Canadian figure skaters Jamie Salé and David Pelletier laugh after falling in the last seconds of their pairs short program during the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City on Feb. 9, 2002
David Pelletier and Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skaters, first paired up on the ice in 1998. A year later, their professional coupling heated up and they began dating. At the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, they were still together and prepared to win gold in the pairs skating competition — as everyone expected.
The competition turned controversial after the judges awarded the gold medal to the Russian pairing, while Pelletier and Salé came in second despite their flawless, albeit simpler, program. American and Canadian media rallied around Pelletier and Salé, demanding justice for the crowd favorites. Many suspected cheating on the part of the judges, and the International Skating Union conducted an investigation after a French judge briefly confessed to being pressured to vote for the Russians regardless of merit.
Pelletier and Salé were eventually upgraded to a gold medal, sharing the honor with the Russian skaters. They married in 2005 and had a son two years later. Sadly, they announced their separation in 2010, though they remain skating partners.