Shae-Lynn Bourne says rumours of judging scandal can throw skaters off their game

“Hopefully it’s nothing, and at the same time it’s sad if it’s nothing because if someone is making it up, it can still affect you,” said Shae-Lynn Bourne, who experienced judging scandals with skating partner Victor Kraatz at the Olympic and world championship levels.

“Hopefully the skaters don’t listen to it and keep focused on what they’re doing, because I know from experience it can get to you.”

A French newspaper Saturday reported a deal had been struck between American and Russian judges, part of which would keep Virtue and Moir from defending their gold medals from Vancouver 2010 and propel American skaters to the top of the podium instead.

American and Russian officials have dismissed the report.

Bourne said news that your performance could be compromised by judges can clearly impact a skater negatively.

“I was happy with the way I skated but it wasn’t quite at its fullest. I remember those things (scandal at both the 2002 Salt Lake and 1998 Nagano Winter Games) as being on my mind,” said Bourne.

“I think they’ve made improvements to the sport, and that’s a good thing. I don’t feel I see that kind of thing going on like it used to. It’s important for people in the sport to keep an eye on it. Everyone involved can tell who won, you know when someone is better, and the skaters deserve a fair game.”

Elder statesman: If you’re 40 or over and think Olympic greatness is beyond your age, consider Norwegian cross country skier Ole Einar Bjoerndalen.

The 40-year-old won the biathlon 10-km sprint event Saturday to win his 12th medal and equal compatriot Bjoern Daehlie’s Winter Games record of 12 medals.

“Life is too short to give up, this is one of my most important victories,” said Bjoerndalen, whose medal count includes seven golds.

But Bjoerndalen refused to compare himself to Daehlie.

“It’s difficult to compare us at this time because Bjorn was some years ago, and now we have a lot more disciplines,” he said.

“Bjorn did not have as many chances to win, so for me Bjorn is and always will be the biggest athlete ever in Norway.”

Grocery wars: Competition intensified on the ski slopes of Sochi — and in the grocery stores.

Allen Tran, chef for the American alpine and boarding teams, found himself dashing through the streets of Sochi the past few days in an effort to feed his athletes.

“We were in battle with the Koreans, who bought out all the rice noodles in Sochi,” said Tran, who is responsible for three square meals a day for 100 athletes. “They spent $35,000 in groceries. But luckily we knew about an alternative market, so we responded. We got our game on, too. It’s an international competition, not just for the slopes but for groceries.”

Dutch treat: Dutch skater Sven Kramer set an Olympic record in the men’s speed skating 5,000-metre event. Performing in front of country’s King and Queen, Kramer became just the second man to win back-to-back 5,000 gold medals.

Coy by design: Russian snowboarder Alexey Sobolev was coy when the media came Saturday with queries about an image of a knife-wielding woman in a ski mask painted on the bottom of his board.

“I wasn’t the person who designed it,” said Sobolev, as the image stirred up comparisons to a member of Pussy Riot, an all-woman Russian punk band jailed two years ago after Russian officials arrested them after a gig in a Moscow cathedral.

Asked if he supported Pussy Riot, Sobolev said he had no comment.

Grieving in victory: It was an emotional Marit Bjoergen winning gold in the 15-km skiathlon Saturday, a day after her Norwegian teammate’s brother died.

Bjoergen, the defending gold medallist from Vancouver, finished in 38:33.6. She was the most successful athlete in Vancouver with three medals, and she’s showing the same winning form in Sochi.

Canadian Emily Nishikawa of Whitehorse was 42nd in 42:04.7, Brittany Webster of Caledon, Ont., finished 51st in 43:25.6 and Amanda Ammar of Onoway, Alta., was 55th in 44:24.3.

“I felt really good today, I’m just so happy to be out here. It was really cool to hear the crowd at the start,” said Nishikawa. “I had a good race, I pushed hard and I hung in there. I’m just really happy with the whole race.”

Here’s Johnny: A locked bathroom door in his hotel room was no problem for American bobsledder Johnny Quinn. The former NFL player made like a lineman, launching himself into the door and smashing a hole big enough for him to make good his escape.

“With no phone to call for help, I used my bobsled push training to break out,” he tweeted.

Quinn’s post got 7,000 retweets almost instantly Saturday morning.  

Bloody start: There were some issues on training runs for the men’s downhill event. Slovenia’s Rok Perko was first out of the gates and crashed on the course, leaving blood on the snow and on his face. He was taken to the medical centre for observation and is likely out for the competition.

The new course proved difficult — in all, 10 of the 55 skiers on the course failed to finish their runs.

Bode best: And speaking of that downhill, American Bode Miller posted the fastest run, which prompted some of his competitors to admit he’s the skier to beat. Miller, who won three medals in Vancouver, was more than a second fasater than Canadian Erik Guay (2:07.84), who was eighth. Canada’s Manuel Osborne-Paradis (2:08.28) was 11th, while Benjamin Thomsen (2:09.19) was 16th.

Canadian content: Other Canadians in action Saturday included Brendan Green, who debuted in the biathlon individual event, finishing 23rd out of 87 racers in the men’s 10-km sprint . . . Calgary’s Nathan Smith finished 13th in the same race, his best result of the season . . . There was a Calgary connection at the Sochi Games Saturday, with hometown luger Sam Edney finishing 10th after two of the four runs; fellow Calgarians Mitch Malyk was 27th and John Fennell 30th. Germany’s Felix Loch, the eight-time world champ, was in first after the two runs Saturday . . . Canadian cross country skier Britanny Webster finished 51st in the 15-km skiathlon, narrowly missing her goal of a top-50 finish.