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. He was suspended each time because of related scandals. At the peak of his power, he was one of figure skating's most influential and controversial officials, dubbed the "little Napoleon."[1]
As a skater, Gailhaguet competed at the senior level for five seasons, performing 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.
After retiring from competition, Gailhaguet became a coach. His most famous student was Surya Bonaly, whom he began coaching in 1984. He aggressively promoted Bonaly to the public, including creating a backstory that she had been born on Réunion and found abandoned on a beach, when in reality Bonaly was born in France and adopted at the age of eight months.[2][3]
Under his guidance, Bonaly became the ladies' World Junior Champion in 1991. On the senior level, she 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 related to the future ice dance competition. Witnesses of Le Gougne's statement were Sally-Anne Stapleford (Great Britain), Britta Lindgren (Sweden), Walburga Grimm (Germany), and Jon Jackson (USA). Gailhaguet's chauffeur in Salt Lake City also testified to having overheard evidence of his involvement in the scandal. Le Gougne later rescinded this statement, saying that she had been pressured to make it.[6]
Gailhaguet was excluded from any International Skating Union event for three years, beginning 30 April 2002. He 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 after his suspension ended, in December 2007.
In February 2020, retired pair skater Sarah Abitbol accused Gailhaguet of having covered up her abuse allegations against one of his allies, longtime coach and FFSG official Gilles Beyer.[7][8] Although the statute of limitations precluded prosecution of Abitbol's allegations, several other former students of Beyer made similar claims. Concurrently, Gailhaguet was attempting 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. She said that Gailhaguet's control of FFSG affairs had previously meant that "to oppose him is to become persona non grata." Sports MinisterRoxana Mărăcineanu insisted 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]
Péchalat imposed new term limits on service as the federation president, a measure generally perceived as being aimed at preventing a third Gailhaguet tenure in the office. When she sought reelection in the summer of 2022, she was unexpectedly defeated by the largely unknown Gwenaëlle Noury, who was widely seen as being controlled by Gailhaguet. He denied any involvement.[12][13][14]
^"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.
^ abClarey, 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.
^"Nathalie Péchalat Battue, Gwenaëlle Noury Nouvelle Preésidente de la Fédération" [Nathalie Péchalat Beaten, Gwenaëlle Noury New President of the Federation]. Eurosport (in French). 25 June 2022.
^Burnier, Damien (20 June 2022). "Patinage : comment l'ex-président de la fédération, Didier Gailhaguet, est revenu en coulisses" [Skating: how the ex-president of the federation, Didier Gailhaguet, came back behind the scenes]. Le Journal du Dimanche (in French).
^"Sports de glace : la ministre des Sports a proposé une rencontre à la nouvelle présidente de la Fédération" [Ice sports: the Minister of Sports proposed a meeting with the new president of the Federation]. Le Parisien (in French). 26 June 2022.
didier, gailhaguet, born, august, 1953, french, former, figure, skater, coach, official, served, president, fédération, française, sports, glace, ffsg, from, 1998, 2004, again, from, 2007, 2020, suspended, each, time, because, related, scandals, peak, power, f. Didier Gailhaguet born 22 August 1953 is a French former figure skater coach and official He served as the president of the Federation francaise des sports de glace FFSG from 1998 to 2004 and again from 2007 to 2020 He was suspended each time because of related scandals At the peak of his power he was one of figure skating s most influential and controversial officials dubbed the little Napoleon 1 Didier GailhaguetDidier Gailhaguet at the 2012 World ChampionshipsPersonal informationBorn 1953 08 22 22 August 1953 age 69 Beziers FranceSportCountry FranceSportfigure skating Contents 1 Skating and coaching 2 Federation president and scandals 3 Results 4 References 5 External linksSkating and coaching EditAs a skater Gailhaguet competed at the senior level for five seasons performing 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 After retiring from competition Gailhaguet became a coach His most famous student was Surya Bonaly whom he began coaching in 1984 He aggressively promoted Bonaly to the public including creating a backstory that she had been born on Reunion and found abandoned on a beach when in reality Bonaly was born in France and adopted at the age of eight months 2 3 Under his guidance Bonaly became the ladies World Junior Champion in 1991 On the senior level she 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 EditFirst 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 related to the future ice dance competition Witnesses of Le Gougne s statement were Sally Anne Stapleford Great Britain Britta Lindgren Sweden Walburga Grimm Germany and Jon Jackson USA Gailhaguet s chauffeur in Salt Lake City also testified to having overheard evidence of his involvement in the scandal Le Gougne later rescinded this statement saying that she had been pressured to make it 6 Gailhaguet was excluded from any International Skating Union event for three years beginning 30 April 2002 He 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 after his suspension ended in December 2007 In February 2020 retired pair skater Sarah Abitbol accused Gailhaguet of having covered up her abuse allegations against one of his allies longtime coach and FFSG official Gilles Beyer 7 8 Although the statute of limitations precluded prosecution of Abitbol s allegations several other former students of Beyer made similar claims Concurrently Gailhaguet was attempting to defend pair skater Morgan Cipres 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 She said that Gailhaguet s control of FFSG affairs had previously meant that to oppose him is to become persona non grata Sports Minister Roxana Mărăcineanu insisted 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 Pechalat 10 11 Pechalat imposed new term limits on service as the federation president a measure generally perceived as being aimed at preventing a third Gailhaguet tenure in the office When she sought reelection in the summer of 2022 she was unexpectedly defeated by the largely unknown Gwenaelle Noury who was widely seen as being controlled by Gailhaguet He denied any involvement 12 13 14 Results EditEvent 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975Winter Olympics 13thWorld Championships 19th 10th 13th 10th 13thEuropean Championships 19th 10th 8th 7th 9thFrench Championships 3rd 3rd 2nd 1st 1stReferences Edit 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 Humanite in French 31 March 1992 Clarey Christopher 17 December 1992 California Training Helps Bonaly Bloom French Skater Discovers U S The New York Times 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 ete violee par son ancien entraineur 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 Gregoire 28 January 2020 La fin de l omerta sur les violences sexuelles la jeunesse volee 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 Nathalie Pechalat Battue Gwenaelle Noury Nouvelle Preesidente de la Federation Nathalie Pechalat Beaten Gwenaelle Noury New President of the Federation Eurosport in French 25 June 2022 Burnier Damien 20 June 2022 Patinage comment l ex president de la federation Didier Gailhaguet est revenu en coulisses Skating how the ex president of the federation Didier Gailhaguet came back behind the scenes Le Journal du Dimanche in French Sports de glace la ministre des Sports a propose une rencontre a la nouvelle presidente de la Federation Ice sports the Minister of Sports proposed a meeting with the new president of the Federation Le Parisien in French 26 June 2022 External links EditDidier Gailhaguet at Olympics com Didier Gailhaguet at Olympedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Didier Gailhaguet amp oldid 1120220342, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
