Archive of newspaper articles

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

WHO ARE YOU, ICE ENGRAVERS?

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 14, 1983)​

A tournament of the country's strongest figure skaters has begun in Leningrad.
Our masters of "ice lace" must build a metaphorical "ice house" to frame the contours of the Olympic team. Qualifying competitions have kicked off at the Yubileyny Sports Palace. 12 men, 13 women, 16 pairs, and 15 ice dance duets are competing in Leningrad for Olympic berths.
Now, with 20 days to go before the European Championships, simple metrics no longer suffice—such as skater "X" having three triple jumps in their arsenal while skater "Y" has four. As the saying goes, man does not live by jumps alone! A different calculation is now at play: what is the athlete's level of artistry, and what objective are they aiming for? The focus of the struggle has shifted toward psychology and aesthetics, making it impossible to avoid the topic of reaching peak athletic form. While it was too early to speak of a peak in November, in December, it is time to dot the "i's."
European medalist Alexander Fadeev headed straight to the Yubileyny Sports Palace for training immediately after arriving from Moscow. The meticulous nature of his current preparation was evident from the very first day of competition. For his third figure—the "paragraph with loops"—he received scores almost entirely at the 4.0 level (the benchmark for international-class skaters). He also posted the highest scores of the day in other exercises, making him the overall leader of the competition.
Vladimir Kotin, the winner of a recent international tournament in Moscow, also proved to be a skilled "ice engraver" and moved into second place. The surprise of the tournament has to be the high scores achieved by 19-year-old Vitaly Egorov from Kharkiv. As a reminder, he was the World Junior Champion several years ago. During the first half of this season, he remained in the shadows. He later shone at a tournament in Tallinn, though he faced no major rivals there. Now, it seems, he planned his "main shot" for this Leningrad match. Egorov executed his patterns with great precision and took third place. It appears he is finally capable of intervening in the rivalry between our two leaders.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that the competitions in Leningrad are dedicated to the memory of the first Olympic champion in figure skating, Leningrad’s own Nikolai Panin. Notably, his 1908 gold medal is now kept in the Hermitage. One hopes that the current successors to Panin's traditions will also rise to the occasion.​

A. SHELUKHIN.
(Our Special Correspondent).
​

LENINGRAD.

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters. Leningrad. Yubileyny Sports Palace. December 13.
Men. Compulsory program. 1. A. Fadeev — 0.6 points; 2. V. Kotin (both Moscow) — 1.2; 3. V. Egorov (Kharkiv) — 1.8; 4. B. Uspensky (Odesa) — 2.4; 5. G. Vardanyan (Moscow) — 3.0; 6. L. Kaznakov (Leningrad) — 3.6.

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

DESCENDANTS OF GRANDFATHER NIKOLAI

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on December 15, 1983)​

COMPETITIONS OF THE USSR'S STRONGEST FIGURE SKATERS, DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF OLYMPIC CHAMPION M. O. PANIN. Leningrad. December 13-18. Yubileyny Sports Palace. 87 athletes. Head Judge – B. ANOKHIN (international category, Moscow).
A SPOTLIGHT picked out a pair in red costumes from the darkness. And the spectator couldn't believe their eyes: reigning world champions of 1981, the Leningrad pair Irina Vorobieva and Igor Lisovsky, reigned supreme on the ice. She was vibrant, feisty, and sparkling; he was the epitome of elegance and strength. The celebrated masters, with their magnificent farewell dance, sowed doubt as to whether they had ended their sporting careers too soon. Nevertheless, the winning baton in pair skating was picked up by a new generation of Soviet skaters. It is symbolic that half of the 16 pairs admitted to the main domestic examination of the Olympic winter are fellow citizens of Vorobieva and Lisovsky.
This, of course, is not the only reason for choosing the location. Domestic figure skating is celebrating the centenary of its international debut. And it was the skaters from the city on the Neva (St. Petersburg) who "cut a window into Europe." A financial department inspector from St. Petersburg, Nikolai Kolomenkin, hiding from his superiors under the pseudonym Panin, performed brilliantly at the Olympic Games in London exactly three-quarters of a century ago and became champion in the tracing of ice figures.
It was with the execution of the compulsory exercises—the "school figures"—that twelve nervous men, descendants of the first Russian Olympian, began the battle for tickets to Budapest, Sarajevo, and Ottawa. Among those selected were Vitaly Egorov from Kharkiv, Boris Uspensky from Odesa, and Alexander Lunin from Kyiv. Each experienced their own emotions...
Lunin was nervous. For valid reasons, he had missed two months of the preparatory period in the summer and felt uncertain... Egorov seemed unusually quiet, his dream of debuting in the country's main national team deceptively close... Uspensky was openly triumphant. Competing the day before in the GDR at the "Blue Swords" international tournament, which belongs to the "A" category competitions, he won, finishing ahead of GDR champion Falko Kirsten and French vice-champion Peter Savenau. This earned the Odesan the long-awaited title of Master of Sport of International Class.
By draw, the men were tracing the "hook," the "figure eight with double threes," and the "paragraph." The Muscovite Alexander Fadeev demonstrated the best penmanship. Vladimir Kotin got slightly confused on the second figure, the same one that tripped up our Lunin, but he held onto "his" second place. Uspensky, however, although tracing without errors in every attempt, was noticeably inferior to Egorov. The short program will be the key here.
In the evening, the pairs hosted a ball on Dobrolyubov Avenue. Classics gave way to folk melodies and music from the operettas of Strauss, Kálmán, and Offenbach. Shirtfronts, bow ties, ruffles, and jabots, along with stylized national costumes, once again pushed aside athletic fashion trends. Pairs attempting to tackle the short program's tasks through purely technical means—lacking choreographic creativity or emotional depth—seemed archaic. Unfortunately, among them were O. Prozorovska and S. Khrystenko from Kyiv, and L. Zaporozhets and V. Panfilov from Dnipropetrovsk. Furthermore, Khrystenko took a fall out of nowhere.
On the other hand, another Dnipropetrovsk pair, I. Bekker and S. Lykhansky, who are training in Irina Rodnina's group, gave a delightful performance. Inna and Serhiy have never skated so precisely and freely in adult competition. The judges seemed to undervalue their main asset—speed—limiting their scores to 5.2–5.4. Fifth place heading into the free skate is a solid platform for storming the next height. However, in the opinion of Tatyana Tarasova, the Dnipropetrovsk pair deserved a better fate in their mandatory two-minute routine. This pair's prospects are most bright, which cannot be said for Pershina and Akbarov, who currently hold fourth place. The female partner is skating very sluggishly and without inspiration, and technical stability and experience are not enough to save the situation.
You won't find the very best pair in the judges' protocols at all. That would be... the Leningrad coaching couple Tamara and Igor Moskvins. Tamara Nikolaevna, after Vorobieva and Lisovsky, nurtured new world champions Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev, while Igor Borisovich regularly prepares worthy rivals for his wife's students. His pupils, Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov, with scores of 5.7–5.8, only slightly lagged behind the leaders Valova and Vasiliev, who were unfazed by their first public appearance, the formidable competition, or their 13th starting number.​

H. KUZMIN,
special correspondent of
"Sportyvna Gazeta" (Sports Newspaper).​

Leningrad (by phone).

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

«O TIME, WAIT!»

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 15, 1983)​

A THRILLING DRAMA UNFOLDED IN THE SHORT PROGRAM OF THE PAIRS FIGURE SKATING MASTERS.

The words of the poet Tyutchev, "O time, wait!", could be most deeply felt by those who took to the ice at the Yubileyny Sports Palace to perform their short program. Pair skaters are given only two minutes to demonstrate seven prescribed elements through movement and form, while simultaneously creating a character and artistic image.
... Their short routine was concluded by two excellently prepared masters – Lyudmila Koblova and Andrey Kalitin, students of Olympic champion I. Rodnina. A strong start. Five seconds remaining. Andrey throws his partner up with all his might; she soars into the air, performing a double twist lift. But at that moment, Andrey loses his balance and falls. Everyone in the audience perceived this as a dramatic mistake, as the skaters had been performing with inspiration and ease. Nonetheless, they received a score of 5.0 for technique and 5.5 for artistry. A frustrating slip-up - those last five seconds left for the twist lift almost decided the fate of the duo, who ended up in seventh place overall.
"The nature of the mistake is that the pair tried too hard, striving for the maximum result," said I. Rodnina. "And it's hard to blame them for that."
Indeed, all 16 pairs that evening showed a strong desire to achieve a first-class result.
It was impossible not to applaud the world champions from Leningrad, Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev, who performed under number 13. The score 5.9 flashed on the electronic scoreboard 13 times, and this alone speaks to the brilliant level our masters reached in the short program. It includes an element called a sit spin with a change of feet. No one could demonstrate such seamlessness of movement as the world champions did.
Express commentary by Honored Coach of the USSR, T. Tarasova:
"The strongest impression of the evening was the composition by Valova and Vasiliev set to the music of 'Kalinka'. It was truly championship skating by the highest standards. I would emphasize one characteristic of their skill – their complete unity with the music. The new 'Kalinka' is a harmonious piece that delights the spectator, the judge, and the coach alike."
Express commentary by All-Union Category Judge V. Dolgov:
"Today, pair skating is oriented toward showmanship. In my opinion, this criterion is very closely linked to plasticity, softness of movement, and, as we say, the extension of lines. In this regard, Valova and Vasiliev gave an excellent lesson to all the young pairs..."
The fellow Leningraders of the champions, Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov, also brought joy. There was great optimism regarding their blues-themed short program. By her nature, Selezneva is a maximalist, and she succeeds in performing much at a world-class level. This is, of course, the merit of her excellent partner, Oleg Makarov. He helps Larisa feel confident in the most difficult variations, step sequences, and transitions. This creates an impression of remarkable ease. Their results were excellent: twelve scores of 5.7 and four scores of 5.8.
Only two pairs from Moscow were able to compete with the top Leningrad duos—Marina Avstriyskaya and Yuri Kvashnin, and Veronika Pershina and Marat Akbarov, who received scores in the 5.5–5.7 range.
Avstriyskaya and Kvashnin faced a difficult task, as they drew the lot to open the competition. Nevertheless, their skating was flawless, and they moved into third place. Noteworthy were their perfected versions of the lift, spins, and death spiral. Pershina and Akbarov also demonstrated strong assets in their double loop, twist lift, and overhead lift. The top six have been named, but the ranking is not final. Ahead lies the climax of the performance.
A word of praise should go to the creative efforts of all the Leningrad coaches, who presented 8 out of the 16 duos at the tournament. Among the younger skaters, three pairs stood out: E. Bechke and V. Kornienko, T. Khotsko and O. Efimov, and L. Kostenich and I. Bich. In these duos, the female partners are only 17 years old. Each of them deserves a special prize for courage—a quality that is worth its weight in gold in pair skating.
Yesterday, 13 women, led by national champion Elena Vodorezova, began the singles skating competition. Vodorezova confidently took the lead in the tournament.​

A. SHELUKHIN.
(Our special correspondent).​

LENINGRAD

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters. Leningrad. Yubileyny Sports Palace. December 13.
Pair Skating. Short Program. 1. E. Valova and O. Vasiliev - 0.4 points; 2. L. Selezneva and O. Makarov (all from Leningrad) - 0.8; 3. M. Avstriyskaya and Y. Kvashnin - 1.2; 4. V. Pershina and M. Akbarov (all from Moscow) - 1.6; 5. I. Becker and S. Likhansky (Dnipropetrovsk - Moscow) - 2.0; 6. E. Bechke and V. Kornienko (Leningrad) - 2.4.
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

«Perform an Encore Step Sequence»

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 16, 1983)​

Another twist in the figure skating competition at the Leningrad tournament.

Scores of 5.8 had already flashed on the scoreboard at the Yubileyny Sports Palace when the tournament leader took to the ice last, according to the draw. Aleksandr Fadeev, a skater ranked among the world’s top four, undoubtedly wanted to surpass that result. Fadeev was dressed in a red suit with a striped vest. I should note that such an original costume was dictated by the music of his short program—a Charleston with a "broken" rhythm. Not many masters are capable of performing a composition with such a complex technical arsenal as Fadeev’s. A combination with a triple lutz, a camel spin with a flawless line, and an elegant step sequence created a sort of necklace of technical nuances. In October, at the Moscow Championships, Fadeev received nine scores of 5.9 for his performance of the Charleston. He came very close to that again. But, alas, this "shot" was blurred: Fadeev made a mistake on the very first element—a double Axel (2.5 rotations). True, the 19-year-old skater showed self-control in this extreme situation and performed the remaining elements with flair. However, the judges deducted 0.6 points for the error. Only five scores of 5.9 for artistry compensated for the losses in the first mark.
Naturally, this result did not allow Fadeev to maintain his lead. Knowing the strength of his program, our other athletes tried to perform with maximum effort. This primarily applies to Muscovite Vladimir Kotin. This time, in his composition in the style of elegant disco, Kotin shone with jumps, spins, and soft gliding. But here is a curious detail: half of the judges saw a mistake in the execution of the combination with the triple lutz—the free foot touching the ice—while the other half considered the element flawless. Therefore, the former gave a technical score of 5.4, and the latter gave 5.8. However, all nine judges awarded Kotin 5.8 points for artistry. This allowed him to win the short program and lead the tournament in the sum of the two events of the all-around competition.
Kotin's claim spurred on the other masters as well. The 19-year-old Vitaly Egorov, about whom specialists spoke very flatteringly after the compulsory figures ("school"), again distinguished himself. The skater was stable in the most difficult elements—the combination with the triple lutz, the camel spin, and the axel.
So, the leading quartet has been established, and the competitive drama among them has reached its peak. In conclusion, I present the opinion of Stanislav Leonovich, a World Championship silver medalist and current coach:
"I sincerely wished success to my teammates on the national squad—Fadeev, Kotin, and Egorov. In some ways, they met our expectations. However, given the challenging goals of this Olympic season, maximum attention must be paid to the technique of jumps and step sequences. A singles skater is duty-bound to perform a step sequence as an 'encore,' sparking delight in the stands. That is precisely why they are given such a vast ice arena and high speeds. We masters of pair skating find ourselves in a more difficult situation, yet we still strive to present every step sequence to the audience in the most vivid way possible..."​

A. SHELUKHIN.
(Our special correspondent).​

LENINGRAD

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
French National Championships

A Ticket in Addition to the Medal

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 16, 1983)​

The French Figure Skating Championships have concluded in the French town of Megeve. Jean-Christophe Simond, the silver medalist of the European Championships in Lyon, won the national champion title among men for the eighth time.
However, until recently, the question of who would go with Simond to the Games in Sarajevo remained open. Three skaters claimed the vacant spot: F. Fedronic, L. Depouilly, and F. Poulet. Everything fell into place after the French Championships in Megeve.
Following Jean-Christophe Simond in the tournament table was Laurent Depouilly (he was ninth at the European Championships in Dortmund), thereby securing his place on the Olympic team.
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

COLD ICE AND THE FLAME OF EMOTIONS

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on December 17, 1983)​

COMPETITIONS OF THE USSR'S STRONGEST FIGURE SKATERS, DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF OLYMPIC CHAMPION M. O. PANIN. Leningrad. December 13-18. Yubileyny Sports Palace. 87 athletes. Head Judge – B. ANOKHIN (international category, Moscow).

The SHORT program in singles is the key to the entire triathlon, a checkpoint on the way to the podium. Here, you cannot repeat a figure as in "school" (compulsory figures), nor can you simplify a combination on the fly, which is permitted in the free program. In just two minutes, please, tell everything about yourself through the language of movement, the language of dance. If you forget or mix something up, the judges will settle it their own way.
As the underdogs fell one after another, it was thought that things would go more smoothly for the next group. However, the ice made from Neva water proved equally slippery for all the men. Even Fadeev, for whom technical problems do not exist, succumbed to the general panic and, at the decisive moment, forgot exactly which jump he was supposed to perform. There was precious little time for reflection; Alexander jumped blindly and… guessed wrong — losing nearly a full point in the first mark immediately. Kotin took advantage of this, but even he forced his way through the checkpoint with difficulty. His jump combination raised suspicions; a good half of the judges spotted a two-footed landing.
The girls' nerves didn't hold up either. One of the leaders, Kira Ivanova, opening the second session, ruined everything she could. Then Anna Antonova calmed us down a bit. But not for long. The "fever" on the ice rink continued. It even gripped Elena Vodorezova, though it did not affect her performance as strikingly as it did the others.
What was the matter? I turned with this question to Stanislav Zhuk, whose students—Vodorezova and Fadeev—set the tone in our singles skating. The coach considers the main reason for the mass failures in the short program to be the timing of the competition, which, in this Olympic winter, is being held three weeks earlier than usual. He argued that even the leading masters had not yet managed to master all the new elements in detail or polish them... Another authority, Igor Moskvin, disagreed with Zhuk, pointing out that most of today’s "failures" had already demonstrated quite decent versions of their new programs back in November. Could it be that their nerves simply failed them?
The USSR national team psychologist, Vladimir Rekunov, agrees:
"The level of emotional excitement during such qualifying tournaments is significantly higher than usual, which leads either to the inhibition of nervous activity processes or, conversely, overstimulates them. However, let's avoid direct parallels and hasty conclusions. Managing the emotions of athletes in every specific situation is impossible, and not necessary either. For instance, a completely unforeseen incident helped Kira Ivanova cope with her short program during a recent international tournament in Moscow... The music started. Kira gained speed, fell, then again, but the judges were not ready to evaluate her performance. They gave the athlete signs to stop, but she saw no one and nothing in front of her... And then her coach, Vladimir Kovalyov, ran onto the arena. His stunning appearance on the ice pulled Ivanova out of her stupor. The repeat skate was a great success for the Muscovite... Today our goal is broader. To conduct psychological preparation from afar, gradually, nurturing a personality who, by virtue of character traits inherent only to them, will under no circumstances drop below a predetermined emotional level. We still have an unplowed field of work here."
As if to confirm Dr. Rekunov's words, the chain reaction of mistakes continued with the pairs. But not all of them, far from all. At least two of them emerged from the stressful situation with honor.
Here, the Dnipropetrovsk pair I. Bekker and S. Lykhansky begin their slow dance with great energy. An excellent parallel "Axel," then a "Kaufman" jump, and suddenly the partner stops dead in his tracks. The bindings on his boot have snapped—an anxious pause follows. From the press box, we see only a smiling Inna and can only guess the turmoil she is feeling inside… Everything starts over again: the "Axel," the "Kaufman," and other ultra-c elements are performed cleanly and without fear. Enviable self-control for the young students of Irina Rodnina… This is a success — fifth place and the role of first alternates for the USSR national team.
Imagine yourself in the place of the world champions, Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev. It just so happened that they had never once in their lives beaten Larissa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov—strong, very self-confident skaters. For the free program, the judges gave that pair (Selezneva and Makarov) eleven scores of 5.8, denying Valova and Vasiliev the right to even a small mistake. And for them, as luck would have it, not a single element worked out in the warm-up… But when the announcer called the world champions to the start, they transformed—they didn't just skate, jump, do spins and lifts, they flew, soared above the ice. And even though at moments it was clear that Elena, recovering from an illness, was holding on by a thread, our leaders did not falter. Seven scores of 6.0 for artistry, the rest were 5.9. This was their Olympic bid.​

H. KUZMIN,
special correspondent of
"Sportyvna Gazeta" (Sports Newspaper).​

Leningrad (by phone).

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

CONFIDENCE AND GRACE — A PERFECT 6.0!

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 17, 1983)​

WORLD CHAMPIONS ELENA VALOVA AND OLEG VASILIEV AWARDED SEVEN TOP MARKS FOR ARTISTRY.

"Tamara Nikolaevna, what has changed in the character and style of your students, Valova and Vasiliev, since they won the World Championship nine months ago?"
Tamara Moskvina answered instantly:
"In my opinion, their character has remained the same — steady and kind. But their style has changed; they have gained a new level of confidence."
Moskvina shared her perspective after the free program competition, once the standing ovation in honor of the winners—Elena and Oleg—subsided in the "Yubileyny" arena. Frankly speaking, everyone expected a victory from the Leningrad pair Valova and Vasiliev, but no one anticipated such a firework display in the champions' actual skating. Even coach Stanislav Zhuk, known for his harsh evaluations, admitted:
"I believe the triple toe loop and the throws performed by Valova and Vasiliev were superb!"
If you will, the draw was not in favor of Valova and Vasiliev. They were the last to perform in the strongest group and already knew that the judges had awarded Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov eleven scores of 5.8. No simplified versions would do here; an ultra-complex variation of the composition was required, and Valova and Vasiliev switched on high speed from the very first second. They maintained their signature style right until the finale, performing a combination of jumps in the closing seconds. All nine judges gave them a 5.9 for technique, and for artistry—two scores of 5.9 and seven of the highest possible mark: 6.0.
The second position in our national team unquestionably belongs to Selezneva and Makarov, with their exotic, unconventional composition. This duo features three "ultra-с" elements: a triple toe loop, a double axel, and a combination of an axel with a Kaufman jump.
The progress of S. Zhuk's students, Marina Avstriyskaya and Yuri Kvashnin (who had trump cards like three-revolution throws), should also be noted, as should the pupils of Olympic champion I. Rodnina (her charges took 4th, 5th, and 6th places consecutively in this tournament).
The women's singles masters competition continues. Grieg's music for the drama "Peer Gynt" is rightly considered one of the most emotional pieces, and it is all the more pleasant to emphasize that the entire performing manner of the leader, Elena Vodorezova, was close to the mood of the music. Her skating was inspired, refined, and earned scores of 5.5 and 5.6. She remains in the lead. The fight for prize-winning places was sharply escalated by Anna Antonova from Leningrad and Natalia Lebedeva from Sverdlovsk, who pushed their rivals Anna Kondrashova and Kira Ivanova aside in the short program.
In ice dancing, the European champions Natalia Bestemyanova and Andrei Bukin are leading, followed by Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko.​

A. SHELUKHIN,
(Our Special Correspondent).
​

LENINGRAD.

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

Match of the strongest figure skaters of the USSR. Leningrad. Yubileyny Sports Palace. December 15th.
Pairs Skating. Combined Score (Total points). 1. E. Valova and O. Vasiliev - 1.4; 2. L. Selezneva and O. Makarov (all from Leningrad) - 2.8; 3. M. Avstriyskaya and Yu. Kvashnin - 4.2; 4. V. Pershina and M. Akbarov (all from Moscow) - 5.6: 5. I. Bekker and S. Lykhansky (Dnipropetrovsk - Moscow) - 7.0; 6. L. Koblova and A. Kalitin (Moscow) - 8.8.
Men's Singles Skating. Combined Score of Compulsory and Short Programs. 1. V. Kotin - 1.6; 2. A. Fadeev (both from Moscow) - 2.2; 3. V. Yegorov (Kharkiv) - 2.6; 4. B. Uspensky (Odesa) - 4.4; 5. L. Kaznakov (Leningrad) - 4.8; 6. G. Vardanyan (Moscow) - 5.4.

 

[Diana Delafield]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

«O TIME, WAIT!»

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 15, 1983)​

A THRILLING DRAMA UNFOLDED IN THE SHORT PROGRAM OF THE PAIRS FIGURE SKATING MASTERS.

The words of the poet Tyutchev, "O time, wait!", could be most deeply felt by those who took to the ice at the Yubileyny Sports Palace to perform their short program. Pair skaters are given only two minutes to demonstrate seven prescribed elements through movement and form, while simultaneously creating a character and artistic image.
... Their short routine was concluded by two excellently prepared masters – Lyudmila Koblova and Andrey Kalitin, students of Olympic champion I. Rodnina. A strong start. Five seconds remaining. Andrey throws his partner up with all his might; she soars into the air, performing a double twist lift. But at that moment, Andrey loses his balance and falls. Everyone in the audience perceived this as a dramatic mistake, as the skaters had been performing with inspiration and ease. Nonetheless, they received a score of 5.0 for technique and 5.5 for artistry. A frustrating slip-up - those last five seconds left for the twist lift almost decided the fate of the duo, who ended up in seventh place overall.
"The nature of the mistake is that the pair tried too hard, striving for the maximum result," said I. Rodnina. "And it's hard to blame them for that."
Indeed, all 16 pairs that evening showed a strong desire to achieve a first-class result.
It was impossible not to applaud the world champions from Leningrad, Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev, who performed under number 13. The score 5.9 flashed on the electronic scoreboard 13 times, and this alone speaks to the brilliant level our masters reached in the short program. It includes an element called a sit spin with a change of feet. No one could demonstrate such seamlessness of movement as the world champions did.
Express commentary by Honored Coach of the USSR, T. Tarasova:
"The strongest impression of the evening was the composition by Valova and Vasiliev set to the music of 'Kalinka'. It was truly championship skating by the highest standards. I would emphasize one characteristic of their skill – their complete unity with the music. The new 'Kalinka' is a harmonious piece that delights the spectator, the judge, and the coach alike."
Express commentary by All-Union Category Judge V. Dolgov:
"Today, pair skating is oriented toward showmanship. In my opinion, this criterion is very closely linked to plasticity, softness of movement, and, as we say, the extension of lines. In this regard, Valova and Vasiliev gave an excellent lesson to all the young pairs..."
The fellow Leningraders of the champions, Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov, also brought joy. There was great optimism regarding their blues-themed short program. By her nature, Selezneva is a maximalist, and she succeeds in performing much at a world-class level. This is, of course, the merit of her excellent partner, Oleg Makarov. He helps Larisa feel confident in the most difficult variations, step sequences, and transitions. This creates an impression of remarkable ease. Their results were excellent: twelve scores of 5.7 and four scores of 5.8.
Only two pairs from Moscow were able to compete with the top Leningrad duos—Marina Avstriyskaya and Yuri Kvashnin, and Veronika Pershina and Marat Akbarov, who received scores in the 5.5–5.7 range.
Avstriyskaya and Kvashnin faced a difficult task, as they drew the lot to open the competition. Nevertheless, their skating was flawless, and they moved into third place. Noteworthy were their perfected versions of the lift, spins, and death spiral. Pershina and Akbarov also demonstrated strong assets in their double loop, twist lift, and overhead lift. The top six have been named, but the ranking is not final. Ahead lies the climax of the performance.
A word of praise should go to the creative efforts of all the Leningrad coaches, who presented 8 out of the 16 duos at the tournament. Among the younger skaters, three pairs stood out: E. Bechke and V. Kornienko, T. Khotsko and O. Efimov, and L. Kostenich and I. Bich. In these duos, the female partners are only 17 years old. Each of them deserves a special prize for courage—a quality that is worth its weight in gold in pair skating.
Yesterday, 13 women, led by national champion Elena Vodorezova, began the singles skating competition. Vodorezova confidently took the lead in the tournament.​

A. SHELUKHIN.
(Our special correspondent).​

LENINGRAD

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters. Leningrad. Yubileyny Sports Palace. December 13.
Pair Skating. Short Program. 1. E. Valova and O. Vasiliev - 0.4 points; 2. L. Selezneva and O. Makarov (all from Leningrad) - 0.8; 3. M. Avstriyskaya and Y. Kvashnin - 1.2; 4. V. Pershina and M. Akbarov (all from Moscow) - 1.6; 5. I. Becker and S. Likhansky (Dnipropetrovsk - Moscow) - 2.0; 6. E. Bechke and V. Kornienko (Leningrad) - 2.4.
View attachment 10646​

Now that's an embarrassing fall for the man on a twist, and quite disconcerting for the lady to realize, as she's coming back down, that there's no one to catch her because he's sitting on the ice looking startled . (And potentially dangerous too, of course, if she landed on him feet first!)

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

MELODIES OF THE ICE ORCHESTRA
(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 18, 1983)​

ALEXANDER FADEEV DEMONSTRATES A UNIQUE ELEMENT AND WINS

The match of the strongest figure skaters in the USSR was adorned yesterday by two events: the men's free program final and the original dance competition. And in both cases, one wants to say "bravo!" to the young talents, our Olympic hopes.
In the original dance—the paso doble—the level of performance skill was high. Natalia Bestemyanova said that it was in Leningrad that she, along with Andrei Bukin, managed to breathe life and the warmth of sincere feelings into their performance of the paso doble. The skates were perfectly obedient to the European champions. They know very well that each dance offered in a new season needs a long "adjustment period." You have to be in love with it; only then does the skill sparkle with all its colors. This is exactly what happened with Bestemyanova and Bukin's paso doble.
They were truly outstanding, as they managed to receive five scores of 6.0 that evening. The second-best result in the paso doble was achieved by the students of coach Natalia Dubova—Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko (scores of 5.7–5.8)—while the third result went to the equally young dancers from Moscow, Elena Batanova and Alexei Soloviev (scores of 5.6–5.7). A heightened sense of rhythm and expression in the dialogue between Klimova and Ponomarenko is well-emphasized in any dance, including the paso doble. Meanwhile, the original and subtle artistry of Batanova and Soloviev revealed itself gradually. This quality was felt by all dance specialists at the "Yubileyny" arena. The duo mastered the skill of fluid dialogue after five years of persistent refinement.
"This spring in Helsinki," Batanova said, "I carefully watched the dances of world champions Torvill and Dean. And I was most pleased by one discovery: all these previous years, my partner and I had been correctly taught the classical school of dance. It is very important to receive a solid foundation."
Her partner Solovyov adds:
"From our coach Lyudmila Alekseevna Pakhomova, we often heard the words: 'Guys, think! Search for the answer! Don't wait for a hint!'. Lena and I came up with the finale for our new free program. And the coach approved it."
The duel between the two virtuosos of single skating, Alexander Fadeev and Vladimir Kotin, was remarkably beautiful. They both made the entire music of the ice orchestra resonate: one used disco rhythms, while the other transformed into a romantic on the ice, "listening" to the melodies of Saint-Saëns. Both managed to captivate both the judges and the public. And yet, the scales were tipped in his favor by Fadeev, who, in the very first minute, cleanly executed a unique element—a triple Axel jump (3.5 revolutions)—as well as a drawn-out, seemingly soaring jump: the triple lutz. The finale of his program sounded powerful and fresh, at maximum tempo. Fadeev's result for technique: seven scores of 5.9; for artistry: five scores of 5.8 and four scores of 5.9. He became the winner in the all-around competition.
Kotin is progressing in the class of his skating. After the November tournament in Moscow, he seemed to have transformed his program, adding airiness and lightness to it. His triple jumps were also technically precise. Hence the eight scores of 5.8, as well as three scores of 5.9.
Vitaly Yegorov, who took third place, also pleased the audience. The technique of performing the most complex elements has become his reliable ally.​

A. SHELUKHIN,
(Our Special Correspondent).
​

LENINGRAD.

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

Match of the strongest figure skaters of the USSR. Leningrad. Yubileyny Sports Palace. December 16th.
Men's Singles Skating. Combined Score (Total points). 1. A. Fadeev - 3.2; 2. V. Kotin (both from Moscow) - 3.6: 3. V. Yegorov (Kharkiv) - 5.6; 4. L. Kaznakov (Leningrad) - 8.8; 5. G. Vardanyan (Moscow) - 9.4; 6. B. Uspensky (Odesa) - 10.4.
Ice Dancing. Combined Score of Compulsory and Original Dances. 1. N. Bestemyanova and A. Bukin - 1.0; 2. M. Klimova and S. Ponomarenko - 2.0; 3. O. Volozhinskaya and A. Svinin - 3.4; 4. E. Batanova and A. Solovyov - 4.2; 5. N. Annenko and G. Sretensky - 4.4; 6. M. Usova and A. Zhulin (all from Moscow) - 6.0.
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

WE WERE SITTING ON THE BENCH...

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on December 20, 1983)​

COMPETITION OF THE STRONGEST FIGURE SKATERS OF THE USSR, DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF OLYMPIC CHAMPION N. A. PANIN. Leningrad. December 13–18. "Yubileyny" Sports Palace. 87 athletes. Chief Judge — B. ANOKHIN (international category, Moscow).
THE PEAK of spectator interest is the exhibition performances. But for the coaches, this is an evening of relative calm: the tension of the competition hours drops, one can catch a breath and exchange thoughts while the trail is still warm. The backstage area in "Yubileyny" is shaped like the letter "H." So, the "first impression club" met last Sunday precisely in the crossbar of the "H," on low gymnastic benches.
Alexei Mishin, gesturing temperamentally, explained: "I've been working with Vitaly (referring to Yegorov from Kharkiv) for five seasons, but even today I am still discovering him. When we first met, I was attracted by the young man's soft, fluid skating. Later, another enviable trait emerged — reliability in executing stunt elements. We struggled longer with the choreography. I intentionally raised him in the world of classics. The Kirov Theater became a second home for us... When Vitaly disagreed with the famous Leningrad ballet master Tagunov for the first time during a rehearsal, I was scared. 'The eggs don't teach the chicken.' But that same evening, Tagunov called: 'You know, the boy is right. We should stage it the way he suggests.'"
In Leningrad, Yegorov finished behind only Fadeev and Kotin, and now in January, he will make his debut at the European Senior Championships. Experience in such tournaments, where competition is exceptionally fierce, is exactly what the Kharkiv native lacks.
"Tell us about your beauties, Antonova and Serova," says Irina Rodnina, sitting down on the bench. Perhaps it isn’t noticeable on television screens, but three years of coaching have sown white threads in her raven hair...
"Ira, please, don't salt the wounds," Mishin pleads. "Every morning I wake up and don't know what to expect from these scamps. They are as changeable as Leningrad weather... In the short program, Antonova made me happy, while Serova couldn't stay off the ice. In the free program, I tried to hypnotize Hannusia Antonova with my gaze. But once the scariest parts were over, she smiled as she skated past. I relaxed for just a second and... that was it. On the other hand, with Marina Serova, I performed all the jumps, all the footwork, and the spins together with her in my mind. And I didn't let her fall!"
"As for me," Rodnina says, "when little Inna Bekker fell, my knees swelled up as if it were me hitting the ice. Tatyana Tarasova has been coaching for so long, yet she experiences every performance of her students as if it were the first."
"But our Edik is made of flint," Rodnina says, pointing to the coach of the ladies' singles winner Anna Kondrashova, Eduard Pliner, who has subtly appeared nearby.
Pliner does not object. He silently rolls up his shirt sleeves and shows his hands covered in red spots—an allergic reaction. "But externally I am calm," he says, smiling... "Especially when I had to urgently change Anna's short program in December."
Stanislav Zhuk finally speaks up from the far end of the bench. "Remember, the Olympics will be won not by the girl who performs five triple jumps, but by the one who falls less and wins over the judges with artistry."
A waltz melody pours from the arena. "They are skating to my music," Rodnina livens up again. And then, jokingly: "Who allowed them?" — she takes her USSR Olympic team ID card from her purse, looks at it for a long time. "I have five of these! The first one was an advance. I didn't make it to Grenoble, and it's too early for me to go to Sarajevo as a coach, but the next Games will be mine," and she pounded her little fist on the bench.
And returning from the ice oval, skates clicking in their guards, were the ice dancers Natalia Bestemyanova and Andrei Bukin. They are confident that the Games in Sarajevo will be theirs!
Igor Bobrin stood up from the bench and went to meet Bestemyanova. They had married in the spring. I saw how Igor, the former European champion and now a soloist in the revue "All Stars" recently created by Yuri Ovchinnikov, watched his young wife's performance from the press box. The hall went wild with delight for all four minutes that Bestemyanova and Bukin's free dance to Ukrainian folk melodies lasted.
Bobrin remained unfazed. He had seen the program many times and professionally, without emotion, tried to find errors in the Leningrad version. In vain. His hand with a pencil froze in the air, but not a single mark appeared on the paper. When the referees confirmed the flawlessness of the concept and execution with scores of 6.0 for artistry and 5.9 for technique, Igor finally smiled. In his entire glorious career, he could not boast of anything similar.​

H. KUZMIN,
special correspondent of
"Sportyvna Gazeta" (Sports Newspaper).​

Leningrad (by phone).

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

Pairs Skating. 1. E. Valova – O. Vasiliev. 2. L. Selezneva – O. Makarov (all fromLeningrad). 3.M. Avstriyskaya – Yu. Kvashnin (Moscow). Ice Dancing. 1. N. Bestemyanova – A. Bukin. 2. M. Klimova – S. Ponomarenko. 3. O. Volozhinskaya – O. Svinin (all from Moscow). Singles Skating. Men. 1. A. Fadeev. 2. V. Kotin (both from Moscow). 3. V. Yegorov (Kharkiv). Women. 1. A. Kondrashova (Moscow). 2. K. Ivanova (Moscow region). 3. N. Lebedeva (Sverdlovsk).
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

THE ORIGINALITY OF DANCE

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 20, 1983)​

TEMPERAMENT, ORIGINAL DESIGN, AND MULTIFACETED PLASTICITY — SUCH IS THE HALLMARK OF THE BEST DANCE DUOS

Only half a month separates the figure skaters from the start of the European Championships in Budapest, which will serve as a kind of prelude to the Olympics. Everything our masters demonstrated on the Leningrad ice is the Olympic "baggage" of the future national team. In this light, the performances of the ice dancers—the strike force of the team—at the "Yubileiny" sports palace took on special significance.
Which of our leaders guessed, calculated, and foresaw the main trends of this dance season? The judges' scores for the free programs provide an unequivocal answer: European champions Natalia Bestemyanova and Andrei Bukin. They have created a true model of an original sporting dance, which can be called a kind of pinnacle of their six years of persistent hard work. For technique, the skaters received nine scores of 5.9, and for artistry—all nine of the highest possible score: 6.0!
One recalls the tournament in Tallinn two months ago. That was the premiere of the program set to Russian folk dance melodies. It would seem that we saw the same concepts, lines, gestures, spins, and lifts now, but the impressions of the truly whirlwind-like dance in Leningrad were even more vivid and rich. The vision of Tatyana Tarasova, the mentor of our leaders, is to bring her students week by week toward that threshold where the miracle of art begins—the revelation of the poetry of Russian dance. Bestemyanova and Bukin transported the audience into the lively and tangible world of a folk fair, where there is a place for humor, lyricism, and subtle irony.
A narrative-driven structure of the dance—this is the course that leads to success today, and this course is embodied in the new Olympic program of Bestemyanova and Bukin. Our young duos also avoid well-trodden paths, and it is no coincidence that they met with unprecedented success during the match in Leningrad. The pupils of coach Natalia Dubova—Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko—were unanimously awarded scores of 5.8 for the first time (the second-best result of the tournament). Kalman’s music, Hungarian flair, and a precise execution of original ideas—this is the strength of their dance. Equally original and bold in its concept was the multifaceted dance of 19-year-old Muscovites Elena Batanova and Alexei Soloviev; it contained the passion of Spanish caballeros and the romanticism of Mexican songs. In every fragment and every gesture of the ice dancers, the audience felt the charm of plastic imagery. Scores of 5.7 and one 5.8 for artistry are the harbingers of an imminent rise.
In the final standings table, the third position in the sum of all sections of the competition was taken by experienced figure skaters - prizewinners of last year's European Championship, Olga Volozhinskaya and Alexander Svinin - a pair that had been rapidly progressing since 1981. Over the past seasons, much was learned and discovered, and their current program had many echoes of their previous bright, dynamic dances. However, in competition with the young duos, the skaters are finding it difficult. Notably, they took fourth place in the paso doble. The current free dance received the third best scores of the day - 5.7 points.
Unfortunately, the women's tournament in Leningrad did not provide a complete picture of how our female athletes are reaching new levels of difficulty. If the leader of our men's team, Alexander Fadeev, reached maximum power and lightness of style in his triple jumps, we saw nothing similar in the free programs of Anna Kondrashova and Kira Ivanova, even though an athletic, tempo-driven composition is entirely within the athletes' capabilities. It must be emphasized again and again that the programs created by the multiple national champion Elena Vodorezova remain the benchmark for our female single skaters. She is currently preparing for the season's main tournaments according to her own plan, and therefore in Leningrad, as in the Moscow tournament, she only tested herself in the compulsory figures ("school") and the short program.
From the immediate reserve, perhaps two athletes have made a tangible step forward: Natalia Lebedeva from Sverdlovsk (coach I. Ksenofontov) and Marina Serova from Leningrad (coach A. Mishin).​

A. SHELUKHIN.
(Our special correspondent).
​

LENINGRAD.

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

Match of the strongest figure skaters of the USSR. Leningrad. "Yubileiny" Sports Palace. December 17.
Ice Dance. All-around total. 1. N. Bestemyanova and A. Bukin — 2.0; 2. M. Klimova and S. Ponomarenko — 4.0; 3. O. Volozhinskaya and A. Svinin — 5.4; 4. E. Batanova and A. Soloviev — 8.2; 5. N. Annenko and G. Sretensky — 9.4; 6. M. Usova and A. Zhulin (all from Moscow) — 12.0.
Women. All-around total. 1. A. Kondrashova (Moscow) — 4.4; 2. K. Ivanova (Moscow Region) — 5.6; 3. N. Lebedeva (Sverdlovsk) — 7.6; 4. M. Serova — 9.2; 5. A. Antonova (both from Leningrad) — 9.4; 6. N. Ovchinnikova (Sverdlovsk) — 13.8.
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
GOLDEN SPIN

FIGURE SKATING

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on December 22, 1983)​

Three-time world champion Scott Hamilton of the United States has made a successful start to the current season. In Zagreb, Yugoslavia, he won the first international tournament of the Olympic winter — the "Golden Spin."
According to the 25-year-old Hamilton, he is satisfied with the results: "I believe my competitive form is better now than it was at this time last year. And in the lead-up to the Olympics, it is especially important to know how the judges and the audience evaluate you."
The event in Zagreb was Hamilton's first and last public appearance before the start of the U.S. Championships, which will take place in January of next year.
19-year-old world champion Rosalynn Sumners of Seattle, Washington, faced an unexpected rival in Zagreb in Sanda Dubravčić of Yugoslavia, who emerged as the winner of the "Golden Spin." The American explained her setback by noting that the season has only just begun. "By the Olympics, I will be in better form, and everything will be different," Sumners stated.
Here is the opinion of the American athlete's coach, Lorraine Borman: "In an Olympic season, the first competitions are of great importance, so the 'Golden Spin' is exactly what Rosalynn needed... Over the past year, she has lost more than 5 kilograms, which has improved her physical condition. Special preparation is also at a high level, and we still have time for adjustments."
In ice dance, one of the most promising pairs in the USA is Eva Hunyadi and Jay Pinkerton. But the athletes themselves, who have been performing together for three years, consider their start in Sarajevo unlikely, although they say they have made significant progress. "We are setting a more realistic goal for ourselves – the 1988 Olympic Games," said Pinkerton.​

TASS.​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
OPEN INTERLOCUTOR

A CELEBRATION OF YOUTH AND BEAUTY

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 22, 1983)​

Gabriele Seyfert, Christine Errath, Jan Hoffmann, Annett Pötzsch, Katarina Witt—a whole era in the history of figure skating is associated with the name of a remarkable coach from the German Democratic Republic, a coach who raised many champions of the country, Europe, and ultimately the world—with the name of Jutta Müller.
...On the eve of the Olympic starts on the ice of the Sarajevo Zetra Sports Palace, we offer readers an interview with this famous coach.

- This White Olympics is not the first in your sports career. What do you feel as it approaches? Excitement? Anxiety? Or, perhaps, over the years you have developed a peculiar habit, and it is difficult to surprise you with the Olympics?
-The Olympic Games, whether they are the fifth, seventh, or tenth in your lifetime, always remain a special event in the life of any athlete and coach, a debutant or an acclaimed master. For me, the Games in Sarajevo will be the sixth in a row.
Why do I love the Olympics? For the communication, for new acquaintances, for the fact that it is always a celebration, unforgettable and unique. At the Olympics, we have the opportunity to meet many representatives of other winter sports, other countries, to get to know their affairs and concerns better. Now, when the issues of the struggle for peace and the personal contribution of every honest person to this cause are more acute than ever, such meetings, in my opinion, are especially important.
-What will be the line-up of the GDR figure skating team in Sarajevo?
-Our team will be small: two pairs plus two or three representatives in singles skating. Our principle is not to test athletes at the Olympics, but to send only those who are capable of taking a high place. Perhaps the European championship in Budapest next January will make some adjustments to the national team's line-up. Tentatively, our national team's colors on the Sarajevo ice will be defended in men's singles by the national champion Falko Kirsten from Dresden, and in women's by the European champion Katarina Witt. It is still difficult to say who else will go with her to the 1984 Winter Olympics—Karin Hendschke, the bronze medalist of the national championship, the silver medalist Janina Wirth, Simone Koch (last year's junior world champion) or the promising Constanze Gensel.
Well, our pairs are probably well known to figure skating fans. They are Sabine Baeß – Tassilo Thierbach from Karl-Marx-Stadt and Birgit Lorenz - Knut Schubert from Berlin.
-You have raised many world-class masters. What quality do you attach the greatest importance to when working with athletes?
-Hard work. After all, talent, even the most outstanding, will never be revealed without this important and, alas, rare quality. If talent can be inherent in a person by nature, then hard work must be cultivated. True, in my practice there were also examples of a natural, happy combination of hard work and talent—these are Jan Hoffmann and my daughter Gabi Seyfert. Starting from the very first training sessions, I tune my charges in for the highest result and for long, sometimes very tedious work. You have to do a little more than you are capable of, overcome fatigue, monotony, pain. This is the path to the podium.
-What is your opinion about the Soviet national team?
-It has long and deservedly been among the leaders in world figure skating. In recent years, some changes have occurred in its line-up, which can be called a changing of the guard. Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev, Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov, Natalia Linichuk and Gennady Karponosov, Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov, Igor Bobrin, Yuri Ovchinnikov have left the ice arena. An impressive list. Nevertheless, in a short time, Soviet coaches managed to prepare worthy successors to the departed champions. Vladimir Kotin, Alexander Fadeev - each of these skaters is distinguished by their own style on the ice, original choreography. Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin are inimitable. I am genuinely rooting for them.
The Soviet pairs also seem to be on the rise, in my opinion. The new, wonderful duo Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev have found their style on the ice and achieved a deserved victory at the World Championships.
It remains unclear, however, why women's singles skaters are lagging in Soviet figure skating. After all, besides Elena Vodorezova, whom I consider a phenomenal skater, it seems difficult for me to name any other of your women who are realistically contenders for prize places in Sarajevo.
- Who, in your opinion, has the best chances to win the Olympic "gold"?
- I am not a prophet, but I am sure that there will be no big surprises. I think that the champions of the Games will be those who, based on the results of the last World Championship, held leading positions, were in the top five. I sincerely wish everyone success.​

A. POLOTSKY.
(APN own correspondent - for "Sovetsky Sport").​

KARL-MARX-STADT - BERLIN.

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983
Match of the USSR's strongest figure skaters

AFTERWORD TO THE COMPETITION​

WITH THE RIGHT OF ADVISORY VOTE

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on December 24, 1983)​

OLYMPIC PROSPECTS OF UKRAINIAN FIGURE SKATERS

In leap years, all-Union championships for masters of the winged skate are held in the spring, after the season's main events. Leaders, as a rule, skip these tournaments—they rest or tour with exhibition performances. So the main events in the domestic calendar become the December matches of the strongest. That is where Olympic berths are handed out. Currently in Leningrad, 17 figure skaters have become their owners.
As never before, pupils of the Ukrainian school were widely represented at the competitions. Their results are mixed. Vitaliy Yehorov from Kharkiv, let me remind you, became a bronze medalist. In the women's event, Kyiv residents Lyudmyla Yashchuk and Inna Shostak closed the list of a dozen participants. A similar fate befell Kyiv Dynamo members Svitlana Yaromova and Leonid Ryzhenko in ice dancing. Fourteenth and fifteenth places were taken in pair skating by Lyudmyla Zaporozhets and Vasyl Panfilov from Dnipropetrovsk and Olena Prozorovska and Borys Khrystеnko from Kyiv, Inna Bekker and Serhiy Lykhansky from Dnipropetrovsk were fifth here. Among the best single skaters, besides Yehorov, were Borys Uspenskyi from Odesa (sixth result) and Oleksandr Lunin from Kyiv (tenth).
Regarding Yehorov. His plasticity, subtle feeling for music, and ability to develop high speed unnoticeably to the outside eye have already been written about. Coach Mishin asked to emphasize another main point: Vitaliy has become more serious, he believes in himself, and this immediately reflected on the effectiveness of his training sessions. The "bronze" gave our countryman the right to compete at the European Championships in Budapest, but... not in Sarajevo. The thing is that last year, none of the Soviet figure skaters ascended the podium of the World Championship, which grants the right to maximum Olympic representation. Thus, Yehorov turned out to be the eighteenth person too many on the team. But this should not upset him—he has reserves. According to Honored Master of Sports Igor Bobrin, the Kharkiv resident has not yet learned how to present himself properly to the public and judges. It is time to expand the repertoire of the most complex jumps, in particular, to include the triple Axel in his program.
The sixth place of Boris Uspenskyi, who was justly considered Yehorov's main rival for the "bronze", is a clear step backward. Boris, and Oleksandr Lunin, despite all circumstances, could have performed better, were it not for their coach Vladimir Kaprov, who did not come to Leningrad without valid reasons. Abandoning his students at a decisive moment is becoming a bad tradition for this mentor.
Two Kyiv women in single skating, although they did not collect decent marks, caught the experts' eyes, especially Shostak. It is only important for her not to get lost in senior company and to gain confidence. After all, her technique and choreographic preparation are already quite satisfactory. However, as Mishin believes, the greatest prospects lie with Natalia Horbenko from Kyiv, a participant in the last World Junior Championships. Natalia did not gather laurels in Sapporo—she performed poorly in the compulsory program. On the other hand, she was transformed in the free program: excellent gliding, high speed, and flawless execution of the triple loop and toe loop. The resume from the authorities: we have an unpolished diamond before us. But another conclusion was especially heartening: the talented girl is in the reliable hands of Kyiv coach Lidiia Masliukova, who is fully capable of guiding her.
And so we have waited! Finally, we have specialists capable of training figure skaters at the level of the USSR national team. Let it be the junior team for now. But the ice has been broken. To match Masliukova, there are Odesa residents Halyna Zmiievska and Borys Rubliov. Zmiievska prepared the world junior champion Viktor Petrenko, and Rubliov "brought out into the world" the ice dancers Olena Krykanova and Yevhen Platov, who were also first in Sapporo. Adding to these achievements the "silver" of Olha Neizviestna and Serhii Khudiakov in pair skating, we reach a pleasant conclusion: promising figure skaters have appeared in the republic in every discipline. And even if in Leningrad only one of the three sports pairs (Bekker–Lykhanskyi) competed on equal terms with the others, and in ice dancing we were mere spectators, the considerable youth reserve sets an optimistic mood.
Here is Viktor Petrenko. At not quite fifteen years old, he possesses the most difficult triple lutz jump; he is artistic and elegant on the ice. Perhaps the most valuable thing, however, is that Viktor has never once been late for practice, and he manfully, like a man, overcomes injuries and setbacks. Maybe that is why he knows how to focus at the decisive moment and perform even the elements he is just learning cleanly during a performance.
At a press conference in Sapporo, an American journalist, upset by the loss of his compatriots, pointedly asked Krykanova and Platov what they, as world junior champions, were planning to do in seniors. He immediately stopped short when he heard the answer: "We will be juniors for two more years!" This was an irrefutable argument. After all, already today the residents of Odesa are looking for rivals among their older colleagues, and perhaps the most attractive feature of their skating is their full compliance with the norms and requirements that the ISU (International Skating Union) demands of senior figure skaters.
Their current coach, Natalia Dubova, believes that ice dancers must immediately master the full range of techniques rather than overindulging, as often happens, in free dances and exhibition performances. After all, universal blade control is provided only by the compulsory program, while the skill of interpretation and one’s own signature style in performing classic, canonized dances appear only when polishing original numbers on a given theme. This season, the original dance is the same for both seniors and juniors. It is the Pasodoble. Thus, during the control skate back in the autumn, Krykanova and Platov showed themselves to be true "Spaniards," in no way inferior to many experienced skaters. In the free composition, the choreographer—Honored Artist of the RSFSR Elena Kholina—sought to convey the partners' characters. The first part is a tango. This is Krykanova’s element. The second—a Viennese waltz—is advantageous for her romantic partner. And finally, a technically saturated finale in the disco style, which eloquently confirms the brightest forecasts for tomorrow.
One caveat: we all need to be patient. The transition from gifted to titled is long and painful. Even Yehorov spent a full Olympic cycle to prove that his previous win at the world junior championship was no accident. Therefore, "tomorrow" is not next winter, nor even the Spartakiad year of 1986. Hitting the "bullseye" is realistic in the 1987-88 season. And even then, only under the condition that the experience of the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk schools in creating special groups and in creative communication with the specialists of the USSR national team continues to be stimulated, and is finally taken up in other cities of the republic, particularly in Kyiv and Kharkiv…
Yehorov, Bekker and Lykhanskyi are capable of conquering the summit sooner. Other names and other surprises are also possible. Under any circumstances, it is time to exchange the right of an advisory vote for a full-fledged Olympic mandate.​

H. KUZMYN,
Special Correspondent
for "Sportyvna Hazeta".​

Leningrad – Kyiv.

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1983

MARCH
Elena VALOVA
and Oleg VASILYEV,
World Figure Skating Champions

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 31, 1983)​

The most sensational result of the World Figure Skating Championships in March 1983 was the brilliant victory of Soviet pair skaters, Elena Valova and Oleg Vasilyev from the Leningrad "Trud" sports society. The debutants immediately climbed to the highest step of the podium at the "Yaahalli" Sports Palace in Helsinki, and it became clear to everyone that among the world "stars" had appeared athletes possessing a rare determination and composure—in short, a true champion's character.
Elena Valova: For us, the truly happy moment of the year was the evening of March 9th, when scores of 5.9 points flashed on the scoreboard at the "Yaahalli" Sports Palace after our performance. It was an evening when everything worked out. I think that Oleg's character played a special role in the success. He knows the value of every second. He remembers what he will be doing in a day, a week, and even a month...
Oleg Vasilyev: Honestly, I'm glad that Elena and I have a different perception of life, a different sense of time. In life, Lena is a soft, kind, dreamy person. She is a romantic, a lyricist. But when she steps onto the ice, she is simply transformed, she fights with passion, selflessly.
As for me, I probably should have been born a physicist or a mathematician. I loved the geometry of the ice, the "school figures", from childhood. And I still love them. By the way, in figure skating we also have to solve a lot of complex formulas.
Elena Valova: For me, the most valuable information is impressions. For example, from wonderful ballet evenings at our theater in Leningrad. I remember for a long time, for instance, the tour of ballet dancers from Venezuela in our city; I learned a lot of new details and nuances that are important to me as a performer...
Oleg Vasilyev: I also have very vivid memories of our exhibition performances in the cities of France and West Germany in the autumn. On the ice in Oberstdorf, we met the world ice dancing champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, studied their exhibition numbers very carefully, and found many merits in them. We were interested to know their opinion about our program set to the music of "Kalinka"; their comments helped us clarify our plans for the future. In short, every meeting opens up something new for us. And every seminar at the Institute of Physical Culture, led by our coach Tamara Nikolaevna Moskvina, allows us to look at familiar things with new eyes...
Elena Valova: Perhaps this is putting it very strongly, but I was especially inspired by those outstanding athletes who, like pioneers, explored new human possibilities, who dared at their own risk. These undoubtedly include world record holders Vladimir Kuts and Yuri Vlasov. They went into the unknown. And many followed them...
Oleg Vasilyev: Yes, champions of previous generations taught us a lot. Including how to celebrate the New Year. Following their traditions, Elena and I will definitely spend the last hour of the outgoing year of 1983 on the ice of the "Yubileiny" rink...
​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1984

ACCORDING TO GILETTI

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on January 3, 1984)​

One of the strongest skaters of the 50s and 60s was the Frenchman Alain Giletti, a five-time European champion and 1960 world champion. He now works as a coach, having trained Philippe Roncoli, who, along with French champion Simond, is the country's Olympic hope. Roncoli is Giletti's first student attempting to break into the leading European group.
'I've been in Chamonix for 11 years,' says Giletti, 'but here skiing and hockey are number one in popularity. So it's difficult to attract gifted youngsters to our school, as they prefer those sports. At 17, Roncoli has mastered all triple jumps and is attempting a triple axel. But he still needs to work and work to improve his results.'
Figure skating has changed over the last 20 years; the requirements have increased, and new rules have appeared. I like most of the changes: the limitation of the influence of the 'school figures,' the introduction of the short program, which truly reveals what a skater can do. I do not agree with the reduction of the free skating time; I would leave it at five minutes. But most of all, the athletes themselves have changed. I believe that today's figure skaters in France mostly lack the internal discipline with which our generation attended training sessions. Apparently, the too-easy attitude towards life plays a negative role here; I see this as the main reason why our skaters do not have the achievements they had in the past.'
Among modern leading male single skaters, Giletti likes Fadeev. He considers Japan the country of the future in figure skating... 'The Japanese are agile, hardworking, and gifted; they have capable coaches. Ito could become a world champion in two years.'​

Prepared by H. NOSOV.​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1984
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

PRE-OLYMPIC EXAM ON BUDAPEST ICE

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on January 4, 1984)​

The Soviet figure skating team will be represented by a full roster in all disciplines at the European Championships, which will take place in Budapest from January 9–14. The USSR national team includes athletes who performed successfully at the international tournament in Moscow and the All-Union competitions in Leningrad.
In pair skating, world champions Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev from Leningrad will compete, along with their fellow citizens Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov, and the young Moscow pair Marina Avstriyskaya and Yuri Kvashnin.
In ice dance, three Moscow duos will perform: last year's European champions Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, and Olga Volozhinskaya and Alexander Svinin (the 1983 European silver medalists).
Among the singles skaters are European vice-champion Elena Vodorezova from Moscow, her fellow citizen Anna Kondrashova, Kira Ivanova from the Moscow region, European bronze medalist Alexander Fadeev, Vladimir Kotin (both from Moscow), and Vitaly Egorov from Kharkiv.
The European Championship in Budapest opens the 1984 season of official international competitions for figure skaters. It will be followed by the Olympic Games in Sarajevo and the World Championships in Ottawa.​

(TASS Corresp.)​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1984
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

PRE-OLYMPIC EXAM ON THE ICE OF BUDAPEST

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on January 5, 1984)​

The Soviet figure skating team will be represented by a full squad in all disciplines at the European Championships, which will be held in Budapest from January 9–14. The national team includes athletes who distinguished themselves at the international tournament in Moscow and the All-Union competitions in Leningrad.
In pair skating, world champions Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev from Leningrad will compete, alongside their fellow citizens Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov, and the young Moscow pair Marina Avstriyskaya and Yuri Kvashnin.
In ice dance, three Moscow duos will perform: last year's European champions Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, and Olga Volozhinskaya and Alexander Svinin (the silver medalists of last year's continental championship).
Among the singles skaters are European vice-champion Elena Vodorezova from Moscow, her fellow citizen Anna Kondrashova, Kira Ivanova from the Moscow region, European bronze medalist Alexander Fadeev, Vladimir Kotin (both from Moscow), and Vitaly Egorov from Kharkiv.​

(TASS)​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1984
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

EUROPEAN "BALL" ON THE ICE OF BUDAPEST

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on January 8, 1984)​

BUDAPEST. The ancient city on the Danube hosts the European Figure Skating Championships, which will run from January 9 to 14. Everything is ready for the athletes' starts at the Budapest Sports Palace – Hungary's largest indoor stadium. For the umpteenth time, the readiness of the championship's technical services is being checked, and ticket sales continue at the box offices.
All tickets for the figure skaters' free programs, as well as for the exhibition performances, have long been sold out, says Gabor Kelemen, head of the championship's press center. And our stadium accommodates more than 8 thousand spectators. The interest in the Budapest championship is huge. This is not surprising, as the strongest figure skaters from 20 countries will take part in it. Hungarian figure skating fans are especially looking forward to the performances of Soviet figure skaters; the chances of Soviet singles skaters A. Fadeev and E. Vodorezova are highly rated.
Many assumptions are made regarding the outcome of the "duel" between two ice dance duos – N. Bestemyanova and A. Bukin, and the Britons J. Torvill and C. Dean. Hungarian journalists noted that it will be "easier" for world champions E. Valova and O. Vasiliev to compete in Budapest than for their main rivals. The fact is that the local Sports Palace was built according to the design of their countrymen – people from Leningrad. So the champions should feel at home, where, as is known, even the walls help.
More than 400 journalists are accredited at the championship. Live broadcasts will be carried by 33 television companies to 40 countries. Popular among TV commentators is the well-known former Canadian figure skater Toller Cranston.
The Hotel "Stadium", located literally at the walls of the Sports Palace, is gradually being filled with figure skaters. The athletes from the GDR were the first to test the Budapest ice.
For the strongest European figure skaters, this tournament is an important pre-Olympic test of strength.​

(TASS).​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1984
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Ice Ball

(the article published in Ukrainian 'Sportyvna Hazeta' on January 10, 1984)​

The ancient city on the Danube is hosting the European Figure Skating Championships, which opened yesterday.
All tickets for the free programs and exhibition performances have long been sold out. The stadium, meanwhile, accommodates over 8,000 spectators. Interest in the championship is enormous. This is not surprising, as the strongest athletes from 20 countries are taking part. Hungarian figure skating fans are especially looking forward to the performances of our country's representatives; the chances of the Soviet singles skaters A. Fadeev and O. Vodorezova are highly rated.
More than 400 journalists have been accredited for the competition. Live broadcasts will be carried by 33 television companies from 40 countries. The well-known former Canadian figure skater Toller Cranston is popular among TV commentators.
For the strongest European athletes, this tournament is an important pre-Olympic test of strength.
​