Ilinykh and Katsalapov: The goal is Sotchi

Elena Ilinykh and  Nikita Katsalapov are on the ice in the Russian  training base Novogorsk, polishing each movement of the hands and each turn of  the head with diligent patience. Coach Alexander Zhulin demonstrates a move,  choreographer Igor Orschuliak corrects a posture. The skaters repeat the pose  again and again, not tiring in their quest for perfection.

The 2010 World Junior Ice Dance Champions, caused a stir  when they won the title in their debut on the international junior scene. Not  only did they dominate the competition from the first step of the Compulsory  Dance, but  their free dance to Schindler’s List and Fiddler on the  Roof moved many spectators. As a matter of fact, the free dance was discussed at length and some people felt…

Keiser family keeps it together

At the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating  Championships in Spokane, Wash., a group of pre-pubescent pixies stood  next to the boards peering out onto the ice waiting for their turn to  skate.  One skater was lucky to have been  wearing her skates, otherwise she would have had to wait until the gate opened  to see the ice on which she was about to compete.

Twelve-year-old Leah Keiser took to the ice  on that January afternoon, and commanded the ice in ways that more experienced  skaters should one day hope to achieve.   Along the way, Keiser earned the title of U.S. Novice Ladies  Champion.

“Winning  the Novice title in Spokane  was amazing,” Keiser said with her trademark bright smile. ” meant a lot to me and to my family. We have  sacrificed a lot for…

Charbonneau coming into her own

Sometimes out of tragedy comes great triumph.  Kate Charbonneau, Canada’s 2009 junior ladies singles figure skating champion knows this all too well.

“I started skating at three years old when we still lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba,” said the American-schooled high school junior.  “I started then because my grandma was dying and wanted to see me skate before she died.”

Charbonneau didn’t immediately take to the sport, but stuck with it so that she could fulfill her grandmother’s wishes. “I really didn’t like it at first,” she said sheepishly,  “but then one day, I learned to go fast.”

Fast is a great way to describe Charbonneau’s rise into the upper echelon of skating – going from virtually unknown in 2008, to one of the brightest young stars in Canadian figure skating today.

Charbonneau is coached by…

Germans are ready for another four years

Aliona Savchenko  and Robin Szolkowy entered the Olympic season as two-time and reigning World Pairs  Champions and were considered top contenders for the Olympic Gold. In the end,  the season didn’t go as well as the Germans had hoped, but they medaled in each  event they competed in. At the World Championships, the creative team  announced that they plan on competing until 2014 to realize their dream of an  Olympic gold medal in Sotchi.

“This season we  went up and down, from zero to 100 and from 100 to zero,” Savchenko summed up. “The body doesn’t  know that there are Olympic Games. the body says “stop”, …

Takahashi Making History

Daisuke Takahashi became the first Japanese man to win a World figure skating title, but it was not his  first historical accomplishment. He was also the first  Japanese man to win  the World Junior Championships in 2002, and was the first Japanese man to  claim silver at Worlds in 2007. He is also the first, and so far the only Japanese  male skater, to medal at the Olympic Winter Games with his bronze medal from  Vancouver.

“I never planned to make history,” said a smiling Takahashi. “I just want to do my job and the  result comes with it. In a certain way I’m lucky. I’m very  proud of myself that I made history and I hope that I continue to be a legend.”

Although Takahashi’s  talent,…