Archive of newspaper articles

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
5th Winter Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR

OPTIMISTIC SONG

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on March 7, 1982)​

NO Spartakiad has ever gathered such a strong line-up of figure skaters, and even among juniors. Here are world and USSR champions, prize-winners of many international tournaments, holders of the National Cup. Moreover, they came not only from recognized centers - Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, but also from republics where figure skating is just gaining strength - Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan.
The first to take to the ice were the pairs. Here, our republic is represented by the students of the young Dnipropetrovsk school, which emerged after the last Spartakiad: Inna Becker - Sergey Lykhansky, Iryna Mironenko - Dmytro Shkidchenko, as well as the Kyiv Dynamo skaters Olga Neizvestna - Borys Khristenko.
As is known, Inna and Sergey train with the three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina. They performed the short program very cleanly, at high speed, demonstrating a flawless two-turn split twist lift. It is characteristic that the partner is very similar to her teacher: just as soft, flexible, with excellent physical training.
World junior champions Marina Avstriiskaya and Yuri Kvashnin were initially second. But in the free program they learned several extremely complex elements, the successful execution of which ensured the overall victory for Stanislav Zhuk's students. The Dnipropetrovsk team has the second highest number of points.
Kyiv's Neizvestna - Khristenko skated without any failures. As a result - seventh place.
Mironenko and Shkidchenko also deserve praise, as they secured ninth place. Both previously competed in singles, but now they have formed a very promising and technical pair.
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
5th Winter Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR

PIRUETTES OF YOUNG PEOPLE

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on March 10, 1982)​

The masters of pair skating at the Yenisei Sports Palace were replaced by singles skaters. From the first start, the leadership was taken by Muscovite Yuriy Bureiko, who became the champion. Victor Petrenko from Odesa and Vyacheslav Borisov from Kyiv claimed the top places. But their tournament fates were different.
If Petrenko Sr. stayed in the top three all the time and later missed only Leningrad's Aleksandr Vaskovsky, then the Kyiv native was helped out by the free program. The Ukrainian junior champion successfully performed several jumps from the senior arsenal and finished the competition sixth. Another of our representatives - Volodymyr Petrenko - showed a 15th result.
The junior ladies of our team perform unevenly. For example, Natalia Gorbenko from Kyiv's "Avangard" brilliantly performed the short program, where she became second. But weak preparation at school, apparently, will not allow her to rise high in the overall table. Gorbenko's teammate - Svitlana Pyrlya from Odesa - was tenth in the short program, and in the end she has the ninth result so far.
28 junior couples gathered for the competition of ice dancers. Such popularity of the discipline is, of course, pleasing. However, the coaches were clearly in a hurry to bring some of the participants to the big ice. Twelve-year-old children often lack plasticity and a sense of music, they are not yet able to convey the character of a particular dance. Of course, this does not apply to the best ones. The experts liked the graceful handwriting of Lyudmila Pakhomova's students - Natalia Annenko and Vadim Karkachev. The world junior champions also in Krasnoyarsk confirmed their superiority over the others. The original composition was demonstrated by the second prize-winners, also Muscovites Elena Novikova - Oleg Blyakhman. The third place went to the representatives of the Elena Tchaikovskaya school Violetta Andreeva - Georgy Makarovsky.
Odesa's Olena Krykanova - Yevhen Platov performed worse than expected: seventh place. But their compatriots Svitlana Serkeli - Oleksiy Kyslitsyn slightly exceeded the plan, securing ninth place. Dnipropetrovsk ice dancers Oksana Duyunova and Vyacheslav Sergeev finished eleventh.​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

ICE OF OLYMPIC HOPE

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on March 11, 1982)​

COPENHAGEN. More than 130 athletes from 25 countries have gathered in the Danish capital for the world figure skating championships. Copenhagen's Brandby Hallen Sports Palace, which seats only 4,000 spectators, has become the scene of such a representative gathering of skaters for the first time. However, its walls remember the 1975 European championships. Then Soviet athletes won the championships in three disciplines. And now the path to higher awards, if we take into account the higher rank of the competition, will be more difficult than ever.
... The first people we met on the evening before the opening of the tournament in the city hall building, where the draw was held, were Irina Vorobyova and Igоr Lisovsky. Until the last moment, the participation of the world champions in the current championship was under question - during one of the training sessions in Leningrad, the male partner suffered a serious injury (how unlucky the couple is this season!), but the courageous athletes took to the ice. Like the Leningraders, the titles of the strongest in the world will be defended by English ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean and American Scott Hamilton.
But in women's single skating we will learn the name of the new world champion. Denise Biellmann from Switzerland, the winner of the Hartford gold medal, has left amateur sports.
In the USSR national team, compared to the European championships in Lyon, the changes are minimal. Only Elena Vodorezova will perform in the women's tournament. Her rivals have now been joined by last year's vice-world champion Elaine Zayak, Vicki de Vries and Rosalyn Sumners (all - USA), figure skaters from Canada and Japan. In total, 34 women, 30 men, 22 ice dance couples and 13 pairs will start at the world championships.
Traditionally, the men were the first to take to the ice in the morning. They performed three compulsory figures. The small gold medal was won by Frenchman Jean-Christophe Simond, second place went to Hamilton, and third place went to his compatriot David Santee.
Igor Bobrin was in second place after two figures, but in the end showed the fourth result in the "school". In the top six are Canadian Brian Pockar and European champion Norbert Schramm (West Germany).
Vladimir Kotin took 11th place, Alexander Fadeev - 15th.
On the pages of the colorful program, which was handed to us at the press center, there are photos of the "stars" of world figure skating. It is nice to see among them the Soviet masters - Vorobyova and Lisovsky, Bobrin, Natalia Bestemyanova and Andrey Bukin, Irina Moiseeva and Andrey Minenkov. They are among the favorites.
The state of figure skaters is uneasy now. The approach of the White Olympics in Sarajevo is felt, and it is not surprising that, along with representatives of such traditionally strong countries in this sport as the USSR, the USA, Canada, the GDR, and Japan, we see athletes from Australia, New Zealand, China, South Korea, and Spain in Brandby-Hallen. The hosts of the tournament are not among the leaders. Figure skating in Denmark is far from the most popular sport. The Danes are represented by only two singles - in the women's and men's competitions. How do you know if the already not-so-large stands of Brandby-Hallen will be empty?
After the short program, the pair from the GDR Baess - Thierbach are in the lead. Our Pestova - Leonovich lost to them by only one judge's vote.​

V. VORONKOV, A. NOVIKOV,
TASS special correspondents.

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

LOST HEIGHT

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on March 13, 1982)​

COPENHAGEN. The first gold medals of the world figure skating championships among pairs were won by representatives of the GDR team Sabine Baess and Tassilo Thierbach. Such success has not yet been achieved by skaters of this country. Let us recall that a 20-year-old student and a 25-year-old radio mechanic from the capital of figure skating of the GDR - Karl-Marx-Stadt, also received their first European "gold" a month ago.
Marina Pestova and Stanislav Leonovich, as in Lyon, "kept" the ranking table. This season they occupy the second step of the podium. We have again lost in the discipline of figure skating where we are used to winning ...
The success of Baess and Thierbach is well deserved. They were in the lead after the short program and, of course, performed the free skate better than anyone else. Their skating was confident, solid from all points of view, the composition was filled with the most complex elements. It is interesting that the new champions gradually climbed the prize ladder: in 1979 they were third, last year - second.
A more intense fight unfolded for third place. And here last year's world champions Irina Vorobyova and Igor Lisovsky, despite the advantageous last starting number, gave way, never gaining a fighting sports form. They only took fifth place, and the "bronze" went to Caitlin and Peter Carruthers (USA). Fourth - Canadians Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini. Our pair - Veronika Pershina and Marat Akbarov - has the sixth result.
The men's competition is over. The title of world champion for another year was retained by American Scott Hamilton, who performed equally well in both the tricky short and free programs. "Silver" went to Norbert Schramm (West Germany), who confirmed that his victory at the European Championship was not accidental. And the highest marks for the free program were received by Canadian Brian Pockar, thus rehabilitating himself for the breakdown in the short program. Pockar has the third place overall. Unfortunately, the failures of our leader Igor Bobrin continue to haunt him, who ultimately remained seventh.
In the women's event, after performing school exercises, the European champion Kristina Kristofics-Binder (Austria) is in the lead. Our Elena Vodorezova performed well, entering the top five out of 30 participants.
The ice dancers performed three compulsory and original dances. The English Torvill - Dean are in front. In second place are Bestemyanova - Bukin, in third - the Americans Blumberg - Seibert, in fourth - another of our couples Moiseeva - Minenkov. Volozhinskaya - Svinin close the top six.​

V. VORONKOV, A. NOVIKOV,
TASS special correspondents.

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
5th Winter Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR

AT THE BALL – NEW FACES

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on March 13, 1982)​

IN THE PALACE OF SPORTS "Yenisei" - a change of scenery. Senior skaters entered the fight. As always, the first word - for pairs. The leadership here was taken by Muscovites Inna Volyanskaya and Valery Spiridonov, who are being trained, by the way, by their long-time partners in this sport, once champions of the Winter Universiade Tatyana Tarasova and Georgy Proskurin.
The judges gave high scores to two Leningrad pairs, O. Valova - O. Vasilyev and N. Chervotkina - V. Teslia, who made up the top three.
Ukrainian skaters L. Zaporozhets - V. Panfilov performed well. They closed the top six. In eighth place is another of our pairs, S. Kulishova - A. Papsuev.
The results of the team competition among juniors have been summed up, the Ukrainian SSR team came in third, scoring 235 points. Only skaters from Moscow and Leningrad are ahead. It seems that the seniors have every chance to perform no worse.
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
5th Winter Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR

VICTORIAL ACCELERATION

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on March 18, 1982)​

The Spartakiad starts in Krasnoyarsk were happy for many of our republic's ambassadors. A noticeable step forward was made by biathletes, alpine skiers, and skaters, and a great example for young people was the performance of 31-year-old Valeriy Savin, a flying skier from Lviv. But, perhaps, the biggest surprise was the powerful attack of young and experienced figure skaters of our republic, crowned by the curtain of the finals with two gold medals – ice dancers from Dnipropetrovsk Natalia Karamysheva - Rostislav Sinitsyn and Kharkiv Vitaliy Egorov. It so happened that these two victories tipped the scales in favor of the Ukrainian SSR team in a tense dispute for the fourth team prize.
We will remind that the skaters were awarded points not only for the final place, but also separately for the compulsory exercises or dances and for the free ones. The even, stable performance of our champions gave the Ukrainian SSR team more than 200 points! But Karamysheva with Sinitsyn and Egorov were not soloists without an ensemble. In ice dancing, Yuri Klyushnikov and Marina Stepanova made it to the top ten, Wanda Kozlovska and Igor Novodran finished eleventh - that's another 45 points. Well, the men simply won the team championship! Odessa's Boris Uspensky, although he couldn't stay on the podium (he was replaced by Leningrad's Leonid Koznakov, who brilliantly performed a record-breaking free program), brought a total of 77 points. Following Borys was Kyiv's Oleksandr Kosterov. His fifth place was the most pleasant surprise for the coaches, who had been waiting for a long time for Oleksandr to be able to realize his high technical potential.
Let the readers not get the impression that in the absence of the first numbers of the USSR national team, the figure skating competitions in Krasnoyarsk became an easy walk for our leaders. The serious Egorov, who was not for his years, had to endure a psychologically difficult duel with the experienced Konstantin Kokora, the champion of the world Universiade, multiple participant of world and European championships. No less formidable competitors in the person of Elena Garanina - Igor Zavozin were Karamysheva - Sinitsyna, who, by the way, are winning the Spartakiad tournaments for the second time in a row, which is a rare achievement for figure skating.
A few touches to the champion portraits.
Nataliya, 22, and Rostislav, 26, started in Sverdlovsk with coach Tatyana Rozhina, with whom they moved to Dnipropetrovsk four years ago. The Palace of Sports had just opened its doors there, and they had to become pioneers and, at the same time, ardent popularizers of figure skating in the new place.
That's how lucky the people of Dnipropetrovsk were - the wonderful world of ice dancing was opened to them by people who were restless in their artistic search. That's how lucky Karamysheva and Sinitsyn were, who found loyal friends and caring assistants in the city on the Dnieper, in the Meteor sports club.
The path of Natalia and Rostislav to the podium was never paved with roses. Rather, on the contrary: they were incredibly unlucky at the decisive moment. Due to a few "overage" months of their male partner's age, they did not make it to the world junior championship, where they were supposed to collect the greatest laurels... Before the 1980 Olympics, they came third in the qualifying competitions, but unfortunately, the sporting principle was violated, and another couple went to Lake Placid... The year after last year, almost immediately after the wedding, Natalia became seriously ill, and the couple missed an important season... Finally, last spring, due to family circumstances, Tatyana Rozhina, the mentor with whom they had been side by side for ten years, left coaching... But nothing stopped Natalia and Rostislav, did not extinguish their selfless love for figure skating.
The generosity with which they are friends, the persistence with which they defend their own style of dance, paid off a hundredfold when the main rivals in the national team, Natalia Bestemyanova and Andrey Bukin, asked their coach, Tatyana Tarasova, to take over the talented duo. No one was afraid of competition. On the contrary, the young people believed that they would only benefit from creative communication ... We are already seeing the first fruits. Bestemyanova and Bukin are vice-champions of the world, and Natalia and Rostislav returned to the national team, enriched with new ideas, full of the desire to reach Olympus.
... We heard about Vitaliy Egorov in March 1979, when he became the first Soviet figure skater to become the world junior champion. The application is excellent. But experts were critical of the prospects of the eighth-grader from Kharkiv School No. 77, since his arsenal of technical and, especially, choreographic means was quite limited.
The famous Leningrad coach, Honored Master of Sports Aleksey Mishin, undertook to improve Vitaliy's skills. In the character of his ward, he identified quite rare traits for such a young age – prudence and balance. Egorov knew little, but what he mastered, he did flawlessly, without failures. Such fundamentalism had its drawbacks. Sometimes it took months to work on a new technique. However, in the end, the costs pay off, and Mishin believes: This will be the case at the highest level, which Egorov is currently approaching.
Last year, he already pleased with a set of various triple jumps, the most complex rotations. And in December, he simply surprised on the Moscow ice. It's not even that the Kharkiv native, surrounded by all the strongest skaters in the country, became the bronze medalist of the international tournament for the prize of the newspaper "Moscow News". Much more important is that the talent of a musical person emerged in him, and this immediately made his skating easy and effortless. Almost three years of training with the ballet masters of the Leningrad Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after Kirov, joint training with Igor Bobrin, who is supervised by Mishin's former student, Yuri Ovchinnikov, have had their effect.
Vitaliy is a diligent person, tireless in his work. We will see him on the podium more than once. And not only at the Spartakiad!
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982

FIGURE SKATING “CIRCUS”

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on March 23, 1982)​

“SPORT” competition between American supertelevision companies is very clearly manifested not on the playing field, but in the desire to secure the exclusive right to broadcast the most significant sporting events, which in the future serves as good advertising. The largest commercial deal of recent times was the sale of the rights to broadcast the 1984 Olympics to ABC for $225 million.
More recently, television companies have decided to capitalize more actively on figure skating. CBS has signed a contract to broadcast amateur competitions at the highest level - the European and world championships - with the International Skating Union (ISU). Although the contract concerns the American continent, this is the first victory of CBS, with which ABC did not want to reconcile itself. It came up with a plan to hold competitions that are a kind of Grand Prix in figure skating. The "bait" for the audience should be the famous skaters of the past - American Peggy Fleming, Englishmen John Curry and Robin Cousins, Swiss Denise Biellmann. This year, the figure skating "circus" is to hold 10 performances in Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, New York and other cities in North America. Next year there will be 20, in 1984 - as many as 40!
This circus marathon will serve advertising purposes, there will be not enough sport in it. Naturally, the bosses of professional ice revues are beginning to fear the activity of the ABC television company. Because their "stars" can make good money in the circus much more easily than in daily exhausting performances. An example is Denise Biellmann, who, having signed a contract with Holiday on Ice, can perform in the "circus" the rest of the time.​

Prepared by G. DMITRENKO.​

​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
International junior tournament "Friendship"

FIGURE SKATING

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on March 30, 1982)​

LENINGRAD. Leningrad Inna Krundysheva and Nils Koepp from the GDR won the singles event at the international tournament "Friendship" for junior figure skaters from socialist countries. Soviet athletes were the strongest among the pairs - Inna Becker and Sergey Lykhansky (Dnipropetrovsk) and ice dance couples - Elena Novikova and Oleg Blyakhman (Moscow).

​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
CHINESE NATONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

PREPARING FOR THE WINTER OLYMPICS
(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on April 8, 1982)​

BEIJING. The All-China Figure Skating Championships were held in Changchun, as reported by the People's Daily. For the first time, ice dancing was included in the championship program. Gold medals were won by Bao Zhenghua and Xu Zhaoxiao in single skating, Luan Bo and Yao Bin in pairs, and Xi Hongyan and Zhao Xiaolei in ice dancing.
Athletes from 14 teams, mainly from northeastern provinces, as well as from Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, participated in the competition.
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
ST. IVEL INTERNATIONAL

FIGURE SKATING
(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on October 2, 1982)​

LONDON. At the traditional international figure skating competitions in the capital of England, the winners of two types of programs were determined. Among the women, world champion Elaine Zayak (USA) confidently led, increasing her advantage over last year's winner of this tournament, Canadian Tracey Wainman, with an excellent performance in the free program. Third place went to Cornelia Tesch (Germany). Soviet figure skater Natalia Ovchinnikova, 18, from Sverdlovsk, took fourth place.
In ice dance, the strongest were Americans Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert. The second result was for the hosts of the tournament Karen Barber and Nicholas Slater, and third place was retained by Muscovites Elena Batanova and Alexey Soloviev.
The victory of young Muscovites Lyudmila Koblova and Andrey Kalitin ended the pairs competition. Having performed excellently in the free program, they moved from third place (after the short program) to first place, ahead of Canadians Melinda Kunhegyi - Lyndon Johnston and English Susanne Garland - Ian Jenkins. This is the biggest success so far for the young athletes, who are coached by the multiple Olympic, world and European champion Irina Rodnina.
After the free program, Muscovite Gurgen Vardanyan also rose to the top, taking fourth place in the singles competition. Ahead of him are Canadian Brian Orser, Norbert Schramm (West Germany) and American Tom Dickson.
For many skaters, this was the first official start of the new season.​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
SKATE AMERICA

FIGURE SKATING
(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on October 12, 1982)​

NEW YORK. World champion Scott Hamilton (USA) led in the men's single skating - the final event of the traditional international figure skating tournament "Skate America-82". Second place went to Heiko Fischer from West Germany, third to Josef Sabovczyk (Czechoslovakia). Soviet athletes did not compete in this event.
Skaters from 17 countries participated in the competition, which took place at the Olympic skating rink in Lake Placid.
​

 

[Diana Delafield]

1982
ST. IVEL INTERNATIONAL

FIGURE SKATING
(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on October 2, 1982)​

LONDON. At the traditional international figure skating competitions in the capital of England, the winners of two types of programs were determined. Among the women, world champion Elaine Zayak (USA) confidently led, increasing her advantage over last year's winner of this tournament, Canadian Tracey Wainman, with an excellent performance in the free program. Third place went to Cornelia Tesch (Germany). Soviet figure skater Natalia Ovchinnikova, 18, from Sverdlovsk, took fourth place.
In ice dance, the strongest were Americans Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert. The second result was for the hosts of the tournament Karen Barber and Nicholas Slater, and third place was retained by Muscovites Elena Batanova and Alexey Soloviev.
The victory of young Muscovites Lyudmila Koblova and Andrey Kalitin ended the pairs competition. Having performed excellently in the free program, they moved from third place (after the short program) to first place, ahead of Canadians Melinda Kunhegyi - Lyndon Johnston and English Susanne Garland - Ian Jenkins. This is the biggest success so far for the young athletes, who are coached by the multiple Olympic, world and European champion Irina Rodnina.
After the free program, Muscovite Gurgen Vardanyan also rose to the top, taking fourth place in the singles competition. Ahead of him are Canadian Brian Orser, Norbert Schramm (West Germany) and American Tom Dickson.
For many skaters, this was the first official start of the new season.​

View attachment 9622

St Ivel was the only international we ever skated at, when it was still sponsored by Rotary Watches (1979? 80?), and we always figured it didn't really count. We happened to both be in the UK at the time for separate family reasons, and one of the two Canadian pairs entered got injured just before the competition started. There weren't any named substitutes, but someone in the CFSA knew where we were and we got phoned: "Do you have your skates with you, and your music? Can you buy a costume in a skate shop quickly and we'll reimburse you?" So we skated. I can't remember if we came 4th or 5th. It's kind of a blur, and our parents were annoyed. My partner had to miss the family funeral he'd come to attend, and I was late to some relatives' 50th wedding party. Competitions were a lot looser and less intense in those days!

 

[Walt FSHunter]

St Ivel was the only international we ever skated at, when it was still sponsored by Rotary Watches (1979? 80?), and we always figured it didn't really count. We happened to both be in the UK at the time for separate family reasons, and one of the two Canadian pairs entered got injured just before the competition started. There weren't any named substitutes, but someone in the CFSA knew where we were and we got phoned: "Do you have your skates with you, and your music? Can you buy a costume in a skate shop quickly and we'll reimburse you?" So we skated. I can't remember if we came 4th or 5th. It's kind of a blur, and our parents were annoyed. My partner had to miss the family funeral he'd come to attend, and I was late to some relatives' 50th wedding party. Competitions were a lot looser and less intense in those days!

What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing it with figure skating community.

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982

HOW THE PAIR SPLIT

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on October 19, 1982)​

THIS pair of figure skaters was portrayed in every way possible by the German media. Sometimes their achievements - and Christina Riegel and Andreas Nischwitz certainly had such - were greatly exaggerated. For example, the Stuttgarter Zeitung wrote about this duo after the 1981 World Championships, where they took third place: "Never before has a pair in the world managed to demonstrate such elegance!" The eulogies were tinged with local patriotism (the athletes are from Stuttgart) and even chauvinism.
The news that the pair had broken up was a bigger blow to all sports fans in the country. This July, 17-year-old Riegel announced that she had no intention of continuing to skate with Andreas. Similar statements were made by Nischwitz and coach Karel Fajor.
There were many reasons why the “future world champions,” as they were quickly called in Germany, parted ways. After Christina broke her leg in November 1981, it was already difficult for her to compete with the strongest athletes in the world. In addition, she noticeably gained weight: with a height of 158 cm, Tina began to weigh 53 kg. Of course, for an ordinary girl, this is normal, but for the skaters, the extra pounds of the partner meant that it would no longer be possible to perform split twist lifts and lifts at a high level. The breakup of the pair was also facilitated by the subsequent wedding of 24-year-old Nischwitz.
There is one more thing that the German press does not like to write about and that can only be learned between the lines of the newspapers. Schoolgirl Riegel had to make incredible efforts to live up to the image of an “ice princess” created by the country’s press. Especially since not everything was going well in the pair, or rather in the “threesome” (including the coach). However, the word is "Stuttgarter Zeitung":
"Recently, the quarrels between each of the "three" have become more frequent. Tina, according to her, was treated like a child. Parts of the free program were often changed without her knowledge and consent. To prove his point, the coach did not disdain ... to slap the athlete" ...
Interestingly, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung explained the “slap training” very simply: “Tina was unable to grow into Christine” (that is, to mature both in the sporting and human sense) … And Springer's "Welt" hastened to declare such a training method and the collapse of a small sports team a triumph of "the power of the German social system," adding that, supposedly, no one in socialist countries could have made such a "free decision." Well, the paper will tolerate anything less.
However, those familiar with the affairs of this now former pair of figure skaters believe that the disagreement between Christina and Andreas is temporary, that they will be able to reconcile by performing in a professional ice show. Probably, it will be so: money in the West brings people together even in the case of greater antipathy. But what does the infamous “Western freedoms” have to do with this?​

Y. KUTSENKO.​

​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR PRIZES OF THE USSR TRADE UNIONS

ON THE SKATES BY THE SEA

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on October 30, 1982)​

INTERNATIONAL competition of figure skaters for prizes of the USSR trade unions has become traditional. Today, 75 participants from six countries have gathered in the Palace of Sports near the Black Sea. Many titled masters, as well as young people who dream of Olympic ice.
In the pairs competition, the leadership after the short program was taken by former world champions Irina Vorobyova and Igor Lisovsky from Leningrad, although the partner made a mistake when performing a parallel jump. A pleasant surprise was the second place at the intermediate finish of Lyudmila Zaporozhets and Vasyl Panfilov from Dnipropetrovsk.
And the program was opened by the singles. And here the recognized leader is ahead - the ex-European champion from Leningrad Igor Bobrin. Among the 17 pairs of ice dancers, Natalia Karamysheva and Rostislav Sinitsyn from Dnipropetrovsk set the tone. The winners of all the prizes will be announced today.​

O. BORYSENKO.​

Odesa (by phone).

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR PRIZES OF THE USSR TRADE UNIONS

TEST OF STRENGTH

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on November 2, 1982)
​

INTERNATIONAL FIGURE SKATING COMPETITION FOR PRIZES OF THE USSR TRADE UNIONS. Odesa, October 27-30. Palace of Sports, 75 participants. 6 teams from Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy and the USSR. Chief judge - A. SHIRSHOV (all-Union category, Minsk).

This is how experts assess the traditional thirteenth tournament, which ended in Odesa. The head coach of the Sports Committee of the Ukrainian SSR for figure skating, A. Korytek, spoke about the performances of the skaters of our republic.
- I would like to single out the ice dancers from Dnipropetrovsk, Natalia Karamysheva and Rostislav Sinitsyn. I am sure that they are up to the task of fighting for the highest places in responsible competitions this season. The duet Lyudmila Zaporozhets and Vasyl Panfilov from Dnipropetrovsk also performed well. The Odesa pair Tetyana Khristova and Mikhail Vazhenin also left a pleasant impression. Fourth place in pair skating is a success for them.
In the absence of Odesa resident Boris Uspensky (who competed in competitions in Canada), none of the representatives of our republic were among the prize-winners.​

Our correspondent​

Odesa (by phone)

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

Single skating. Men. 1. I. Bobrin - 2.0, 2. L. Kaznakov - 4.0, 3. A. Zakaryan - 7.6.
Ladies. 1. N. Lebedeva - 3.0, 2 M. Serova - 3.6, 3. G. Antonova - 6.8.
Pair skating. 1. I. Vorobyova - I. Lisovsky - 1.4, 2. L. Zaporozhets - V. Panfilov - 3.8, 3. E. Bechke - V. Kornienko - 4.0.
Ice dancing. 1. N. Karamysheva - R. Sinitsyn - 2.0, 2. E. Garanina - I. Zavozin - 4.0, 3. I. Zhuk - O. Petrov - 7.6.

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1982
SKATE CANADA

FIGURE SKATING

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on November 2, 1982)​

MONTREAL. Muscovites Natalia Annenko and Genrikh Sretensky took third place in ice dancing at the traditional international figure skating tournament "Skate Canada", which ended in the city of Kitchener. Our athletes were ahead of Eliza Spitz - Scott Gregory (USA), as well as Canadians Tracy Wilson - Robert McCall. International debutants Tetina Kuzmina and Igor Chinyaev from Moscow took fifth place.
In the women's single skating, Vicki de Vries (USA) was in the lead. Having performed the free program best of all, she overtook Manuela Ruben from West Germany, who had previously been in the lead. Muscovite Anna Kondrashova was second in the free skating, and eventually took fourth place, behind Finnish skater Kristiina Wegelius and American Rosalynn Sumners.
Brian Boitano (USA) won the men's event. Odessa's Boris Uspensky was fourth.
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[Walt FSHunter]

1982
PRAGUE SKATE

FIGURE SKATING

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on November 11, 1982)​

PRAGUE. The 19th Prague Skates figure skating competition was held in the capital of Czechoslovakia, bringing together about 60 athletes from 19 countries. Along with famous masters, young promising athletes who are taking their first steps on the international stage traditionally started. It should be noted that prizes at these competitions are awarded in three categories (there are no ice dances), and in single skating, skaters begin their competition immediately with a short program.
In the men's category, the champion of Czechoslovakia, Josef Sabovčyk, won the Prague Skate for the third time. Leningrader Leonid Kaznakov took third place after the first event, but performed poorly in the free skate and ended up only eighth.
Among the ladies, the Frenchwoman Agnes Gosselin led, who was the best in both events. Sverdlovsk resident Natalia Lebedeva, who took second place, left a good impression.
The silver medal was also won by our team in pair skating, the Leningraders Elena Bechke and Valeriy Kornienko, who lost to athletes from the GDR, Babette Preussler and Torsten Olov.
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[Walt FSHunter]

1982
All-Union Competition "Olympic Hopes"

OLYMPIC HOPE TOURNAMENT

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on November 25, 1982)​

CHELYABINSK. The All-Union Figure Skating Competition "Olympic Hopes" has concluded on the ice of the local Palace of Sports "Yunist". The starts in Chelyabinsk were qualifying for the World Junior Championships, which will be held in mid-December in the Yugoslav city of Sarajevo.
Among the ice dance couples out of competition were Moscow schoolchildren, students of the army club, 16-year-old Tatyana Gladkova and 17-year-old Igor Shpilband. The first place among the boys was also taken by 15-year-old Muscovite Yuriy Bureiko ("Trud"), and among the girls - 15-year-old Leningrad resident Larisa Zamotina ("Burevisnik"). Tashkent schoolchildren 14-year-old Irina Shishova and 15-year-old Alexey Suleymanov won the pair skating event.
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[Walt FSHunter]

1982
NHK TROPHY

FIGURE SKATING
(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on November 30, 1982)​

TOKYO. 18-year-old Muscovites Elena Batanova and Alexey Soloviev became winners in ice dancing at traditional international competitions in the Japanese capital.
The pairs competition ended with the victory of Canadians Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini. In second place - Leningrad's Irina Vorobyova - Igor Lisovsky, in third - Muscovites Marina Avstriiskaya - Yuri Kvashnin.
The silver medalist in the men's event was Alexander Fadeev, who lost only to the world champion, American Scott Hamilton. Among the women, the best was the vice-world champion Katarina Witt from the GDR.
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