Skaters Ethnicity

[chuckm]

Strangely enough, ice dance, where a majority of the cross-national pairings occurred, have become less "international" than it was ten years ago. I remember in 1998, there were five Russian men in the top ten, and there was one British male (Mathew Gates), whereas nowadays, we have Denis Petukhov, and Tanith Belbin.

You're forgetting about Wester/Barantsev (Russian).

 

[bekalc]

What about holidays? IIRC (according to an orthodox acquaintance some years ago) the different branches of the orthodox church have tended to historically celebrate Easter on different days (there was one year where they naturally coincided and there was talk of sychronizing from then on but I don't know if that actually happened or not)

That's because some follow the Julian calander and some the Gregorian calander... There's talk of syncronizing dates not just amongst the Orthodox but also with the Catholic Church too.

 

[babyoscar]

skaters

Evan is Greek Orthodox as stated in this chat below.
http://www.skatetoday.com/chattranscripts/chatnight-061506qa.htm

Michelle Kwan's dad is from China and then moved to Hong Kong if you want to get technical.

Was she really named after the house or just because it is a pretty name?

In the book, the plantation was actually named Tara, not just the house itself if I remember correctly. Tara is a very common name in the south.

 

[gio]

A few more

Surya Bonaly - I don't remember from which African country
Karel Zelenka - His father is from the Czech Republic and he does speak Czech
Julia Lautowa - Skated for Austria, but is Russian
Robin Szolkovy - His origins are not German. Maybe Turkish?
Aliona Savchenko - She is from Ukraine. I don't know if Ukrainian or Russian ethnically?
Rudy Galindo - Mexican-American. Right??? He does speak Spanish
Carolina Kostner - She belongs to the German speaking minority in Italy near the border with Austria. In fact her surname is a German one.

 

[gio]

Check this out. I believe mother is Irish

Joe

Her parents are Patricia Brozyniak Lipinski and Jack Richard Lipinski. I think both surnames are Polish, but the name Jack Richard is not. So maybe the mother of Tara's father was Irish and married a Polish.

 

[mycelticblessing]

Was she really named after the house or just because it is a pretty name?

turns out she really was named after the house.:agree: her mother loved 'gone with the wind', so she named her after scarlett's plantation.

 

[eleonora.d]

A few more
Carolina Kostner - She belongs to the German speaking minority in Italy near the border with Austria. In fact her surname is a German one.

To be more precise (I'm a nerd:think, Ortisei is in Val Gardena, in Alto Adige (SudTirol) which is one of the regions at the border with Austria. She is belongs to the ladin minority like most of the people in that city, she is mother tounge ladin, tough her surname is German and now lives in Germany with Huth.

Was Ashley Wagner born in Germany? Does she have some relatives there?

 

[Mathman]

Welcome to Golden Skate, Mycelticblessing. Post often, post long! :agree:

Surya Bonaly - I don't remember from which African country.

Actually, Surya was born in Nice. Didier Gailhaguet concocted a tale that she came from Reunion Island (an small island off Madagascar) because he thought it sounded exotic and he hoped to get some press out of it.

 

[Audrey19]

Aljona Savchenko is Ukrainian, she was born in Kiev.
Robin Szolkowy has a German mother and a Tansanian father, he was born in Germany.
Hasn't Ashley Wagner any German ancestors? At least her name is absolutely German.

 

[ks777]

Hasn't Ashley Wagner any German ancestors? At least her name is absolutely German.

Ashley was borin Germany but I dont' think her parents are from Germany. I read somewhere that her father was in the US military and her mother is a school teacher. I think her father was stationed in Germany when she was born.. I know Wagner is a german name but it's also a common name in the US. I am sure Ashley has some german in her but assuming she is a mutt like everyone else.

 

[blue dog]

Aljona Savchenko is Ukrainian, she was born in Kiev.
Robin Szolkowy has a German mother and a Tansanian father, he was born in Germany.
Hasn't Ashley Wagner any German ancestors? At least her name is absolutely German.

Correct about Robin. According to his biography, he had seen pictures of his father, but had never met him.

 

[layman]

Actually, Surya was born in Nice. Didier Gailhaguet concocted a tale that she came from Reunion Island (an small island off Madagascar) because he thought it sounded exotic and he hoped to get some press out of it.

Surya is already exotic, so why would she need to be portrayed as more exotic than she already is?

Surya Bonaly was born in Nice, France and adopted by the Bonaly's as an infant. Like many adopted children, she knows nothing about the identity or background of her birth parents.

 

[Daniel_Craig]

Correct about Robin. According to his biography, he had seen pictures of his father, but had never met him.

My sources tell me his mother was Polish while his father was Tanzanian. Let me dig up the link.

 

[Tinymavy15]

i think sasha knows just a little russian. when she was working with tersova, i remeber she said that tersova taught her a few words.

 

[gio]

i think sasha knows just a little russian. when she was working with tersova, i remeber she said that tersova taught her a few words.

She does understand Russian, because Tarasova talked to her in Russian and she answered in English. She isn't fluent, but I think her knowledge is more than just a little. Probabaly she makes mistakes while speaking.
When she was with Tarasova her Russian obviously improved. Now that she is not practising it, she could have lost some knowledge of it.

 

[gio]

I've found that on internet = http://www.askmen.com/women/models_300/307_sasha_cohen.html

This is what they say about Sasha

Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen was born on October 26, 1984, in Westwood, California. Her mother, Galina, is a ballerina who emigrated from Ukraine; it's thanks to her that Sasha has her nickname ("Sasha" is a common Slavic shortening of Alexander or Alexandra) and can speak fluent Russian. Rounding out Sasha's immediate family is her father Roger Cohen and her younger sister Natasha, an aspiring pianist.

So, thanks to her mother, she can speak fluent Russian!

Edited: Also http://www.funtrivia.com/en/Sports/Sasha-Cohen-12776.html states that Sasha is able to communicate with Tarasova in Russian.

 

[gio]

And here it is what Sasha Cohen herself says about her Russian. http://cgi1.usatoday.com/mchat/20030930001/tscript.htm

Hacienda Heights, CA: Hi Sasha! I know you speak a little Russian. Do you ever speak Russian with your fellow skaters at competitions are on tour?
Sasha Cohen: I do! I always try a little bit of broken Russian. I understand pretty well, but I should practice more than I do.

 

[Lightspear]

While his parents are clearly from the US, I hear that a couple of years ago Stephen Carriere was overheard speaking French fluently while conversing with members of the French team on a bus ride to a Jr GP event.

 

[Daniel_Craig]

While his parents are clearly from the US, I hear that a couple of years ago Stephen Carriere was overheard speaking French fluently while conversing with members of the French team on a bus ride to a Jr GP event.

Note: Carriere is an Italian surname.

 

[Tonichelle]

I have noticed that both Johnny and Evan have stopped wearing those red Kabbalah strings on their wrists. I guess for them Kabbalah was just a fad.

Didn't Sasha get them both started on that and it was more for just good luck and not religious in nature? Or am I confusing a bunch of stories into one? LOL