pummeled the home country’s own Park Si-Hun in the light-middleweight final, out-punching the 156-pound boxer 86 punches to 32. In one of the most questionable examples of fight judging this side of Don "I Am" King and Mike "Ear of Corn" Tyson, the ringside judges gave the Korean a 3-2 decision and the gold medal. Even referee Aldo Leoni was dumbfounded at the result, whispering to Jones, "I can’t believe they’re doing this to you" as he raised the arm of Jones’s opponent. In a truly baffling conclusion, Jones was given the Val Barker Cup at the conclusion of the tournament, awarded to the Games’ outstanding boxer.

Years later it was determined that in fact the fix was in, that bribes had been offered and accepted by corrupt judges who were in the bag for the hometown lad. While Jones has had little recourse in the 14 years since his ignominious fate, the expedited inquiry and resolution that awarded Salé and Pelletier their gold medals should give him the foundation to file an official protest and ultimately replace the silver medal he brought home from Seoul with a shiny new gold one.

Protests have been upheld in the past, but even the most legitimate claims have sometimes suffered unseemly delays before justice is served. Sylvie Frechette, coincidentally another Canadian, should have won the individual-synchronized-swimming gold in the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, but a Brazilian judge inadvertently punched in 8.7 instead of 9.7, an innocent mistake that cost Frechette the glory and instead vaulted American Kristen Babb-Sprague to the top step of the podium. Common sense prevailed, and Frechette was ultimately given the gold medal that was rightfully hers (Babb-Sprague kept hers as well), but she did not receive it until well over a year later at a small ceremony in Montreal.

Sports that involve speculation and different perceptions of "artistry," "degree of difficulty," "technical merit," and "10-point scoring systems" in events such as skating, gymnastics, and boxing will always leave open the door for judging controversies, and we can only hope that the spirit of sportsmanship and conscience will always be the underlying factor when it comes to rewarding athletic performances.

And now — on to the women’s skating finals. I can’t look.

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com, and Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com.