‘94 WINTER LILLEHAMMER OLYMPICS : NOTEBOOK

The head of the Russian figure skating team called some of the judging here “crazy” and asked the republics of the former Soviet Union to return to “civilized relations.”

Singling out the Ukrainian judging, Valentin Sych said the political tensions between the countries were reflected in the scoring of Russia’s skaters.

“The psychological situation is such that if a Swede wins, that is perfectly all right,” Sych said. “But if a Russian wins, then the Ukrainian says, ‘Well, it’s a Russian.’

“That seems to be a typical reaction from the former republics.”