The wonderful Peggy Fleming

The Golden Age of American Figure Skating

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It’s been over two weeks since we were inspired by the wonderful story of Chinese pairs figure skaters, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who won the Olympic Gold medal. Their incredible dedication to ice-skating and to each other was an emotional success, as Shen and Zhao became the first Chinese Gold Medalists in figure skating at age 31 and 36 respectively. 

What I loved hearing about this wonderful couple was the story behind their success.  

Shen and Zhao began skating 18 years ago, in 1992.  That’s before many of the competitors of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were even born.  When Korean Ladies Figure Skating Gold medalist, Yu Na Kim, was only one  year old.  When Canadian Ice Skating Gold Medalists, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, were 2 and 4.

Shen and Zhao  retired in 2007 after winning the world championships three times and the bronze in two separate Olympics.  Of course, they wanted the Gold medal, yet somehow it had always seemed to escape them.  Something else also happened in 2007.  Zhao proposed to Shen on the ice following an incredible World Championship performance in Tokyo.  He got down on one knee and proposed and Shen, not understanding what was going on at first, also got down on her knees, and then said "yes". They were married in May 2007.   

As they continued to tour with Stars on Ice in the US, Shen and Zhao’s dreams of capturing the Olympic Gold seemed to be over. After all, they were retired and Zhao previously had an almost career-ending Achilles injury. But Zhao managed to convince Shen to come back for one more try.  They came out of retirement in 2009 and began their comeback by appropriately winning the Cup of China last season and going on to win all of their events, and also setting a new world record at the prestigious Grand Prix Final.  

But the road out of retirement and back to Olympic medal pursuit meant putting a hold on the intimate and more personal part of their  marriage because Chinese Olympians are required to live and train in the Chinese Olympic facilities. That means living in separate dorms with all meals eaten with all of the other athletes.   

Then the moment came to see if it would all pay off.  Zhao and Shen skated an incredibly strong performance; moving and near flawless.  Zhao told the Xinhua news agency that:  "We wanted the program to show all that we have, and we made it," and Shen added:  "It’s the best gift for the Valentine’s Day."

In the long program, their Chinese rivals, Pang Qing and Tong Jian, raised the heat by skating a near-flawless long program. But ultimately Shen and Zhao were successful, capturing their dream, with Pang and Tong capturing the silver medal.  Zhao summed it all up by saying: “We’ve been in competitions for many years, and won other medals … but every time we heard the national anthem and saw our flag being raised, we wished it was the Olympic Games. Today we’ve achieved our goal.”

Yes, Shen and Zhao,  you did indeed achieve your goal.  And  along the way you inspired us with your dedication, determination, and the love you have not only for each other, but also for ice-skating.  Thank you and may your career and life be richly blessed now and always. 

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What an amazing night of Ladies Figure Skating for the Long Program at the Vancouver Olympics.

Gold Medalist Kim Yu Na of Korea
skated brilliantly with no mistakes.  Her fluidity, ease, grace and artistry were incredible.  She made it all seem so easy, so simple.  With her balletic grace she literally flowed across the ice.  A magnificent performance.  I love that one of my favorite skaters, Olympic Silver Medalist in 1984 and 1988, Canadian Brian Orser, coaches her.  He has done a wonderful job.  While I loved her long program, I liked  her short program, in which she skated to Bond music, even more.  Her flirtatious personality really came out and she really looked like a Bond girl on ice.  She must be thrilled to have claimed not only the Gold medal, but also set a record for having the highest skating score ever, and winning the first Gold medal in Ladies Figure Skating for Korea.  Congratulations, and thank you for a wonderful display of beauty and grace on ice.

Here’s Kim Yu Na skating to the James Bond medley  (This is from Grand Prix — but is the same program as in Olympics)

Silver Medalist Mao Asada of Japan
skated beautifully and has set a new record for being the first woman ever to land 3 triple axels in the same competition.  She had a couple of slip-ups in her program but her fire and determination were there.  I personally loved her long program a lot more than her short program as I felt she allowed her fire, determination and personality to shine through.  My prayer for Mao is that she will be happy with her wonderful achievement and that Japan will celebrate her accomplishments.  She looked almost sad and so very serious during the medal ceremony.  Like she was feeling she had let herself and perhaps her country down.  Dear Mao, you are amazing.  Your skating is brilliant.  Do not allow anyone to make you feel otherwise.  Celebrate your incredible talent, skill and achievements. You are a wonderful athlete and performer.  Thank you for your beautiful program.

Here is a sample of Mao Asada’s skating (sorry it is not in English)

Bronze Medalist Joannie Rochette of Canada
skated with dignity and grace.  Her incredibly moving performance was supported by everyone in the arena, and I am sure, everyone around the world.  When she stumbled a little after under-rotating a jump, the entire audience clapped and supported her to continue. Each time she landed a jump, did a spin or displayed great footwork or any of her highlighting elements, the audience was behind her.  You could feel that everyone so wanted her to do well.  And do well she did!

When it was over she turned her eyes upwards and blew a kiss to the heavens–a symbol of love to her mother who died unexpectedly after arriving in Vancouver to support Joannie in the Olympics.  For Joannie to deliver such a performance just four days after her mother’s death is beyond extraordinary. 

Thank you to commentators Sandra Bezic (Canadian Pairs Skater who with her Brother Val Bezic won Canadian Nationals 1970-74 and placed 9th in 1972 Olympics) and Scott Hamilton (Gold Medalist, Olympics 1984) who honored Joannie’s Long Program as they had done her Short Program, by remaining silent throughout.  Joannie’s performances needed no words.

After it was all over Scott Hamilton said:  "I’ve never seen such a superhuman amount of courage, determination-what an inspiration," added Hamilton.  Play-by-play man Tom Hammond said: "Under these circumstances, it is the stuff of Olympic legend."  Scott Hamilton, wiping away tears, confided that this very day, sixteen years ago,  February 25th, his own father had died, and how Joannie had reminded us all of the fragility of life. 

Joannie Rochette thank you for inspiring us all, thank you for your strength and courage. As you continue to process and journey through your grief, integrating the loss of your beloved mother into your life, know that you are loved and supported. 

To see Joannie skate go to:

http://www.dare2create.com/current-events/prayers-for-joannie-rochette-ladies-figure-skating-olympics-2010-vancouver/

Thank you to all of the competitors for a wonderful event and congratulations to all on participating in the Olympics.

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Joannie has the support and love of the world that is watching the Olympic ice-skating competition.  An only child, Joannie’s mother and father proudly came to support her at the Vancouver Olympics.  Her mother had a massive heart-attack and died shortly after arriving in Vancouver.  Joannie has bravely soldiered on, skating in the competition despite her grief.  Tracy Wilson, 1988 Olympic bronze medalist in ice-dancing, commentating on the Olympics, said that it seems that Joannie has found solace on the the ice.

She held it together incredibly well while she was skating in the short program.  Her resolve and dedication were unfathomable.  After skating a truly remarkable program she received an overwhelmingly loving standing ovation at which point her tears and emotions flowed freely.  I doubt there was anyone who watched this young woman skate who was not moved. 

At the conclusion of her program, one of the most beloved skaters of all time, Scott Hamilton, praised Joannie’s courage through his own tears.  Wherever you place in the long program, Joannie, (she is in 3rd place after her short program) and finish overall — know that you are indeed loved by the world.  We are grieving with you for the loss of your dear mother and our prayers and love are with you, not only for tonight but for the coming weeks, months and years that follow.

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The following video, while not of their Olympic performance, is a beautiful montage of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir skating through the years.

Virtue and Moir delighted us with a wonderful rendition of this year’s compulsory dance, The Tango Romantica.  Then they enthralled us with their Original Dance in true Flamenco style.  They capped it all off with a magnificent Free Dance to Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Virtue and Moir have it all — great technical skill, wonderful creativity, deep knee-bends and edges, combined with speed that creates that smooth and easy flow over the ice.  They make everything they do look so easy and seamless.  And they have one other distinct advantage which, I believe, set them apart from the other Olympic teams — their chemistry with each other.  While it seems that they are not a couple off ice, they create the illusion on the ice of being a young couple very much in love.  Their chemistry is undeniable.  The gentle reassuring looks and hugs they exchanged before getting on the ice complete the illusion.  They step on the ice and they are like the Romeo and Juliet of the skating world, adorned in beautifully tasteful, yet incredibly glamorous costumes which complement both their skating, and the music to which they are skating.   We are transported with the love that exudes for each other into a world of romance of a bygone era.  A world in which life seemed simple and chivalry was the order of the day,  a world of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.  

There were other teams who also skated their hearts out and thrilled us. 

Meryl Davis and Charlie White
of the US, who took home the Silver Medal, were brilliant.  Their Original Dance in the form of an Indian Folk Dance (somewhat Bollywoodish) was creative and technically loaded. The costumes for this were both exotic and authentic.  Apparently Meryl went shopping with her mum and bought original clothes and fabrics which were adapted into her costume for the number.  The jewelry she wore was the icing on the cake, beautiful and exotic.  Then came their Phantom of the Opera Free Dance where Meryl and Charlie displayed even more of their amazing. artistry, skill, grace, storyline and great technicality.  A stellar performance, with beautiful costumes which supported what they were portraying on ice. 

The following video of Meryl and Charlie while not of their Olympic performance, does have the famous Phantom of the Opera program and is a lovely montage of many of their programs.  

Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto
of the US skated very well in outrageous and entertaining costumes.  His was a cross between Saturday Night Fever and Elvis.  They looked relaxed when it was all over.  I thought they were going to take home the Bronze, but the judges for some unknown reason decided that honor should go to Domnina Oksana and Maxim Shablin of the Russian Federation. 

 Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates
also of the US  finished 11th having skated beautifully and are a pair to keep an eye on for future podium placement.  For their Free Dance they skated to Canto Bella Terra sung by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.  Lovely, just lovely.  Now I might be a bit biased here as Sarah Brightman is my favorite female singer.  However, they did a great job and had great costumes too.  

Jana Khoklova and Sergei Novitski
of the Russian Federation, who finished 9th, skated a fiery Free Dance to Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.  Jana’s costume matched the music and enhanced the program tremendously.  Her sleeves had red and orange material strategically draped from them and really gave the look of wings on fire.  Their routine was exciting and well-executed and they displayed many creative "bird" type lifts.  

Sinead  and John Kerr
the British brother and sister team who finished 8th, took a daring move by skating not to the more traditional and conservative music usually favored by skaters for competition but to Linkin Park’s Krwling. I had not heard this song before but was quite taken with it and John and Sinead’s interpretation.   John had one little mishap on a twizzle early in the program, where he put his foot down.  You could see he was very upset with himself.  Still, they skated really well for the rest of the performance and the audience went wild when Sinead displayed her strength and skill by lifting John in one move. 

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat
of France, who finished 7th,  skated  to Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell.  Clint, you must be happy your music has been skated to quite a bit by different skaters at this Olympics.  Nathalie and Fabian’s interpretation was of time and was quite haunting.  I kept thinking of the movie (particularly of the fridge moving) and found it vividly surrealistic.  Great skating too.

Isabelle Delobel and Oliver Schoenfelder
another French couple, finished 6th.  What was most impressive to me about this couple was that Isabelle had a baby in October 2009!  Incredible — here she was competing in the Olympics just 4 months later.  That is not only dedication, it’s also a tribute to her athleticism. They are retiring after a wonderful career together and this was their Olympic swan song. 

Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali
of Italy took 5th place skating very well displaying some creative lifts, especially one in which she lifted him and; just like when Sinead  lifted John earlier, the crowd went crazy!  Perhaps this is a new thing in ice-dancing that we will see more of in the future.  And, hey, maybe in the future we’ll have a new category like in the movie Blades of Glory (staring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder)  for ice-dancing or pairs where two men or even two women could be a team.  Really, is it that far out?  They already do that in the bobsled!

Anyway, a fabulous competition and a great thank you and congratulations to all of the competitors.

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