Totmianina and Marinin

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin capped a very successful career that included three Russian National titles, five European titles, and two World titles with an Olympic gold medal in Torino, Italy, in February 2006. The duo has been skating together since 1996 but retired from eligible competition after their Olympic win. The couple returned home to Russia and appeared in a Russian reality television series with celebrity partners. Unfortunately, Tatiana’s partner was forced to withdraw due to injury before the first show was broadcast. Both plan to return to their training town near Chicago, IL to become assistant coaches with the 1984 Olympic pair champion Oleg Vasiliev. They will continue to perform with Champions On Ice in the United States, Europe and Asia where they routinely bring audiences to its feet with their consistently elegant performances.

Vital Statistics:
Name: Tatiana Totmianina
Born: November 2 Perm, Russia
Residence: St. Petersburg, Russia
Interests:
Representing: Russia

Name: Maxim Marinin
Born: March 23 Volgograd, Russia
Residence: St. Petersburg, Russia
Interests:
Representing: Russia

Coach: Oleg Vasiliev

Petrova and Tikhonov

Alexei started skating in 1976 at age 4. In 1992, he was unable to find a partner and was sent to Japan to skate with Yukiko Kawasaki (pictured right @ 1993 NHK Trophy) in a deal between the Russian and Japanese skating federations. The highlights of this pairing were a third place finish at the 1993 NHK Trophy in Japan and fifteenth at the 1994 World Championships.

In 1994, the pair split up and Alexei was invited to join Tatiana Tarasova’s Russian All-Stars ice theater. He was paired with Inna Volyanskaya and skated in productions including Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. Performances were skated on 10 by 10 meter ice surfaces. Alexei has great respect for Tatiana Tarasova. He felt that when he first started with the tour he was a good technical skater, but Tarasova helped bring out his artistic potential. Although he enjoyed skating in the shows and found it a great learning experience, he found that he missed competing immensely.

94worlds-2bw.jpg (8228 bytes)Maria Petrova (picture right w/Anton Sikharulidze @ the 1994 World Championships) started skating in 1986 at age 7. Although this was considered late by some standards, Maria proved she was able to handle this responsibility and became a reliable partner.

While Alexei was on tour, Maria Petrova was having a successful partnership with Anton Sikharulidze. In 1994 and 1995, Maria and Anton won the World Junior Championships. Yet, after the 1996 season, Masha and Anton made the decision to end their partnership.

At the same time, the Russian All-Stars were starting to wind down as Tatiana Tarasova was devoting more time to training her new student, Ilia Kulik.

Ludmila Velikova arranged for Alexei to skate a tryout with Maria. It was after one month of skating, that Alexei Tikhonov all but disappeared without a word to Maria. A choice he admits was a mistake. He then returned to 97nationscupbw.jpg (7658 bytes)show skating, this time with Torvill and Dean’s tour. After realizing his mistake, he called Velikova and was turned away since Maria had teamed with Teimuraz Pulin (pictured left at 1997 Nations Cup) and was loyal to her new partner.

After the 1998 season, Alexei had a tryout with Marina Eltsova, who had decided not to continue with partner, Andrei Bushkov. Alexei debated this partnership and decided not to pursue it. After hearing that Teimuraz Pulin decided to quit skating, Alexei called Velikova immediately. He apologized for his earlier behavior and expressed his interest in skating with Maria. She left this decision to Masha who said no. She said no several times over a two week period. Eventually, Alexei’s persistence was rewarded when she agreed to skate with him.

Kawaguchi and Smirnov

Yuko Kawaguchi's biography would actually be enough for three skaters. She first competed as a single skater for Japan at the international junior level before teaming up with Russian skater Alexander Markuntsov. Kawaguchi and Markuntsov represented Japan and won silver at the 2001 Junior World Figure Skating Championships. They were the first Japanese pair team to ever medal at an ISU championships.

After their partnership dissolved in 2003, coach Tamara Moskvina returned to her home in St. Petersburg, Russia to teach and Kawaguchi followed behind. She teamed up with two American skaters for a brief stint and was eventually paired up with Alexander Smirnov during the spring of last year. Full of determination and ambition, it is not surprising that the new team saw success quickly.

Kawaguchi and Smirnov were selected to compete at the 2006 Cup of Russia where they captured the bronze medal. They seemed poised for a medal at Russian Nationals, but suffered a setback when Kawaguchi broke her ankle on Christmas while practicing a throw triple loop. The team also missed Europeans due to the injury, but later earned a berth to Worlds and were healthy enough to compete.

"I wanted to compete at Worlds so much and travel home, to Japan!" Kawaguchi recalled. "Worlds were in Tokyo, close to my home, and I wanted to be there, no matter what."

Kawaguchi became the first foreigner to represent Russia for figure skating at a World Championship. The couple surprised everyone with a fourth place finish after the short program which included many level four elements.

"I was very pleased with our personal best score that night," recalled Kawaguchi, adding that she was proud to have been able to represent Russia. Smirnov agreed. "Our presentation was good that night and the audience was great."

Going into the free skate, the team suddenly found themselves in the last warm up group. Smirnov had never even competed at a European or World championship before. The biggest event he had gone to was Junior Worlds in 2006.

"I have very positive impressions from Worlds," said Smirnov, "and the strongest one was obviously to skate in the last warm up group and to perform right after Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao. It was hard to skate after them, but we tried our best. Actually we were not ready yet mentally for skating in the last warm up group."

The couple made a few mistakes and finished in 9th place overall, but was still the top ranked Russian pair team. Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov, who were 11th after the short, withdrew due to injury. Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov were 11th overall.

"It was amazing," said Kawaguchi of their first Worlds experience. "We learned a lot there."

Kawaguchi, Smirnov, and Moskvina are hoping for better results this season and have worked hard for it all summer while training in St. Petersburg. "Our goals are to make the Grand Prix Final, to fight for first or second place at Europeans, and to fight for a spot on the podium at Worlds," Kawaguchi summarized.

They kicked their season off at a national competition in Samara at the end of September and won, but there was not much competition there. They are currently slated to compete at Coupe de Nice later this week, and then are scheduled for Skate Canada and Cup of Russia.

With the help Russian-born former U.S. Ice Dancing Champion Peter Tchernyshev, Moskvina and her skaters have put together a new free program to music from the Love Story soundtrack. Moskvina expects the Canadian press to 'jump' at them as the music was made famous by Canadian sweethearts Jamie Sale and David Pelletier - rivals of her students Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikhuralidze. Most will recall that both teams ended up with an Olympic gold medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City when a judging scandal erupted.

Kawaguchi and Smirnov also got a new short program to a Greek Sirtaki, but felt it wouldn't work and have decided to stay with last year's Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saens.

But how did a Japanese girl end up in St. Petersburg skating with a Russian partner for Russia? This story started almost ten years ago in Japan, when Kawaguchi watched the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano. She was fascinated by pair skating.

"I wanted to skate like Elena Berezhnaya," Kawaguchi said later. Never being half-hearted about what she wants to do, the then 16-year-old decided she needed to train with the same coach as Berezhnaya in order to achieve her goals and sent a fax to Moskvina. The prominent coach wasn't too excited at first as her hands were already full, but Kawaguchi persisted. She participated in Moskvina's training camps and kept asking for a partner.

Finally, Moskvina suggested Russian Alexander Markuntsov. They teamed up in March 1999 and competed for Japan. Exactly two years later, the young couple took the silver medal at Junior Worlds in Bulgaria. They continued at the senior level, but their results weren't as good. In 2003, they split up and Markuntsov went on to perform at a skating show and Kawaguchi followed Moskvina to Russia.

There, they found found a new partner for her, American Josh Martin. In May of 2004, Martin was hit by a car while rollerblading to a training session in St. Petersburg, suffering cuts to the legs and a broken elbow. He later decided to return home to the U.S.

Kawaguchi's next partner, Devin Patrick, was an American as well.

"He taught me the quad throw (Salchow)," Kawaguchi explained. "He did really good throws, but some of the other elements didn't work as well."

The team competed at the 2006 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships where they finished 15th, and split up shortly afterwards.

"Life in Russia was hard for Devin," recalled Kawaguchi. "He wanted to live in the U.S., but I didn't want to leave Tamara Nikolaevna (Moskvina). I just couldn't give up my studies, leave my coach, and go to America."

So Kawaguchi stayed in St. Petersburg, and once again, began looking for a new partner. Thoughts that her skating career was over were constantly in her head.

"When it didn't work out with Devin, I thought that continuing didn't make sense," the 25-year-old explained. "However, I had to finish my studies at the university (in St. Petersburg), and I couldn't just go home. How could I have stopped skating and studying? I would have returned home (to Japan) with empty hands. If it doesn't work out with my skating career, I had to at least finish my studies."

The pair skating coaches in St. Petersburg then suggested that Kawaguchi should try out with Smirnov. He had just split up with partner Ekaterina Vassileva after finishing 6th at Junior Worlds in March 2006.

"The try-out didn't feel special," Kawaguchi admitted. "Until then, I always thought that I needed a partner with a certain height, a certain character, and certain abilities. Tamara Nikolaevna works at a very high level and has high demands. But then I didn't have much of a choice after Devin. So I told myself that I can skate with anybody and I didn't really judge Sasha (Smirnov) and his skating."

Smirnov was also skeptical at first. "I had mixed feelings," the 23-year-old confessed. "We were able to do some difficult elements right away, like triples, but we felt really uncomfortable with some of the other elements. My biggest concern was that the girl wasn't Russian."

Although Kawaguchi speaks fluent Russian by now and successfully finished her studies in "International Relationships" this summer in St. Petersburg, there is still a cultural barrier. "The mentality is different," Smirnov acknowledged. "She is very modest and secretive. She doesn't just come and give you the news. Even when she passed her exams successfully, she didn't come and tell me about it. Maybe it's just modesty, but maybe this is the mentality of Japanese girls."

Kawaguchi on the other hand, feels the language barrier. "I am not such a quiet person. Sasha thinks that I am, but that's not true. I just can't talk the way I'd like to!" Kawaguchi pointed out. "Sasha is joking a lot and I don't understand all of these jokes."

Nevertheless, they get along well and support each other, but they are not a couple off the ice.

The ambitious team wants to include the quad throw Salchow in their free program, and Kawaguchi is not afraid at all of this high risk element - despite taking a lot of falls in practice. Smirnov is impressed by her working ethics.

"I don't want to say anything bad about my previous partners, but in comparison to her, they were much weaker," stated Smirnov. "Usually you have to push our Russian girls in practice, but here it's the opposite. Sometimes I am tired and she is pushing me," he laughed.

For both, studying plays an important role. After finishing her studies with the university this June, Kawaguchi is now thinking of studying another language. Smirnov finished his studies of "municipality management" in November 2006 and started to study at a sports university this year.

"Actually I am not so fond of studying and I prefer physical work to intellectual work," admitted Smirnov. "But if I want to continue working in the sphere of figure skating and if I want to be able to work at a higher position, which is possible thanks to my first diploma, I'll need to have an education in sport theory as well."

Kawaguchi and Smirnov are one of the hopes of the Russian Skating Federation. Russian skating is far from previous success and glory since the stars of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games retired. For the first time in decades, Russia didn't win a single medal at the 2006 World Championships.

Pair skating, which was once the stronghold of Russians, is in disarray. Currently there are only two competitive senior pair teams left – Kawaguchi and Smirnov and Mukhortova and Trankov. The other teams have retired, split up, and/or are taking a break or are not eligible to represent Russia in international competition.

Currently, the Japanese-Russian duo is not eligible to compete at the Olympic Winter Games as Kawaguchi would first need to obtain Russian citizenship. It will be a tough decision to make for the athlete as she has to renounce her Japanese citizenship. Japan does not tolerate double citizenship.

"Before, I didn't think so much about Olympic Games. It was enough for me to be able to compete at Worlds," Kawaguchi said. "If Sasha and I are having good results maybe I'll do it. The Olympics is something you get to participate in once or twice in your life. The Japanese authorities told me that I can reapply for Japanese citizenship after giving it up, but only after ten years. The laws are very strict. If I have Russian citizenship, I'll need a visa in order to travel home. My parents will have to send me an invitation."

Understandably, Kawaguchi doesn't like this prospect. On the other hand however, she has already gone far to pursue her dream of becoming a great pair skater. Time will only tell.

Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze

SALT LAKE CITY -- Yelena Berezhnaya doesn't look back. Not at the glory or misfortunes that have filled her figure skating career. Not at the success Russian or Soviet pairs have had in the Olympics.

So when Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the short program Saturday night at the Winter Games, edging Canadian world champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, Berezhnaya ignored history.

Jamie Sale
Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier are able to laugh, because they waited until taking their bows to fall to the ice.

"I didn't count how many years everybody had won," she said, referring to her nation's pairs gold-medal streak that dates to the 1964 Games. "We have to compete here like we aren't like anybody else. I don't think about 1,000 years ago. We just have to do what we have to do."

Seven of the nine judges gave them the highest marks for their display of precision skating typical of the Russians.

"It's dedication, it's enthusiasm, tradition and art in sport, education in theater, psychology and the quality to adjust to any circumstance," said Russian coach Tamara Moskvina, who has trained three Olympic champion pairs. "That is the history of our country."

Sale and Pelletier have their own victory string, nine, three times over Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze. To make it 10 in a row, they'll have to overtake the Russians in the free skate Monday night, worth two-thirds of the total score.

"We're not trying to beat the Russians," Pelletier said. "We are competing for Jamie and David. If I am going out to beat the Russians, I am going to kill myself. That is not how competition works."

China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo were third. Americans Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman were fifth after a slightly flawed program.

The other American pair, Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn, were 11th after she fell twice.

The Russians' program flowed from beginning to end, and their side-by-side triple toe loops were smooth and in complete unison. Their split double twist was so strong he placed his arms by his side while she was airborne, then had time to reach up and catch her.
They pumped their fists and hugged warmly before he kissed her on the head at the end of their short program.

Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze won two world titles after a second-place finish at the 1998 Games. Still, they have had their problems since Nagano.

In 2000, Berezhnaya failed a drug test, blaming an over-the-counter cold medicine. They withdrew from the world championships, then were suspended for three months by the International Skating Union and stripped of their European crown.

The Russians also skipped the European championships last month because of his leg injury. And Berezhnaya's face swelled after going to a tanning salon earlier this week.

That hardly was the worst to happen to Berezhnaya, who missed much of 1996 after her former partner, Oleg Shliakov, accidentally sliced her head with his skate while they practiced a spin. Berezhnaya barely escaped injuries to her brain, and after teaming with Sikharulidze, the pair has been among the world's best.

"Many things happened in the last four years, good and bad," Sikharulidze said. "To be here and skate well is just great."

The leaders are training partners in Hackensack, N.J., with three-time U.S. champions Ina and Zimmerman, who took the ice to hundreds of waving flags.

Zimmerman, in his Olympic debut, and Ina, in her third games, skated well, but not perfectly. He added a side hop to his triple jump and he momentarily lost his balance on a camel spin, despite not falling out of sync with Ina.

"If he would have two-footed it," a chuckling Ina said of the jump, "it would have looked a lot nicer."

With the crowd chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A," their lowest marks came from the American judge, which surprised them.

Ina also was surprised to be one of eight athletes chosen to meet President Bush before the opening ceremony Friday night.

"That was an extremely 'WOW' moment of my life," she said.

Sale and Pelletier's playful routine to "Jalousie" included a move where she places her hand atop his head and bounces him as if he were a basketball. Their combination lift featured an unusual cartwheel dismount.

Seconds after the music ended, Pelletier fell, bringing Sale down with him. Both laughed as they stood up, knowing that little miscue didn't count.

"I said, 'I cannot believe I came all the way here to do that,"' Pelletier said. "The WWF, we're sure, will like this. I hope nobody thought we did it on purpose. You don't want to end your program on your butt -- not here, anyway."

The Chinese, medalists at worlds the last three years after a fifth at Nagano, featured a huge throw triple loop in which she seemed headed for the cheap seats before landing in perfect form. But they lacked spark and when he made an extra turn on their side-by-side spins, it dropped them to third, where even the Chinese judge had them.

Gordeeva and Grinkov

Full name: Ekaterina Alexandrovna Gordeeva
Nick name: Katia, Katya, Katuuh, Katoosha
Born: May 28, 1971 (Gemini)
Place of birth: Moscow, Russia
Significant other: - married Sergei Grinkov on April 20, 1991 (state wedding), the church wedding was on April 28, 1991 in Moscow
- married Ilia Kulik on June 10, 2002 in San Francisco
Children: daughters Daria and Liza
Father: Alexander Alexeyevich Gordeev
Mother: Elena Levovna Gordeeva
Siblings: sister - Maria Alexandrovna Gordeeva
(4 years younger)
Height: approx. 156 cm (5"21)
Weight: approx. 40 - 45 kilo (90 lbs)
Hair colour: brown
Eye colour: blue-grey

The story of two- time Gold medalist, Ekaterina Gordeeva, is an example of strength, endurance, and hope. With a celebrated career in the world of pairs figure skating, she and Sergei Grinkov mesmerized audiences with their classic romantic style. Partners on and off of the ice, Gordeeva tragically became a widow and single mother at the tender age of twenty-four. With courage and support from the skating community and fans, she returned to the ice to become an award winning singles skater, Stars On Ice performer, and author of two books.

The daughter of Alexander Alexeyevich Gordeev (Folk Dancer) and Elena Levovna Gordeeva (TASS News Agency), she began skating with the Central Red Army Club in Moscow, Russia at the age of four. Despite her father's hopes that she and younger sister, Maria, would dance with the Bolshoi Ballet Company she instead showed great skating talent. Having problems with her jumps, however, a coach teamed her with fifteen year old Sergei Grinkov in 1982 feeling they would both excel in pairs skating. Together, they were a love story on ice, winning the 1988 and 1994 Winter Olympics and four World Championships. A favorite of the Stars On Ice cast, they enjoyed a successful professional career as well.

Tragedy struck in 1995 when Grinkov died of a heart attack while rehearsing for the upcoming Stars On Ice season. Depressed and facing life alone as a single mother, her love of skating and her daughter provided the purposes to carry on. In 1996 when many friends and figure skating associates organized a tribute for Grinkov, Gordeeva shocked them by announcing that she would skate in the tribute. Choreographer, Marina Zueva, created a breathtaking program for Gordeeva to the music of Mahler. She returned to the ice skating alone for the first time in her husband's tribute Sergei Grinkov: Celebration of a Life. Encouraged by the acceptance of her skating, she rejoined Stars On Ice and began touring with them as a singles skater.

A model for widows and single women starting over, Gordeeva wrote My Sergei: A Love Story, chronicling her life with Grinkov. The book was made into a television special in which Gordeeva starred in 1998. She followed up her writing success with the book A Letter For Daria in 1998. She became a spokesperson for Target Stores in 1997 and launched two fragrance lines "Katia" and "Katia Sport". In 1999, she joined Scott Hamilton, Amy Grant, and Tiger Woods who participated in the opening of Target House in Memphis, Tennessee. Gordeeva dedicated "Sergei's Garden" at the house in memory of her late husband. She continues to be an inspiration to many, even outside the figure skating world.

Recently, Gordeeva started a new chapter of her life. Finding love again with Olympic Champion, Ilia Kulik, and welcoming daughter, Elizaveta Ilinichna, into the world on June 15, 2001. The couple were married in a private ceremony in San Francisco, California on June 10, 2002. Katia and Ilia work together whenever possible and fans are thrilled when they perform programs together. Many are truly amazed at the happiness in Katia's face watching her perform similar pairs moves to those that first captured the hearts of her skating fans. She truly is proof that life can go on after tragedy strikes and she continues to be an inspiration to many, on and off the ice.
Full name: Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov
Nick name: Serioque
Born: Feb 4, 1967 (Aquarius)
died: Nov 20, 1995
Place of birth: Moscow, Russia
Significant other: - married Ekaterina Gordeeva on April 20, 1991 (state wedding), the church wedding was on April 28, 1991 in Moscow
Children: daughter Daria
Father: Mikhail Kondrateyevich Grinkov (died in 1990)
Mother: Anna Filipovna Grinkova (died in 2000)
Siblings: sister - Natalia Mikhailovna Grinkova
(7 years older)
Height: approx. 180 cm (5"11')
Weight: approx. 80 kilo (180 lbs)
Hair colour: brown (as child: blonde)
Eye colour: blue

When Sergei Grinkov's heart stopped in 1995, it left a hole in the hearts of fans, friends, and the figure skating community. Part of the legendary 1988 and 1994 Olympic champion pairs skating team with his wife Ekaterina Gordeeva, his artistry and power on the ice left an indelible mark on the sport.

The son of Soviet Police officers, Mikhail Kondrateyevich Grinkov and Anna Filipovna Grinkova he was inducted into the Central Red Army Sports Club at the age of five. His older sister, Natalia, has been quoted as saying, "That is when his crazy training sessions began." Ten years later he was paired with Gordeeva and groomed as a pairs skater. From the beginning the pair exhibited a special chemistry together and in 1984, they won the World Junior Championships after skating together for less than two years. They advanced quickly and won their first senior World Championship in 1987. Despite being very young, the team skated with a rare maturity and captured the Gold medal at the 1988 Olympics.

He teamed up with Gordeeva off of the ice by 1989 and in 1991 they married in Moscow, Russia. The pair turned professional that same year and began touring with Tom Collins' Champions On Ice. By fall they had joined Stars On Ice.. Before the tour, Grinkov had been experiencing problems with his right shoulder and underwent two surgeries to repair a torn rotator cuff and clean away scar tissue. Choreographer Marina Zueva, created beautiful routines for the pair designed to enhance their perfection on the ice with care not to stress Grinkov's shoulder.

In 1992, Gordeeva gave birth to their daughter, Daria. Grinkov was a natural and doting father; he bought his daughter's first pair of ice skates. Excellent athletes, the pair joined the cast of Stars On Ice for rehearsals a little over thirty days after the birth of their daughter. One year later many top professional athletes began petitioning the International Skating Union for reinstatement of their amateur status to participate in the 1994 Winter Olympics. Grinkov and Gordeeva were granted reinstatement. With their poetic routine to "Moonlight Sonata", the majestic pair won the Gold medal.

In 1995, as Grinkov and Gordeeva rehearsed in Lake Placid, New York for the upcoming Stars On Ice season, Grinkov slumped to the ice as his heart stopped beating. An ambulance was called and he was rushed to a nearby hospital. Despite attempts to restart his heart, Grinkov died due to a blockage to his heart. The skating community mourned Grinkov at a wake and memorial service in Saranac Lake, New York. Grinkov's body was moved to Moscow, Russia and another memorial held at the Central Red Army Club ice rink. Grinkov is burried in the Vagankovskoy Cemetery in Russia.

Lobacheva and Averbukh

Ilia started skating because of his mother at the age of 5. Ilia rather wanted to be a tennis player and said that kids nowadays in Russia learn how to play tennis instead of skating. When Ilia was growing up Russia didn't have any famous tennis players but definitely excelled in skating (Pakhomova/Gorshkov, Rodnina /Saitzev). Irina started skating when she was 6 years old.

Irina and Iia were skating in one group until she was 10. Then she started singles skating and Ilia went into dance.

Ilia Averbukh had previously skated with Marina Anissina and together they won 2 Junior World Championships ( 1990, 1992). He then wanted to skate with Irina, to whom he was married on March 10, 1995.

Irina Lobacheva had skated with Alexei Pospelov finishing 1st in the Nebelhorn Trophy in 1991 and 6th in the Russian Nationals in 1992 before teaming up with Ilia. Together they skate for the club "Twizzl Moscow".

After the Goodwill Games in the summer of 1994 their trainer team moved to Delaware/USA with all of their students to train at the Universiy of Delaware. Irina and Ilia did not want to leave their families in Russia and decided to stay in Moscow. After one year they followed Linnichuk & Karpanossov to once again train with them because they just did not progress in the placements.
Their costumes are made in Russia and designed by a Russian costume designer. They have a tailor's dummy there and once the costumes are finished they are sent to them. Ilia's mother helps with the sewing.

With the busy schedule in Delaware they have a hard time finding friends. Therefore, they miss their families and friends back in Russia a lot. Both have a brother of which Ilia's is 17 years.

They train from 9 -11 am and 10 pm - midnight plus approximately 2 hours off ice with only Sunday off. Since they are wound up after their midnight practice, they divide their sleep between the two practice sessions. So they feel tired quite a bit.

Irina is a great housewife (this is what Ilia said) and likes to keep things in order. On her day off she prepares all the meals for the whole week while Ilia rather relaxes, watches TV and uses his computer. He also bought one for his family, so they can stay in contact easier with Email. He also likes to play tennis and soccer. She enjoys to read and do ballett. In the fairly small town of Newark they miss cultural events. They appreciate New York with its big variety of theaters, to give them new innovation and impulses. For their vacation they try to go to Russia, but also love sunshine and beach. In the summer of 99 for example they enjoyed a 2 week vacation in Egypt.

They only want to continue skating amateur till 2002 or 2004 and then return to Russia because they believe life cannot just be skating. Irina might seek a career in coaching while this will not be an option for Ilia. He would rather go into TV commentating or journalism and use his experience in this field.
Favourite Compulsory Dance: Golden Waltz

Least favourite Compulsory Dance: Paso Doble

Coaches: Natalia Linnichuk & Gennadi Karpanossov (Olympic champions 1980)

Former coaches: L. Kabanova, N. Dybinskaya

Choreographers: Sergei Fokin - Irina Butskova - Nikolay Androsov - Natalia Linnichuk

Navka and Kostomarov

Russia's Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov caused quite a stir last season when they finished third at the European Championships, jumping from seventh place the preceding year. The duo also won Russian Nationals, finished second at the ISU Grand Prix Final, and came fourth at the World Championships, a significant jump from their best prior finish, eighth in 2002. They also took silver medals at Skate America and the Cup of Russia.

Both skaters have been on the world scene for many years. Navka first competed at Worlds in 1995, finishing fifth with Samuel Gezoljan for Belarus, while Kostomarov won the World Junior Championships the following year with Ekaterina Davydova. In 1997 and 1998, Navka returned to Worlds with Nikolai Morozov, finishing tenth in 1998 before he retired to become a coach and choreographer. She teamed up with Kostomarov in 1999, finishing 12th at Worlds before taking off in 2000 to have a baby with her husband, Alexander Zhulin. Kostomarov skated with Anna Semenovitch that season, finishing 13th at Worlds, but after Navka's daughter Sasha was born in the summer of 2000, he called and asked her to compete with him again.

Kostomarov started skating when he was nine. "It was something to do," he said. "I tried swimming but I wasn't good at it so my mother took me to the rink. When I was eleven, a coach saw me and took me for dance." On the other hand, Navka begged to skate. "When I was five, I saw skating on television at the Olympics and from then on it was my dream to skate," Navka said. "Every day I talked about it. I begged my mother to buy me skates. She couldn't find blades but she bought me boots. I slept in my boots, dreaming about skating. Finally she found me a place to skate and blades and I started lessons." Navka skated singles in Odessa, training at the same club and with the same coach as Oksana Baiul, who arrived a few years later. After winning many city and regional competitions with a full array of double jumps, Navka hit a major growth spurt at twelve.

"I competed in singles for several years and did double axel and triple salchow," she said. "I got to the juniors in Ukraine. I was first in figures, second in the short and third in the long. I was a pretty good jumper," said Navka, "but suddenly my legs grew longer, my arms grew longer, and I couldn't do the triples. My coach told me I had to do the jumps or I could switch to dance. They told me I could wait a year but if I was not jumping I would have to go to dance. During the year, they taught me singing and dancing. And I learned to love to dance very much. I was dancing at the bus station. Then one of the dance coaches asked me to join his group." At 13, Navka's coach took several dance teams to Moscow to try out with the legendary Natalia Dubova. Only Navka was selected. Soon she was paired with Gezoljan, with whom she skated for six years and reached her first Worlds.

Navka and Kostomarov are coached by her husband, Sasha Zhulin, and Elena Tchaikovskaia. They train in Hackensack, New Jersey for one to two hours daily, five days a week during the summer, increasing to as many as four hours a day in the winter. In season, they take ballet classes, while in the summer, they run and work in the gym for conditioning. Kostomarov also cycles.

Tatiana Druchinina choreographed their dances for last season. They used a march and a waltz from the movie My Sweet and Affectionate Beast for their original dance and Peter Gabriel's The Feeling Begins for their free dance. "We all sit together to choose the music," Kostomarov said. "I like fierce music," Navka stated, "and sexy music." Off ice, she likes to listen to jazzy music and Russian pop music, while he likes hip-hop.

"We liked the free dance music because it had a lot of energy and passion. The first time I heard it I liked it and dreamed of skating to it. It was one of our best free programs." "I think the music we chose for the original dance was very dramatic," she said. "We were trying to tell a story, like War and Peace. At first, people are dancing, then they meet and fall in love, but war is coming." "It's very nice, very romantic," Kostomarov added.
Off ice, Kostomarov likes to play pool, soccer and tennis and go bowling. Navka played tennis when she was younger but is now learning how to play golf. "I'm just starting, but Sasha is a very good player," she said. She spends most of her time with Zhulin and her daughter. "My baby is my fun now," she said. "I spend every minute with her and miss her a lot when I'm gone. I've taken her skating a couple of times and I give her all the toys we get. We're also buying a new house, so I'm collecting dishes and china and things." Navka also likes to think up ideas for their costumes. "Sasha and I work together on the designs," she said.

They both enjoy travel. Kostomarov's favorite trip was to Australia, but Navka loved Italy. "It's very romantic. The food is unbelievable, the people are friendly, and there's lots of shopping and all kinds of things to see. Every part of the country is different with mountains and beaches."

The dancers' goal is to win an Olympic medal in 2006. "We won't go until 2010," Kostomarov said. "People might hate us if we stayed another four years." Both skaters have finished their studies at the Academy of Sport and may coach after they finish competing. Navka, who has a very exotic look, has also considered a career as a model.

Krylova and Ovsyannikov

Nearly ten years ago, Natalia Linichuk convinced Anjelika Krylova to end her partnership with Vladimir Fedorov and pursue a future skating with Oleg Ovsyannikov. Ovsyannikov, one of the last students of Liudmila Pakhomova had chosen skating over ballet college (Bolshoi Theater) at an earlier age due to Pahkhomova's encouragement to continue skating.

A career jewelled with a silver medal finish at the 1998 Olympic Games and two World Championship titles in 1998 and 1999 ended in fall 1999 when Krylova's recurring back injury forced the duo to take an indefinite break.

Anjelika and Oleg returned to the competitive scene as professionals in winter 2000.
Skating to a revised version of Carmina Burana (their intended free program for the previous season) and a new Cleopatra and Caesar artistic program, they finished second at the World Professional Championships. A year later, they won the 2001 American Open and the Hallmark Professional Figure Skaters Championship.

Alexei Urmanov

Alexei Yevgenyevich Urmanov (Russian: Алексей Евгеньевич Урманов) (born November 17, 1973 in Leningrad) was a famous Russian figure skater,[1] who currently works as a coach. He is the 1994 Olympic champion and a Honoured Masters of Sports of Russian Federation.
Urmanov was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union, and competed for the Soviet Union internationally. He won the silver medal at the 1990 World Junior Figure Skating Championships for that country. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Urmanov chose to compete for Russia. In 1991, at age 17, he became the first skater to perform a quadruple jump at the European Figure Skating Championships.

He competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics, where he placed 5th.

Following his gold medal at the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Urmanov chose to remain in the competitive ranks. He was European champion in 1997, but an injury kept him from earning a trip to the 1998 Olympics.[2] He turned pro after and he won the World Professional championships in 1999.

Throughout his career, Urmanov was known for his flamboyant costuming and balletic style.

Currently he is a skating coach and an International Skating Union technical specialist. He coaches Sergei Voronov. In 2004 he got married to Viktoria Urmanova and they are the parents of twins.

Ilia Kulik

Kulik
IKilikActionLarge
OLYMPIC CHAMPION

Residence: California
Birth Date: May 23, 1977
Birth Place: Moscow, Russia
Competitive Highlights
Amateur
1998 Winter Olympics – 1st
1998 Champions Series Final – 1st
1998 Russian National Championships – 1st
1998 NHK Trophy Championship – 1st
1998 Skate Canada – 2nd
1997 World Championships – 5th
1997 European Championships – 4th
1997 Russian National Championships – 1st
1997 Champions Series Final – 1st
1996 World Championships – 2nd
1996 European Championships – 3rd
1996 Russian National Championships – 2nd
1995 European Championships – 1st
1995 World Juniors – 1st
1995 Russian National Championships – 2nd
1995 World Championships – 9th

When 20-year-old Ilia Kulik stood at the top of the Olympic podium in Nagano, Japan in February 1998, he was only the second man in figure skating singles history to achieve a Gold Medal on his first trip to the Winter Games (the first being the United States’ Dick Button in 1948).

In Nagano Ilia placed first with both his short and long programs, “Revolutions” and “Rhapsody in Blue.” “Rhapsody in Blue,” one of the most ambitious Olympic programs ever successfully skated, included a flawlessly executed quadruple toe loop, 8 triple jumps, intricate footwork, multiple spins and sweeping connective choreography. In total, Ilia achieved an “overpowering” Olympic performance according to Time magazine.

Ilia’s “big dream” as he has called it, started when he was five-years-old in his hometown, Moscow. His mother took him to a children’s skating class to see if skating might be his sport. After watching her son fall and fall again at his first try on skates, Mrs. Kulik thought they should try out another sport right away. She was surprised to hear the teacher ask her to bring Ilia back.

“But why? He keeps falling.”

“Yes,” said the teacher, “but he keeps getting up.”

Fifteen years later, with days marked by the same determination, an Olympic champion emerged.

Ilia’s talent in his formative years enabled him to work with the distinguished Russian coach, Viktor Kudriavtsev. Later in his eligible career, he worked with Russian coach and choreographer, Tatiana Tarasova, well known to the American skating community.

His first significant international win, at the age of 13, was a gold in the 1990 Piruetten Juniors competition in Norway. Early competitive achievements include gold at 1994 Russian Junior Nationals (age 16), 1994 Nebelhorn Trophy, 1995 Junior Worlds (age 17), and most importantly, a gold medal at 1995 European Championship in Dortmund, Germany. On his way to the gold medal in Nagano, Ilia won a wide variety of skating honors including two Russian national championships (1997, 1998).

As a professional skater, Ilia has distinguished himself as an innovative choreographer and as a mature skater who continues to stress classic skills and technical elegance. Off ice, Ilia has explored other avenues, the most noticeable being a major role in the 2000 dance film, Center Stage.

In the past several years, Ilia has become more active as a coach, working with promising young skaters and Olympic contenders. He has often observed that he is committed to passing along the excellent coaching he received. Ilia is married to Olympic and World champion, Ekaterina Gordeeva. They live in California with their daughters, Daria (Dasha) Grinkova, 15 and Elizaveta (Liza) Kulik, 6.

Brian Joubert

Brian Joubert (born September 20, 1984) is a French figure skater. He is the 2007 World Champion, the 2004 and 2007 European champion, the five time French National champion, and the 2006 Grand Prix champion.

Joubert was born in Poitiers, France to Jean-Michel and Raymonde Joubert. He suffered a life-threatening illness at the age of 11 months, which led to the removal of one kidney. Because of this illness, Joubert chose figure skating over more violent sports that he favored. He began skating at the age of four with his two older sisters. The siblings started out with ice-dancing, but Joubert became fascinated with the jumping aspect of singles skating and switched disciplines.

Joubert has been considered somewhat of a heartthrob in his native country, France. This reputation has been contributed to by Joubert's short relationship with former Miss France, Lætitia Bléger.

Joubert is a sponsor for an association for children with Williams syndrome. In March 2006, Joubert published his biography, Brian Joubert: le feu de la glace, in French.


Coaching Changes
Joubert trained for 15 years with Veronique Guyon because of his desire to remain close to his family in Poitiers. Guyon resigned from her position in the summer of 2003 due to her desire to spend more time with her family. Joubert then started training for the 2003-04 season with Laurent Depouilly, and took on Alexei Yagudin as his 'advisor'. Joubert parted ways with Yagudin because of Yagudin's dislike of Nikolai Morozov, Joubert's choreographer.

Because of a lack of support from his current coach, Joubert fired Depouilly and returned to Guyon for a brief period of time. However, Guyon's demands that Joubert stop working with his mother and that she should get paid by receiving 10% of his prize money from the 2005-06 season caused their relationship to further deteriorate, and Joubert parted ways with Guyon on October 2003. Joubert switched to Andrei Berenzitsev, but as of September 2006, is coached by Jean-Christophe Simond.

Joubert has also received criticism over his association with Didier Gailhaguet, the former head of the French skating organization. However, Joubert credits Gailhaguet as having helped his career enormously.


Career Highlights and Trademarks
In his debut at the 2002 European Championships, Joubert won the bronze medal. In 2004, Joubert became the first Frenchman to become European Champion in 40 years. At his second Olympic Games, the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, he finished sixth overall. He has also won the silver medal in the World Championships in 2004 and 2006.

For the 2006-2007 Grand Prix season, Joubert was assigned to compete in Trophée Eric Bompard and Cup of Russia, and placed first in both events. He went on to win the ISU Grand Prix Final in Saint Petersburg. Joubert reclaimed his European title at the 2007 European Figure Skating Championships.

Joubert is known for his strong jumping ability. He has a consistent quadruple salchow and a quadruple toe loop. At the 2006 Cup of Russia competition, Joubert joined an elite group of men's skaters by landing three quadruple jumps--two toe loops and a salchow--in his long program.

Joubert has been criticized for the lack of variety in his spins, but this area has shown a marked improvement because of Joubert's work with Swiss skater Lucinda Ruh starting at the 2005-2006 season.

Alexei Yagudin

Aleksei Konstantinovich Yagudin was born on March 18th 1980 in Leningrad (now
St. Petersburg), Russia. He was named after his grandfather, Aleksei.

He was an ailing boy and the doctors told his mother, who was a skater, to take him to the rink. He was four years old.

Lyosha's first rink was in church which was nationalised during the war. His
first coach was Alexandr Mayorov. Aleksei really admired him.

When Lyosha was eight years old on the one of children competition of figure
skating he made 50 "revolvers" on each leg. It was the begining of the figure
skating legend named "Aleksei Yagudin".

In the year of 1990 Mayorov moved to Sweden and Aleksei begans training
for Aleksei Mishin. So he moved to Yubileiny Sport Club (in St. Petersburg). As a 10 year old boy he was doing two triple jumps in his program.

The year 1991 was a sad year for Aleksei. His parents Zoya and Konstantin got divorced. Konstantin abandoned the family and moved to Germany and Aleksei has never seen him since. Now he says: "I do not want to see my father. My mother raised me and she was like a mother and a father."
He lived with his mother and granny Maria in one flat (russian called
"comunalka") with other family. Once he said: "My dream is to have our own
one-room flat and eat bananas every day!" Maybe this is why one of his 1997 season
programs was "Akuna Matata" or "One Banana".

Aleksei was seventeen when he won gold medal at World Junior Figure Skating
Championchips in 1997 in Australia. This time he said words that are known by all his
fans: "When I'd won this competition I said WOW!" he smiles. Anyway in the same
year he won World Figure Skating Championchips bronze. Aleksei Yagudin came to
the elite of figure skating.

In 1998 Alyosha won his first title of World Figure Skating Champion. It was in
March. Two months later, in May, he changed coach and with his new trainer,
legendary russian skater Tatiana Tarasova, moved to the USA.

Zoya Alekseevna remembers that when Aleksei was a child he dreamed to be an
engineer or a taxi driver: "Our room floor was full of bricks, cars, toy-castles &
so on...", she smiles. Now Yagudin has three real cars and he enjoys driving them. As all russians he loves fast driving and sometimes he has had trouble with the US police.

Also in the USA Aleksei bought a pet, an American cocker-spaniel, named Lawrence after Aleksei's favourite program "Lawrence of Arabia". Lyosha calls him Lawrie and tells us: "All my life I've been dreaming of a dog. Tatiana Anatolyevna said that she would buy me a dog if I did 10 perfect jumps. I was doing them again and again but she was never satisfied. So I went out and bought it myself." Now Lawrie lives in St.Petersburg with Aleksei's family because Lyosha lives in his friends flat in the USA.

Surya Bonaly

Surya Bonaly (born 15 December, 1973) is a professional figure skater. Bonaly represented France as a competitive skater, but is now also a United States citizen.

Career

Bonaly was born in Nice, France in 1973. She began skating when she was eighteen months old. When she was a child, her skating heroes were Midori Ito and Brian Boitano.

When Bonaly first began to compete at the international level, her coach at the time, Didier Gailhaguet, fabricated a story that she had been born on Reunion Island before being adopted by the Bonalys in France. This was widely reported by the international media (including, for example, a lengthy feature during the CBS television broadcast of the 1989 World Championships) before the story was finally debunked. Bonaly now lists her birthplace as Nice. Later in her career, Bonaly was coached by her adoptive mother, Suzanne, a former physical education teacher.

Bonaly went on to become a nine-time winner of the French National Championships (1989 - 1997) and won the European Figure Skating Championships five times (1991 - 1995). She was a three-time silver medalist at the World Figure Skating Championships (1993 - 1995), but she never managed to win a world title, despite her strong jumping ability. Nor did she ever win a medal in the Winter Olympics, placing 5th in 1992 in Albertville, 4th in 1994 at Lillehammer, and 10th in 1998 at Nagano.

Formerly a competitive gymnast, Bonaly is famous for her backflip landed on only one blade; she is considered the only skater in the world capable of this move. She is also known for having attempted and apparently landed a quadruple toe loop jump at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships -- the first and only female skater to have done so. Bonaly was never credited with successfully landing the jump by the International Skating Union.

Bonaly is just as famous for her defiant, saucy attitude. This attitude was on display during the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships in Chiba, Japan. With Nancy Kerrigan, Oksana Baiul and Chen Lu out, it was an open field for the championship. Bonaly skated a clean performance but, according to the judges, home country favorite Yuka Sato skated a better one. Bonaly thought she was robbed and defiantly stood aside the medals platform rather than on it.

Although she was coaxed into standing on the platform, Bonaly took off her silver medal after it was presented to her and was immediately booed by the crowd. After the medals presentation, a crying Bonaly was greeted by reporters. She believed she was robbed of gold in 1993 as well, as she thought she should have beaten Oksana Baiul at that particular World Championship competition (Baiul narrowly won the world title, having been outjumped and outspun by Bonaly but receiving higher artistic impression scores).

Bonaly suffered a very serious injury, rupturing her achilles tendon, in the summer of 1996 that caused her to miss much of the following season. Although she returned to competition for the 1997-98 season, her jumping never returned to its previous level.

Having lost any chance for a medal during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan due to a fall on a triple Salchow jump, Bonaly decided to end her amateur career with a symbolic gesture: with nothing left to lose, she performed her signature back flip -- an illegal move under International Skating Union rules -- in front of the judges. She then proceeded to finish her program with her back facing the judges.

Bonaly resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. and became an American citizen in November 2003. She is currently touring with Champions on Ice.

Michelle Kwan

Michelle Wing Kwan was born in Torrance, California on July 7, 1980. She was born into a modest, middle-class Chinese family as the youngest of three children. After watching her older brother Ron play ice hockey at age five, Michelle decided she wanted to skate too. Because of the enormous expenses, her family was forced to sell their restaurant and moved in with Danny Kwan's (Michelle's father's) parents to allow Michelle, Karen, and Ron to continue skating. These sacrifices would eventually pay off because Michelle won her first competition at age seven!

Michelle made her break-through at the 1994 U.S. National Championships after winning the silver medal. She was the alternate for the 1994 U.S. Olympic Team at age thirteen that same year. Imagine that! And that's not all. Michelle carried a huge responsibility at the 1994 World Championships. Representing the United States on her own, she skated to an impressive eighth place finish at her first World Championships to guarantee the U.S. two spots for the ladies next year.

The 1994-1995 season was when Michelle learned it was time to "grow-up." After skating two flawless programs at the World Championships, the only lady to do so, she placed fourth overall. A lack of artistry and presentation held her back from competing with the elite of the sport.

1996 was Michelle's "dream season." She finished first in every event except for Centennial on Ice where she placed third early in the season. With new costumes, make-up, and choreography, she transformed into the new queen of the ice. Michelle had the total package, artistry and the jumps.

The 1997 season was a big test for Michelle. Physical and mental changes had thrown her off and caused her to be distracted. The unraveling of things began at the 1997 U.S. National Championships. After skating a clean short program, Michelle totally fell apart in the long program. Fall after fall, the world couldn't believe it. Was this the same Michelle Kwan they had grown to know? After it was all over, Tara Lipinski took advantage of the moment and became the new U.S. National Champion. Lipinski also won her World Championship the same season after Michelle made a costly mistake in the short program. (Michelle won the free skate, but had finished fourth in the short to end up second).

On top of the skating world at age 15.

The 1998 skating season was Michelle's "comeback season." She beat Lipinski at Skate America, but at Skate Canada, she injured her toe in a butterfly. Going into U.S. Nationals, she was unsure of how she would be able to skate. But oh, would it be a week to remember. Michelle skated flawlessly to a total of fifteen perfect scores of 6.0 and her second U.S. National Championship. Going into the Olympics, she was the overwhelming favorite. Skating a clean performance to arguably the best short program ever, "Rachmaninoff," Michelle stood in first place. But a "tentative" free skate to "Lyra Angelica" cost her the gold to Lipinski who skated the skate of her life in the free skate. Sure, it was something to be bummed out about, but Michelle took that silver medal and wore it proudly. She later won the World Championships and the Goodwill Games that year.

After the 1999 World Championships and her 2nd place finish, critics started writing off Kwan, saying that she wasn't pushing herself technically. She was becoming a veteran of the sport. Most of the attention was geared towards the younger U.S. skaters and the Russian ladies. But would Michelle ever show the world what she was made of. Standing in third overall after the qualifying round and short program at the 2000 World Championships, Michelle delivered one of her most amazing performances. Skating to selections from the "The Red Violin," Michelle executed all seven of her triple jumps and was the only women to land a triple/triple combination. Michelle skated with speed, intensity, and passion on her way to a third World Championship.

Michelle entered the 2000-2001 skating season as the reigning World Champion. Michelle squeaked in a victory over fellow American Sarah Hughes at Skate America. She was beaten by Russian skater Irina Slutskaya at Skate Canada, and Slutskaya beat her another two times later in the season including at the Grand Prix Final. Michelle entered the World Championships again as the underdog, but she was focused. Michelle had three tremendous skates at Worlds and won her fourth World title. It wasn't about proving anyone wrong anymore; it was about loving to skate and to compete. It was about looking ahead to the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

During the rocky Olympic season, Michelle brought many surprises to the skating world. Michelle left her choreographer, Lori Nichol, and fired her coach, Frank Carroll. Michelle wanted change and independence and responsibility for her own skating. At Skate Canada in November 2001, Michelle finished third for the first time since 1996, falling on both her attempts at triple/triple combinations. At the National Championships, Michelle rebounded with a brilliant performance to "Scheherazade" to win her sixth National title and a spot on the Olympic Team. Michelle once again entered the Olympics as the favorite for gold. She skated a gorgeous short program to "Rachmaninoff," which placed her in first after the short program (the same program, which put her in first after the short in Nagano). Then came the free skate. Then came the two-footed triple-toe. Then came the fall on the triple flip. Michelle was surpassed by another teammate of hers, this time sixteen year old Sarah Hughes, and wound up with the bronze medal. Michelle stunned herself; she stunned the World. But she made no excuses for herself; she never complained once. Michelle being Michelle handled herself with the rare grace and class that defines her so well.


Performing a stag jump during her perfect free skate at Nationals. © AP
Michelle entered the 2002-2003 season unsure about her future. She had won a
warm-up event defeating Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen, and she won at Skate America as a last-minute replacement for Sarah Hughes. A showdown was brewing at Nationals; one in which Michelle emerged victorious. Under the guidance of coach Scott Williams, she skated a bold short program to "The Feeling Begins" and a lighter free program to "Aranjuez" packed with six triple jumps and a renewed enthusiasm. Her momentum continued in to the World Championships in Washington, D.C. where she won her fifth World title. Once again, it looked like she was back on top.

However, in a warm-up event for the 2003-2004 season, Michelle finished second behind Sasha Cohen. It became apparent that some new faces would emerge this season and that what Michelle had done last season would not be enough to win. For the first time, the ISU implemented the new scoring system, the Code of Points, in the Grand Prix, in which Michelle did not participate. Entering the National Championships, Sasha Cohen was the favorite, but Cohen unraveled in the free skate whereas Kwan shone and won her eighth National Championship. Before Nationals, Michelle had hired a new coach, Rafael Artunian, who specializes in jump technique. She understood the need to add triple/triple combinations, yet she did not plan any for the upcoming World Championships in Dortmund, Germany. So at Worlds, already lacking triple/triples, she faltered on other jumps, received a deduction for skating over the time limit in the short program, and dealt with a streaker on the ice just before her free skate, all of which contributed to her third place finish behind Japan's Shizuka Arakawa, who landed two triple/triples, and Sasha Cohen, whose presentation marks challenged Kwan's.

Entering the 2004-2005 season, Michelle has decided to make a run for the 2006 U.S. Olympic team. Due to the official approval of the new Code of Points judging system for major figure skating events, including the Olympic Games, it will be interesting to see how Michelle will adjust her skating...

Philippe Candeloro

Philippe Christophe Lucien Candeloro was born in Courbevoie, France on 17 February 1972, to Marie-Thérèse and Luigi Candeloro. He is the youngest of four children and his siblings in order of age are Marinelle, Alain, and Laurent. His parents met in Italy when Luigi was sixteen and while Marie-Therese, who grew up in Normandy, was visiting there. The two fell in love and Luigi followed Marie-Therese back to France, arriving in 1957. Luigi found work as a bricklayer and would eventually build the family home in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. Together the family usually spent the summer in Scerni, Italy, Luigi's native village in Abruzzi.

Philippe had no exposure to ice skating in his early childhood and had as his hero The Six Million Dollar Man rather than the figure skaters of that era. However, Colombes boasts a very good range of sports facilities : a tennis club, a swimming pool , several stadia ... and a ice rink. The town was the site of numerous events during the Paris Olympic Games of 1924 and it is the Colombes stadium in which the final race in the film ‘Chariots of Fire' takes place. Consequently, there is a high level of interest in sports and an awareness of the town's place in the history of the Olympic movement.

As a young child, Philippe practiced the sports of swimming and trampoline. His spare time was thus already occupied in 1979 when his grade school class began a series of weekly ice skating lessons at the Colombes rink. He was delighted with the sport and pleased by the fact that he seemed to be a natural while his classmates stumbled and fell. It was during one of these very first lessons that the resident instructor Andre Brunet noticed the "sassy little urchin, completely happy to be there and so at ease on skates." He arranged with the school and Philippe's parents that the boy should have skating lessons more often, eventually every morning.

During Philippe's early days on the ice, he was approached to join the hockey team instead of the figure skating section. At this time also, it became clear that too many sports were competing for his limited free time. His mother insisted that he make a choice. Though at that time, he did not like the "artistic" side of figure skating, he loved the speed and the feeling of being able to jump and turn in the air. In addition, he appreciated Andre Brunet's early confidence in him. The choice was easy.

The expense of skating lessons created some difficulty for a family with three other children. Philippe felt a bit "privileged" compared to his older siblings and conscious of the budget, he broke into a sporting goods store and stole his first pair of skates, for which his mother later paid from her salary as an accountant. Invited to Font-Romeu in the Pyrenees for his first national summer training session, Philippe was accompanied by his mother and siblings. The family stayed in a folding tent at the municipal camp ground. A session of summer training at Font-Romeu became an annual event for Philippe and it was here that he has also prepared for mid-winter competitions, including the 1995 World Championships.

Philippe was soon competing with success on the national level and some support for his training was given by the French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG). At ten years old, he was offered a place at INSEP, a national training facility for various sports on the other side of Paris. Accepting this offer would have meant either a long daily commute by train or living on campus, as do many aspiring athletes even at that young age. It would also have meant leaving behind Andre Brunet as his coach. Philippe declined the appointment, an act that he feels created lasting resentment within the FFSG at his lack of cooperation.

Off the ice, Philippe continued his schooling by correspondence course and as part of a special sport/study program. However, in what would be his junior high school years, he rejoined his peers at a "normal" school. In this setting, he became quite uncommunicative about his involvement with figure skating, fearing to be considered a sissy. There was no doubt in his mind that the technical aspects of figure skating were as demanding as those of any sport, but the choreography and artistic gestures embarrassed him. He began to reconcile these conflicts by creating characters on ice and found the presentation aspects easier to tolerate in this form. In addition, the spectators seemed to enjoy his skating more, he noticed. One of his earliest theme programs mimicked a fight between cowboys and Indians.

The demands of training and competition interfered with Philippe's studies and he left school at sixteen, apparently with neither regret nor the intention to return.

Philippe's results in novice and junior competition can be read elsewhere on this site. (See Results) It must be remembered that at the time, school figures were still a required component of competition. He made steady progress internationally and at sixteen, was chosen to perform with other young French skaters during the closing ceremony at the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary. This appearance was part of the performance orchestrated by the next Winter Olympic city, Albertville France. In four years, Philippe would be 20 years old, an ideal age for an Olympic debut. He had been thrilled to witness the historic Battle of the Brians in Calgary and now eagerly looked forward to competing himself in 1992 in his own country.

Philippe moved closer to this goal in the intervening years, graduating from junior to senior competition in 1990. Natacha Dabbadie became his choreographer and although Philippe was initially resistant to her ideas, he gradually conceded that he needed to refine his artistic expression on the ice. Together the team began to create the kind of programs that would become his hallmark. When the 1991-92 Olympic season began, Philippe was skating his long program to music from the movie ‘Conan the Barbarian' dressed in a startling costume seemingly made of leather and fur. The program was highly entertaining for the audience even as it offered the technical difficulties required. In August, he won the St. Gervais Cup and looked forward to a successful season, to be crowned by competing at the Olympic Games in Albertville.

But in October 91, Philippe broke his foot in a minor motorcycle accident. The FFSG had taken a dim view of his motorcycle riding and levied a large fine as punishment. After a month of recuperation, he entered the French National Championship (held in his home rink of Colombes that year), secure in the knowledge that he had been pre-selected for the Olympics. But here, he finished fifth and still insists that he should have been placed second. He was removed from the 92 Olympic team.



That February, he watched as both French men selected to the Olympics finished out of the top ten in Albertville. A month later, after skating a long program that thrilled the audience, Philippe finished 9th at the World Championships in Oakland, a result that he feels proved his right to have been an Olympic selection.

As painful as his Olympic disappointment had been, it must have been some comfort to realize that the next Olympics would be held in only two years, rather than the usual four. Over the next two years, Philippe would work toward building a series of results and a degree of popularity that would render impossible his exclusion from the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic team.



These were an important two years in his personal life as well because in 1992, he met ballet dancer Olivia Darmon whom he would later marry. He first saw her at the Colombes rink where she was auditioning for a troupe that Natacha Dabbadie was forming. "As soon as I saw her, I knew that she would be my wife," he later recalled. Olivia had no such presentiments and refused to even go out with him, having heard he had a reputation for fickleness. He eventually persuaded her and they were married six years later. During those years, Olivia worked as a choreographer for an ice ballet troupe at the Asnieres rink, leading ‘Les Tziganes' to victory in1998 at the first French Ice Ballet Championships.



However, in the years between Albertville and Lillehammer, Philippe still lived at home. When not on the ice, he rode and repaired motorcycles, often with his brother Laurent, now a mechanic. He put together large jigsaw puzzles on a table specially set up for this purpose in the attic. Every winter, he went skiing, another activity frowned on by the FFSG and in summer, he played tennis and golf.

Demand for Philippe's participation in tours and exhibitions was constantly increasing in Europe, outstripping his international ranking itself. After a crowd-pleasing skate and a fifth-place finish at the 1993 World Championships, he was invited to the latter part of the Tom Collins Tour of Olympic and World Champions in the United States, in spite of the fact that he had never even won the French championship. Although he was a relative unknown to the general public, his performances were received with enthusiasm, due to his innate showmanship. For several years, he had incorporated three particularly crowd-pleasing elements into his exhibitions. The first two were technical : a series of rapid hops across the ice taught to him by Natacha Dabbadie and a seated cross-legged spin of his own invention, the Candeloro Spin. The third element was the almost-invariable removal of his shirt, an aspect which to this day annoys his detractors, delights the general public, and is dear to the heart of his particular fans.

For the Olympic season, 93-94, Philippe chose to skate both his short and long programs to music from ‘The Godfather'. It was an innovation to skate both programs with a single unifying theme and a risk to sympathetically depict an anti-hero, but the judges responded with encouraging results that autumn and spectators loved the programs.

In February 1994, Philippe arrived in Lillehammer as the new French champion. It was considered likely that he would skate well enough to finish somewhere in the middle of the top ten, but there were a host of medal favorites. On his twenty-second birthday, though, Philippe skated a clean, entertaining short program and two days later, skated the ‘Godfather' long program brilliantly to win the bronze medal.

Although France also won silver medals in Lillehammer, Philippe's Olympic experience was repeatedly referred to in the press as "France's most beautiful medal". He was asked to carry the flag in the closing ceremony and returned home to a hero's welcome and a blizzard of publicity. From having been an item in the sports pages, he was thrust into a world of glossy magazine articles, appearances in prime-time television shows, and being recognized everywhere. These distractions did not deter him from winning a silver medal at the 1994 World Championship in Japan, where he now enjoyed star status.

Philippe was often asked in France why he didn't go professional at this point, since he appeared to get so much enjoyment from exhibition skating. He replied that he was too young to consider that and was looking forward to competition leading to the Nagano Games in 1998 where he planned to win another medal. The four intervening years proved to be difficult ones however. Although Philippe's popularity as an exhibition skater increased, his competitive results began to diminish and he was hampered by other problems.

For the 94-95 season, Philippe chose to skate sequels to the popular Godfather programs. These programs were not as well-received as the originals and some of his performances did not rise to the level of the previous year. He did succeed in winning a bronze medal at the 1995 World Champions with a stirring performance and set off on the post-season exhibition tours.

During one of these tours, Philippe injured his ankle, an incident that at first appeared to be minor. The pain came and went unpredictably, at times seeming to have been cured by calcium injections and other therapies. Later, Philippe stated that skating in pain was "the biggest mistake of my career."

The next years followed a pattern. Each season got off to a late start with an early competition forfeited due to injury, initially using the programs from the previous year and changing to the new programs mid-season. These new programs, all exciting and innovative in their way, did not meet with the acclaim the original Godfather programs had enjoyed. At the World Championships in 1996, Philippe skated a disastrous short program and found himself in sixteenth place. The next day, skating for his career and to preserve his Olympic hopes, he earned a standing ovation from the crowd with the humorous ‘Lucky Luke' program and vaulted up to a ninth place finish. After Worlds, it was discovered that the intermittent ankle pain had been caused by loose bone chips and these were surgically removed in May 1996.

As Philippe recovered from his surgery in summer and fall of 1996, there were problems off the ice as well. The FFSG was in financial difficulty and had failed to pay skaters prize money from competitions as well as fees earned in exhibition. Natacha Dabbadie could not negotiate a satisfactory contract with the FFSG and as a consequence, she was lost to Philippe as a choreographer. His programs after this were to be the combined work of several choreographers.

Looking on the bright side, Philippe's ankle improved, he began collaborating with composer Maxime Rodriguez on original program music, and he and Olivia moved into a house of their own in the Paris suburbs, acquiring a Maltese puppy named Tutti. Philippe's showmanship and popularity in exhibition skating were undiminished and he had the unwavering support of his coach and his physical trainer Jacques Dechoux, and a host of fans who loved him for his skating itself rather than his results.

As expected in the normal course of events, he now faced increasing competition for the French title even as his relations with the FFSG became increasingly strained. When he re-injured his ankle as the 96-97 season was reaching its close, he forfeited his place at the 1997 World Championships. The French skaters who were sent both finished out of the top ten, allowing France to send only one entrant to the Nagano Olympics men's figure skating competition the following year.

The Olympic season of 97-98 began in a strained atmosphere. Philippe was dismayed to find himself not assigned by the FFSG to the NHK Trophy which was to take place in Nagano's White Ring, the future Olympic venue. His new long program was not ready and Philippe began the season skating the previous year's Napoleon program. He stated that some programs merely took longer to prepare than others, but that any delay in presenting the new one would be worth the wait. There was some skepticism in the French sportspress about how prepared he was for the Olympics and whether he still had the desire necessary to compete. Some hinted that his best days were behind him.

In December, he withdrew from French Nationals, suffering from ‘flu and lost his French Champion's title. FFSG selection committee considered not sending him to the 1998 European Championships in January. To have missed the opportunity to debut his new program in competition at Europeans in addition to heading for the Olympics without a national champion's title would have been an insurmountable handicap.

In the end, he was sent to Europeans, where he skated a flawed short, but unveiled his new long program with an enthralling performance, receiving the first perfect 6.0 mark of his international career. The new program was in the character of d'Artagnan from ‘The Three Musketeers', an idea that he had been saving for four years. This captivating combination of technical elements and entertainment, climaxed by a mimed sword fight was pleasing to both judge and spectator, his most acclaimed program since the Godfather four years before.

With the powerful tailwind of Europeans at his back, Philippe's Olympic selection was a foregone conclusion. He was asked to carry the French flag at the opening ceremonies.

In spite of the artistic zenith that the d'Artagnan program represented, Philippe was generally ruled-out on technical grounds from most predictions of the likely medal contenders. Several of the top competitors had quadruple toe loops in their arsenals. Although Philippe had done these and also the quadruple Lutz in the years prior to Lillehammer, he had never attempted one in competition and now relied on a balance of artistic and technical marks. Still, he approached the competition in Nagano with apparent confidence, stating that you don't go to the Olympics unless you have the intention of winning a medal.

In Nagano, Philippe greeted fans, signed autographs, was constantly interviewed, and helped create a cheerful ambiance within the French team, all with little outward sign of the enormous pressure Olympic competition can bring to bear on an athlete. "They call him a dilettante because he knows how to relax and keep things in proportion," remarked his coach Andre Brunet, "But he's an exceptional athlete and is very sensitive to what others say about him. He works by feelings. That's difficult to handle. All you can do is have faith in him."

After skating a solid short on February 12th, Philippe was in fifth position, a placement of vital importance, since it would allow him to skate in the last group of six on the final night. Only those who skate in the last group can realistically hope to win a medal.

On the evening of St.Valentine's Day, Philippe took his starting position on the ice, dressed as d'Artagnan. The sword he wielded was invisible, but would prove none the less effective. The first major difficulty, a combination jump, was executed to perfection. He said later that having passed this hurdle, he reminded himself to relax and have fun "and that's what I did." The music of d'Artagnan filled the arena with the sounds of birdsong, slashing swords, and the dying sigh of a woman. This performance was more than a four and a half minute string of technical difficulties. British television commentator Chris Howarth remarked "That program will go down in history. I have never seen anything like it."

The next day, Jere Longman wrote in the New York Times "Candeloro gave the most vibrant and ambitious performance of the evening ... His sword-fighting showmanship brought screams and wild applause from the audience at White Ring ...Three days shy of his 26th birthday ... he rediscovered the theatricality that made him so promising and entertaining four years ago in Lillehammer, Norway." Sonja Springs of the London Times wrote "But though the blonde [Ilya] Kulik soared and swooped over the ice... the star of the evening was Philippe Candeloro of France ... his acting on the ice was worthy of an Oscar, and his country's own award of 6.0 for presentation was not out of place."

To the delight of the crowd, this performance was awarded with marks that gave Philippe second place in the long program itself and lifted him to his second Olympic bronze medal. Scott Hamilton commented simply "I didn't think he could top the Godfather. He did."

A week later, Philippe skated d'Artagnan at the Olympic figure skating exhibition and as he sheathed his sword to the final notes of the music, an amateur career of such light and shadow came to end. Moments later, he knelt and kissed the ice.

Since Nagano, Philippe skates as a professional and is concentrating with a few exceptions on purely professional competitions, rather than pro/ams. In North America he tours with Champions on Ice and The Elvis Tour and has appeared in several of the Starskates exhibition series. Intending to promote professional skating in Europe, he has purchased portable ice and has toured France with his own company. He married Olivia in September 1998 and the couple had their first child, Luna in April 2000. Philippe has suggested a number of plans for the more distant future. These vary from the intention to reduce his tour schedule after 2001 and his plan to skate professionally as long as possible. This last contrasts with is previous announced intention to skate as a professional for only four years, returning at the end of that period to begin coaching along side his own coach Andre Brunet. His fans are not partial to this possibility and hope he opts to skate for many years to come.

Irina Slutskaya

There are two sides to Russia's Irina Slutskaya -- the hard-nosed competitor you see on television and the mischievous imp that her friends know. Both sides were on display last year when Slutskaya won her first World Figure Skating Championships in Nagano, Japan, the same place where her skating career had almost ended four years prior. The fighter scored a knockout, winning all three parts of the competition. When she drew first to skate in the last group for the free skate, Slutskaya was confident she would win. She knew she could go out full speed and fully warmed up and she did, jumping high and landing each jump with authority. She dared the others to out jump her and they couldn't, letting her take home the coveted prize.

Then the pixie in her showed up. To say that Slutskaya was ecstatic after her victory would be a huge understatement. She sang the Russian anthem proudly, noting that the words had changed since she went to school. She kissed her medal, tasted it, hugged everyone, and tossed off one-liners at the press conference with Kwan. She didn't stop smiling for days. At the skaters' party, she played all the games, kicked a soccer ball around, and even stepped in as goalie.

Later, she partied for hours into the night with several long-time supporters, exchanging gifts with many of those present, saying that she'd have to buy some new suitcases to take everything home. The fans had gifts for Irina, her husband, her parents, and even her dog. She tried eating the Japanese delicacies with chopsticks, excelled at playing some new Japanese games, showed off her navel jewelry, demonstrated her modeling poses, checked out websites fans had made for her, and joked with everyone.

After the disappointment of finishing second in Salt Lake City, when she thought she should have won the short program and thus the gold medal, winning Worlds could not have been sweeter. "I got 6.0s here for the same program I skated in the Olympics, she said. "If one judge had given me another tenth in the short program, I would have been the champion. But that's sport. Only one can win. For me each competition is different and I try to forget about it when it's over. Each competition is a new beginning."

Like most skaters, her goal has always been to win the Olympics and Worlds. No Russian woman has ever won the Olympic championship. When Slutskaya won the silver medal in 2002, it was the highest a Russian woman had ever reached at the Olympics. When she won the World Championships, she became only the second Russian woman to hold the title. Maria Butyrskaya was the first, ironically winning in the one year that Slutskaya has missed Worlds since 1995.

Slutskaya appeared on the international scene at the age of 14 with an 8th place finish at Junior Worlds. She was virtually unknown until she won the short program at Skate America in 1994, finishing third overall, then took the bronze at Junior Worlds. Next year, she won Junior Worlds, then finished fifth at Europeans and seventh at Worlds. In 1996, at age 16, she became the first Russian woman to win the European Championships, placed second at the Champions Series Final and took the bronze at Worlds.

Opening the 1996-97 season, Slutskaya won three Champions Series events, finished third at the Champions Series Final, repeated as the champion at Europeans, but again failed to win the Russian Nationals. At the 1997 Worlds, a back injury from a nasty fall in practice made jumping painful for her in the long program, but Slutskaya persevered and finished fourth.

Like most figure skaters, Slutskaya's goal has always been to win the Olympics and Worlds.That summer, she trained in Simsbury, Connecticut due to a lack of available ice at the Young Pioneers Training Center in Moscow, her usual training site. And her experiences with the American lifestyle didn't help her training. "I didn't train as hard as I should have," she admitted. She was also hampered by persistent back pain related to the nerve damage she had suffered in the fall at Worlds. By the fall, she was overweight and had poor results, dropping to second at Europeans and fourth at Russian Nationals. After missing two weeks of practice before the 1998 Olympics, she tried acupuncture as well as injections of painkillers to be able to skate. But she only finished fifth, before recovering enough to finish second at the World Championships.

Next season, she was again fourth at Russian Nationals and was dropped from the international team. The blow was worsened when Maria Butyrskaya and Yulia Soldatova, her prime rivals, finished first and third at the 1999 Worlds. Although disheartened, Slutskaya's luck was about to change. Sergei Mikheev, an on and off boyfriend for three years, comforted her after Russian Nationals and listened to her while she talked about her hopes and dreams. "I realized that I couldn't live without skating," she said. "It was my life."

Mikheev later proposed and the couple were married in August 1999. Mikheev, a physical education instructor seven years her elder, had first met Slutskaya at a summer camp near Moscow. "Everyone's heard that story," she laughed. "When he first saw me, it was on television from Junior Worlds. He didn't know me. He said, `I really like this girl,' but I was just the girl in the white dress. It was like in the movies. Our first date didn't go very well. It was some time before I began to care for him."

Secure and happy in her marriage, Slutskaya blossomed from a tempestuous teenager into a mature woman who knew what she wanted and was willing to work for it. "This (skating) is my work," she said. "I used to do just a few jumps. That was enough. Now I'll do ten or 20 jumps until I get it right." She increased her training time from about 15 hours a week to 24, lost weight, and started refining the mental toughness that made her a champion. "I'm a fighter," she said.

For the next three years, she skated superbly, winning three Russian Nationals and three ISU Grand Prix Finals, three more European Championships, and the 2001 Goodwill Games. She has never finished lower than second in any major event since 1999. Along the way, she has continued to add her name to the history books as one of the most technically inventive skaters of all time.

Her first entry into the annals of the sport came when she perfected a double Biellmann spin with a foot change. She didn't like spins when she was a youngster, but practiced the Biellmann every day by stretching on the floor of her parents' apartment. In 1997, she made history by landing the first triple salchow/triple toe loop by a woman in competition at Worlds. Then at the 2000 Grand Prix Final she set two more records: the first triple lutz/triple loop combination and the first woman to complete two triple/triple combinations in one program. In 2001, she landed the first triple lutz/triple loop/double toe loop at the 2001 Worlds.

Slutskaya has been skating since the age of four. Even though her parents don't skate, her mother started her in the sport in hopes of improving her persistent bronchitis. "My mom told me I was sick too much and must work outside," Irina related. "When I first went skating I cried, but then I liked it." Soon after she began skating, Irina also started ballet, which remains a part of her training regimen. "I liked skating but hated ballet," she said. "My mother had to keep me from escaping."

Irina never wanted to be a pairs skater or a dancer. "All the best skating is singles skating," she said. "And I am a good skater. I'm always jumping, jumping, jumping. I love jumping, but you know all jumps are difficult. I have to think about them. I must work at them all. I don't have harder or easier ones. And if I don't practice for a few days, I start to lose them." Among her jumps are a double axel and a triple toe loop with one arm above her head like Brian Boitano. She doesn't use the 'Tano jumps in competition anymore but occasionally throws one in for an exhibition. Emulating Boitano's style is not surprising. He and Katarina Witt were Irina's favorite skaters as a child.

Russian Figure Skaters Viktoria Volchkova, Irina Slutskaya, and Elena Sokolova.Zhanna Gromova has coached since she was six. Although Gromova used to do most of her choreography, assisted by Elena Tchaikovskaya, Slutskaya has added new choreographers in recent years. Elena Mateeva did her 2001-2002 short program to Franz Schubert's serenade Leise flehen meine Lieder (Softly do my Songs Plea to You), while Giuseppe Arena, a choreographer from LaScala, did her free skate to Puccini's Tosca. Margarita Romanenko choreographed Slutskaya's 2002-2003 programs, Victory by Bond for the short and Verdi's La Traviata for the long. Romanenko also did her interpretive program, Samson and Delilah and her 2001-2002 exhibition program, in which she played a cowgirl skating to Cotton-Eyed Joe by Rednex.

Irina said she likes to skate to "something fast. I don't usually like slow music." Her favorite program music of all the dozens that she has skated is "Culture", the 2000-2001 season's short program. Off ice, she said, "I listen to rock music, and some classical music. I like Vivaldi and Moonlight Sonata. Before I liked Michael Jackson, but now I like to listen to Russian pop music." Although she hasn't had lessons, she said, "I try to play the piano, the small piano."

Slutskaya said she doesn't participate in many sports off ice: "I love rollerblading and skiing. I like hockey, but I've never played. I love to watch gymnastics. But I don't like football. Maybe I'll try parachute jumping." Her mother has already done so. She also enjoys "scary movies and comedies" and likes to read. "Always I'm reading newspapers and magazines for young people. Sometimes I read too much," she said.

Travel is one of her favorite pastimes. "I love to travel. It's very interesting when you get to see new places. I really, really love New York. I like the big cities and the shopping. And I like Florida, especially Orlando. I go to Disney World whenever I go there and ride all the rides. One summer, I rented a Jeep and went to all the parks - Sea World, Universal, Epcot. I loved them all." She also took her parents to the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, but not her husband. "I had to leave my husband home to watch my dog," she laughed. The diminutive trio went everywhere they could, cruising on the river, shopping in the downtown malls, and visiting animal parks, where they held koalas. Few Australians recognized her, but when they did, Slutskaya proudly introduced them to her parents. "I love Australia," she said.

Slutskaya saves all the toys that are thrown to her when she skates. She has hundreds in her collection. "Big toys, small toys, I like them all," she exclaims. "I have several huge bears and a giant monkey that I got in Japan. Sergei gave me a huge elephant and a koala. He gave me lots of elephants. The trunks are turned up for good luck. Some of the toys are bigger than I am. But I have to keep them up high now. Bars likes to play with them and he eats all my small toys."

Bars is the current love of her life. He's a 35-kilo black and white Akita that a friend found for her as a puppy in the States. "He's a good dog," she said. "He never barks and he sleeps all day long so he's ready to play when I get home. We go for walks before practice and when I come home in the park across the street. He has so many toys. I don't even know how many toys he has. But he loves slippers. He ate all my sheepskin slippers. And he really likes my mom because she's always playing with him. He likes to sleep in the bed with us, but he's too big now. I can't move him." She also has an iguana, named Guan, which she's had for a few years. "It's not too warm in Moscow, so he sits in a cage in his own small room where it's warmer," she said.

With the income from her skating, Slutskaya has been able to buy a nice apartment for her and Sergei and another a few minutes away for her parents. She also bought a new SUV for herself and a car for her parents "With money, you can live OK in Moscow. I have my apartment, a car, my family, and my dog. That's all I need," she said. "I don't plan to move to America."

Slutskaya has finished her studies at the Russian Academy for Physical Education, so she could coach in the future. "I don't think about it too much right now. I had a very hard season. And I am too young to think about a career. Maybe I'll be a sports commentator or a journalist writing about sports, like you," she kidded.

Figure skater Irina Slutskaya has finished her studies at the Russian Academy for Physical Education, so she could coach in the future.Last summer, Slutskaya performed for three months on the Champions on Ice Tour, but was exhausted by the time it ended. "My body was fine, but my head needed a rest. It was like this," she said, making a wringing motion with her hands. Then her bronchitis acted up again, costing her valuable training time so she wasn't ready for the Grand Prix Season. She failed to win either of her two events, but qualified for the Grand Prix Final where she finished second. Later she finished second to Elena Sokolova at Russian Nationals, but came back to beat Sokolova for the gold at the European Championships after finishing second in both the qualifying round and the short program.

Unfortunately, Slutskaya was unable to defend her world title in Washington, DC in March. Instead, she elected to stay by the bedside of her sick mother, who had been hospitalized for some time with kidney problems. Her father, Edouard, has also been hospitalized several times in the last few years and is declining before her eyes. Since she's their only child, Slutskaya wants to have a baby soon so her parents can see their first grandchild.

Slutskaya plans to remain eligible until the 2006 Olympics to gain the one gold medal that has yet eluded her. "I'm still young and I'm skating with a lot of power. I think I can do even more. So it's not time for me to retire yet." No matter how long she continues, Slutskaya doesn't want people to remember her for how many medals she won. "I want people to love me for my personality in both life and sport," she said. "I want them to remember me for always being myself, like the way Katarina Witt skates." She's already getting the wolf whistles once reserved for Witt when she skates on tour.