Solo, Women

The favorite was Canadian Sylvie Fréchette, the 1991 World Champion and World Cup Champion. But only a week before the Olympics, she returned to her home to find the body of her boyfriend, Sylvain Lake, who had committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Fréchette had to overcome that, and was expected to be challenged by American Kristin Babb-Sprague, who was stronger in the freestyle final routine. Fréchette was expected to open a lead in the technical figures and had to maintain that lead. But in that segment, Brazilian judge Maria de Silveira gave Fréchette an unaccountably low score of 8.7. De Silveira maintained that she had made a mistake and hit the wrong button, and meant to give her a score of 9.7. But the score could not be changed, per the FINA rules. The Canadians appealed the decision after the technical figures, but this was overturned 11-2, the two dissenting votes coming from the Canadian members of the Jury of Appeal. This let Babb-Sprague take the lead after the technical figures, and Fréchette was unable to overcome that lead, as Babb-Sprague seemingly won the gold medal.

But that would not be the end of it. Dick Pound, powerful Canadian IOC Member, led a further appeal to have the results overturned. FINA eventually caved to the pressure and elected to declare Fréchette and Babb-Sprague as co-champions in October 1993, and the IOC awarded Fréchette a gold medal in December 1993. Though Babb-Sprague was not so popular in Canada, her husband, Ed Sprague, was, as he played major league baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays, and helped the Blue Jays win the World Series in 1992 and 1993.