Didier Gailhaguet (born 22 August 1953 in Béziers, France) is a former French figure skater and the president of the Fédération Française des Sports de Glace (French Ice Sports Federation).
Gailhaguet was a central figure in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal, in which Marie-Reine Le Gougne ("the French judge") confessed to having judged wrongly in the pairs competition under pressure from Gailhaguet, who was at that time the president of the French federation. Witnesses of Le Gougne's confession were Sally-Anne Stapleford (Great Britain), Britta Lindgren (Sweden), Walburga Grimm (Germany) and Jon Jackson (USA). Gailhaguet's chauffeur in Salt Lake City additionally testified to having overheard evidence of his involvement on the scandal.
Didier Gailhaguet was excluded from any International Skating Union event for 3 years, beginning 30 April 2002, and has been excluded as an ISU council member. He resigned as president of the French Ice Sports Federation on 12 May 2004, but was re-elected to that position in December 2007.
Earlier in his career, Gailhaguet was the coach of French skater Surya Bonaly, and was known for having fabricated a story that she had been born on Reunion Island (rather than her true birthplace of Nice) as a publicity stunt.
Competitive highlights[]
| Event/Season | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 |
| French Championships | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | - | 1st | 1st |
| European Championships | 19th | 10th | 8th | - | 7th | 9th |
| World Championships | 19th | 10th | 13th | - | 10th | 13th |
| Winter Olympics | - | - | 13th | - | - | - |
References[]
- [1] Decision of ISU council
- Joy Goodwin, The Second Mark. ISBN-0-7432-4527-X.
- FFSG press release announcing Gailhaguet's re-election
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