On Sunday night, in scenes which might have been considered too mushy for a made-for-TV movie, the two couples involved in figure skating's biggest judging controversy shared a podium, watched the flags of Canada and Russia being hoisted simultaneously and clinked their gold medals off each other in an atmosphere of celebration and mutual admiration. By yesterday the controversy was back centre stage.

In an interview with the French sports daily L'Equipe, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, the French judge at the centre of the dispute, emphatically denied she had made deals with rival teams. She said she falsely implicated French skating officials out of fear.

Last Friday, after a hasty investigation by the International Skating Union (ISU) which it was conceded had yet to be concluded, the IOC announced that the the silver medallists in the figure skating pairs competition, Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, would receive gold medals. Le Gougne had allegedly favoured the Russian couple in a deal to ensure a gold medal for the French in the subsequent ice dancing competition.

But Le Gougne told L'Equipe: "I judged in my soul and conscience. I considered that the Russians were the best. . . I never made a deal with an official or a Russian judge."

Le Gougne spoke of verbal attacks and what she perceived to be physical threats just after the competition. She vowed to name names "when the time comes".

She said she was confronted in her hotel by Sally-Ann Stapleton, head of the ISU technical committee. Stapleton allegedly suggested to Le Gougne that she had been put under pressure by the French Ice Sports Federation (FFSG) and its president Didier Gailhaguet. Le Gougne subsequently told ISU investigators the same thing.

Le Gougne added: "ISU members have been influencing judges in favour of the Canadian pair Sale and Pelletier. The pressure again increased in Salt Lake City, but I judged in good faith that the Russians were best.

"I did not want to talk straight away, but my reputation has been tarnished and I have nothing to lose," she told L'Equipe.