PHOTO: JONAS PAPAURELIS

Dream teams, drugs and dubious judging: Pound on Nagano

McGill Board of Governors chair Richard Pound is serving his third four-year term as a vice-president of the International Olympic Committee. Pound is credited with rescuing the Olympics from near-bankruptcy and setting them on a sound financial footing through a businesslike approach to sponsorship and television rights. As he did after Atlanta, Pound answered some questions for the Reporter about the most recent Games.

Was this a good Olympic Games for Canada?

It was good in all respects. The Games were terrifically well organized, Canada won a total of 15 medals, more than we ever have in the Olympic Winter Games. In fact, we even had two or three days in which we won three medals, which we've never done on a single day, whether in the winter or summer Olympics.

But I have the impression that nine out of ten Canadians would trade all 15 of our medals for a gold medal in men's hockey.

Do you think there was too much pressure on our hockey team?

I don't think the problem was pressure. I think we sent a bunch of good players, but not really a team. The players were as good as anyone else in the tournament, but they didn't adopt a style of game which was particularly suited for the larger ice surface. And I think that a lot of the European players who grew up playing on the larger ice, using a different hockey system, fall back into it when they get back on the ice. It's like remembering how to ride a bike.

The National Hockey League shut down for two weeks to allow players to go to Nagano. What do you think of the NHL's effort to use the Olympics as a springboard to international popularity?

The NHL is trying to become more international, to get a larger and broader audience. They're following the example of the National Basketball Association which put together the Dream Team for Barcelona.

Here there were six or seven dream teams, which raised the level of competition dramatically. Certainly throughout Europe there was a greatly heightened interest and awareness of hockey. It was a chance for them to see their best players taking on the best in the world.

I think that some people who know hockey were not so sure that this would particularly benefit Canada, and it didn't. In the previous two Games, we got a silver medal and here we came fourth. It's not a sure thing anymore.

What was the most memorable moment for you?

I'm an Olympic junkie, so there is almost nothing that I don't like at the Games! It was fun to see Canada do well; there were very good performances by the skaters and ski jumpers. The hockey tournament was exciting; watching the first women's hockey final in the Olympics was exciting -- we didn't win it, but it was a very good game.

The facilities that they built in Nagano were extraordinary; the venues were delightful. I always like the speed skating, which is a particularly graceful and exciting sport.

I was kind of sorry that Elvis (Stojko) couldn't skate well enough to win a gold medal. I present the medals, and this is the second time in a row that I've had to give him a silver. I also thought it was very disappointing that our ice dancers (Victor Kraatz and Shae-Lynn Bourne) got manoeuvred into fourth place instead of getting a medal, which they deserved.

People said the judging in ice dancing was based on politics rather than performances.

My impression is that the other competitions were won or lost on the ice. But in ice dancing, you win or lose in the committee rooms, and then they do the judging accordingly.

I think it's because they have a separate technical committee for ice dancing within the International Skating Union (ISU), and it seems to be out of control. I think we have to help them get it back in control, because this doesn't just give skating a bad name; it gives the Olympics a bad name.

What can the IOC do about it?

I think we could bring it formally to the attention of the ISU, and make noises to the effect that maybe we should take it off the program until they get the judging sorted out. That might send the message that the ISU needs to get in there and clean it up. And I think they would like to clean it up, too.

Why was there confusion about Ross Rebagliati's snowboarding gold medal?

I don't know. The rule is quite clear: marijuana is not a performance enhancing substance, and it is not on the list (of banned substances). But in the Medical Commission, there was a view that we should have some kind of policy on it. The Commission voted 13-12 in favour of disqualifying him. Then the Executive Board also voted narrowly against him.

I abstained because I'm Canadian -- how would it look if I was the one to create or break a tie in favour of a Canadian athlete? But I did say that (revoking his medal) was a mistake and not in accordance with the rules, that there would be an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and that the IOC would lose. There was, and it did.

Will the IOC change its policy on marijuana?

The IOC may decide that it should take some kind of social stance on the drug and add it to the list of banned substances, whether it's performance enhancing or not.

What was the atmosphere like in the Canadian part of the Olympic Village?

Absolutely fabulous. The Village was first rate, the food was good, and the entertainment was fun. The team had very high morale, and I think that was helped by the fact that our NHL players wanted to stay in the Village.

Also, I sound a trifle chauvinistic in saying this, but I think we had by far the best uniforms. Everybody wanted to get the Canadian uniforms. They were well designed, and I think some of the success stemmed from the fact that we let the athletes have some input into the design, including the parade uniforms.

We heard a lot during the Games about Japanese hospitality.

The people of Nagano were very friendly. Media people say that when they go to Olympic cities, they use what they call the "thumb test." If you miss the last bus from the main press centre, you wear your accreditation and stick out your thumb. In Atlanta, you would probably get mugged or beaten up, but in Nagano, taxi drivers would stop and take you where you wanted to go without charging you. Police cars and ordinary people would also stop. And even if they didn't speak any English, they would somehow figure out where you wanted to go.

How do these Games rank in terms of revenue and sponsorship?

They were the most successful Winter Games in history in terms of television rights, sponsorship and the number of tickets sold. The sponsorship was two or three times as much as Lillehammer, and television revenue was $100 million Ð $150 million more. So they did it quite well, and without the excesses of the Games in Atlanta.

How do you compare these Games to Atlanta?

They were head and shoulders above Atlanta -- it was a friendly town, well organized, and without all the sales kiosks in front of everybody. Fortunately, the Nagano organizers saw what happens when these things go wrong.

The community was into the Games, and they were proud to show off their city to the world. The consensus was, as IOC President Samaranch said in the closing ceremony, that these were the best organized Games in Olympic history.

What happened to the tradition of Samaranch declaring in the closing ceremony that these were the best Olympic Games ever?

We decided that he should stop saying that, because in some cases it was not true. Also, it loses meaning if you keep on saying it, regardless of what happens. So we're weaning ourselves off that now. The last time, Samaranch said that they were "exceptional" Games.

INTERVIEW: SYLVAIN COMEAU