They work diligently for years for almost no money, they get second-guessed by spectators and yelled at by coaches, and their names are known only when they finally reach the pinnacle of their career and mess up for all the world to see.
All of which sparks the question: who are the Olympic judges and why would anyone want to be one?
At these Games, judges' mistakes have made headlines in gymnastics, swimming and fencing, leading to protests and appeals and renewed scrutiny only two years after the Salt Lake City Games inserted the phrase "the French judge" into popular culture. This time, though, there are no grand conspiracy theories or all-encompassing investigations. Apparently, the judges just goofed.
"It bothers all of us," said Don Porter, president of the International Softball Federation and a former NFL and college football referee.
"I think the thing that hurts a sport more than any other is when the officiating breaks down."
The International Gymnastics Federation suspended two officials, Oscar Buitrago Reyes of Colombia and Benjamin Bango of Spain, who failed to notice an incorrect start value on the high bar routine of the South Korean Yang Tae Young, and sent home George Beckstead of the US, who was their supervisor.
The error cost Yang enough points to allow Paul Hamm of the US to win the all-around gold. Federation president Bruno Grandi said on Monday that it would not change the disputed results of the Olympic gymnastics all-around final, leaving Hamm of the US with the sole gold medal.
In fencing, Hungarian referee Joszef Hidasi was expelled by the fencing federation FIE and barred for two years for incorrectly scoring the men's team foil match between Italy and China. Hidasi awarded six points to Italy that should have gone to China, and Italy won the gold medal by three points.
In swimming, a judge called US competitor Aaron Peirsol for an illegal turn in his gold-medal-winning swim in the 200m backstroke last week, and even though other referees and the supervisor agreed with him, they signed an empty infraction card and turned it in with no explanation. FINA, swimming's international federation, reversed the disqualification because of the blank card.
Fittingly, the judge who called the illegal turn, Denis Cadon, is French.
That alone brought back memories of the Olympic figure skating controversy in 2002, when Marie Reine Le Gougne admitted to being pressured to vote for Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia instead of Jamie Sal and David Pelletier of Canada. When that scandal snowballed, the International Olympic Committee ordered duplicate gold medals awarded to Sal and Pelletier -- the resolution that is being cited by many as a precedent for possibly ending the current gymnastics spat over dual golds.
In Athens, there are no whispers of international intrigue. There are cries of outrage that moments of boneheaded officiating can cost an athlete the medal he or she has worked so diligently toward.
"Mistakes are made because referees are human," said Carla Richards, director of technical services for US Fencing. "But here it can be shown on television, it can be shown in slow motion. It's an opportunity to look at the competition and the refereeing like they haven't done before. Nobody's going to be perfect."
Richards said that in fencing, like in most sports, the officials are people who have worked about eight to 10 years to reach this level, starting at small regional tournaments, working their way up through the junior international ranks, then on to world cups and world championships and then the Olympics. Many are former competitors in the sport; some competed at major international events.
Along the way, the judges constantly get judged. They have their performances rated and are subject to competency tests. Each sports federation has its own procedure for promoting referees up the line and choosing who gets to the Olympics.
Some sports have provisions for video review of controversial moments and some do not. Each sport has different timelines for allowing protests. The entire system is a maze.
What the sports have in common is this: The road to the top for officials is long, the pay is minimal and people do it in addition to another career, mostly out of devotion to the sport.
"We don't go through the physical training the athletes do, but we work hard to get here," said Rick Tucci, a wrestling official working his sixth Olympics. "It's our gold medal to be a part of the Games."
Tucci's regular job is as a schoolteacher in Miami, but he has become a fixture at major wrestling meets and is part of the hierarchy that evaluates wrestling referees.
"To get here, we have to qualify, too," he said.
Tucci said the only issues at the wrestling site so far had involved some confused scorekeepers who posted points for the wrong wrestler. When the referee ordered it changed, the crowd began howling at the referee.
The swimming controversy prompted much confusion as well, with the disqualification of Peirsol posted on the scoreboard and rescinded minutes later. FINA officials were slow in revealing what the foul was and why it was
overturned. The day after the
race, Cadon insisted his call was correct.
"It was a violation, and I make my judgment," he said, adding he had been a judge for 25 years. "I am here for that."
At the opening ceremony of every Olympics, an athlete takes the athlete's oath on behalf of all and an official takes the official's oath. After that, the officials aim to fade into the background of the Games.
When they fail, they fail at that, too.
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