SALT LAKE CITY ? The big question wasn't who would win the original dance or whether the judging was fair. More pressing was just how soon the ice dance competition would end Sunday night so the real show ? the pairs medals presentation ? could go on.
The original dance ended in a timely fashion and, not surprisingly, with little change in the standings. This one was a slam dunk, with France's Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat, who also won compulsories, stomping the field with their flamenco-flavored program.
Russia's Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh repeated their second place in the compulsories, even though they received a perfect 6.0 for presentation from the Polish judge ? the only one not to score the French in first place.
World champions Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio of Italy remained third, ahead of Canada's Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz.
Then, a nearly full Salt Lake Ice Center could pay tribute to both pairs champions, Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, and Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
Sale and Pelletier finished second to Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze by the slimmest of margins in the pairs last Monday. When a French judge admitted she was pressured to vote for the Russians, an International Skating Union investigation ruled that her marks were tainted.
The ISU recommended awarding two gold medals and one bronze, which is what officially occurred Sunday night.
There could be little controversy involving this event, in which Anissina and Peizerat were sensational. She was swathed in red, from the tip of her ruffled dress to her flaming hair. He couldn't have played the flamenco roll better had he been dancing atop a table.
Anissina-Peizerat received all 5.9s for presentation and four of them for technique.
Lobacheva-Averbukh had one unique spinning carry in a lively performance that combined tango and flamenco.
Fusar Poli-Margaglio danced a quick-paced flamenco in matching costumes. In her hair, dyed black for the routine, she sported a red rose.
Their energetic program also charmed the judges, who gave them all 5.8s ? and a 5.9 from the Italian ? for presentation. But she got her dress caught under her skate at one point, although they probably still would have been third.
"I was a little in shock," she said of the mishap.
Her partner admitted he was annoyed with Friday night's marks in compulsories, but expressed no dissatisfaction this time.
"The first and second-place couples made mistakes and we skated clean," he said of the compulsory round. "The free dance is probably our best part."
Bourne and Kraatz were much more playful, particularly during the "Cell Block Tango" portion of their routine. The Grand Prix champions still couldn't squeeze into the top three heading into Monday night's free dance, worth 50 percent of the total score.
Four-time American champions Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev finished 11th in the original dance, worth 30 percent of the total score. That placed them 11th overall.
While the judges weren't that much more impressed Sunday night, the audience went wild during and after their "Carmen." Tchernyshev, a Russian native who became an American citizen last year, was the dominant character in his garish bullfighter's costume. Lang, the first female American Indian in the Winter Games, played the tragic heroine's role, dressed in a flashy red and black lace dress.
Although their moves weren't particularly innovative ? or even that difficult for this level ? the drama and Latin spirit of their program had the fans cheering almost throughout their two-minute presentation.
"After the compulsories, we were so disappointed with our marks," Lang said. "We just wanted to show how tough we are and that we could fight."
Beata Handra and Charles Sinek, the second U.S. couple, were 21st overall.