Figure Skating Mystery

WELCOME, SKATING FANS!

2010-02-11T06:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to all my new visitors!

If you're looking for info on 2010 Olympic figure skaters like Rachael Flatt, Mirai Nagasu, Jeremy Abbott, Evan Lysacek, Johnny Weir, Belbin & Agosto, Denney & Barrett and the rest... you won't find it here.

However, if the 2010 Olympics have made you wonder "Where Are... Oksana Baiul? Brian Boitano? Kurt Browning? Tai Babilonia? Katarina Witt? Robin Cousins? Viktor Petrenko? And many, many more... Now?" then boy, have you come to the right place!

Just type the name of your favorite skater of years gone by into the search box above and see what comes up!

I'm Alina Adams, author of The Figure Skating Mystery series of books from Berkley Prime Crime, as well as "Inside Figure Skating" and "Skating to the Stars." If you want facts and figures (plus beautiful photos) about skating, check out my non-fiction titles. But if you want the real dirt, the mysteries are definitely the way to go. All are available by clicking on the above links.

In addition, check out my latest article, "A New Spin on Figure Skating," at "The Jewish Week."

Let the Games begin!

WHY I'VE BEEN M.I.A. LATELY

2009-05-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

From SoapOperaNetwork.com:

A decade after its demise, "Another World" breathes new life on the web.

TeleNext Media, the company that produces "As the World Turns" and the recently canceled "Guiding Light" for Procter & Gamble and CBS, has announced that they will be launching a new website dedicated to the defunct sudser "Another World," which was canceled in 1999. The site, anotherworldtoday.com, will provide fans with insight into what their favorite characters have been up to in the past decade.

The move comes on the heels of better than expected viewership of classic "AW" episodes on Hulu.com. According to Alina Adams, creative content producer for TeleNext Media, “People still have warm, nostalgic feelings for the show. 'AW' ushered a lot of fans into the world of daytime drama. It was their gateway drug. They miss it and they want more.”

Chapter one of the blog is set to debut on May 4th, the 45th anniversary of "AW's" premiere, with the presumed dead Grant Harrison returning to town to visit his son. Also, Felicia Grant and her friends Dean and Jenna all mysteriously disappear while visiting New York City. Further chapters are expected to follow on a regular basis.

In addition to reading the latest chapter of "Another World Today," fans can also read updates on popular "AW" characters, view classic clips from the soap, and vote following the conclusion of each week's webisode, where they think the storyline should go next. The site also promises that, in the near future, fans will "be able to contribute original story ideas, write dialogue, create (or bring back) characters and win prizes for doing so!"

More info at TVGuide.com and FanCast.

The actual site can be found here: http://www.AnotherWorldToday.com

SASHA COHEN

2009-04-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sasha Cohen is considering a return to amateur sports

Translation of an article printed in the Russian Language publication Newsmail.ru on March 24, 2009.

The silver medalist of the 2006 Olympics, American skater Sasha cohen considers a return to amateur sports.

In three years since the games in Turin, the skater did not participate in the official competitions, but participated in a variety of ice shows. She is going to make a final decision in June of this year at the end of an exhibition tour. She said that she remembered the smell of the rink, the adrenalin rush that she experiences in the competitions. She never experienced anything like those feeling off ice.

Sasha also commented that she realizes how much hard work will be waiting for her if she decides to come back ,and if she comes back she stated that she must be better than she was ever before.

She did not mention where and with whom she would be training in case she returns. She wanted to be sure that she would not feel sorry for herself if she would not make an attempt to return. She stated that the worst thing in life is to feel nothing – just to walk through life as a robot. That is what scares her most.

At the Turin Olympics, Sasha was leading after the short program and when she fell down during the free program, she was bypassed by Shizuka Arakava. Both skaters were prepared for the Olympics by the Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova.

It is also known that Evgeny Pluschenko – another winner of the Turin Olympics, who also did not participate in any competitions in the last three years, is getting ready to return to sports and to participate at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

WELCOME!

2009-03-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome viewers of the 2009 World Figure Skating Championship.

If you've come to this site looking for news of Evan Lysacek, Yu Na Kim, Inoue & Baldwin, Jeremy Abbott, Alissa Czisney, Johnny Weir, Pang & Tong, Belbin & Agosto, Mao Asada or any of the current competitors, this isn't the best place to get it.

However, if you've come to find out "Where Are They Now" about skaters ranging from Oksana Baiul to Babilonia & Gardner to Petr Barna to Irina Rodnina to, well, pretty much any former skater you've ever wondered about, then have we got an archive for you!

Just type your favorite skater's name into the search engine above and enjoy!

NAVKA NUPTIALS?

2009-03-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Tatiana Navka is getting married to Marat Basharov.

Translation of an article by Achmed Boziev and Tatiana Pustinnikova, printed in the Russian language publication “Zhisn” on February 3, 2009.

Tatiana Navka and Marat Basharov announced that they were getting married during the tour of the show “The Ice Period.”

Strong feelings took over Marat two years ago and till now he is still head over heels in love with Navka.

The decision to get married did not come to Marat easily. He had to weight a lot of pros and cons. One of the conditions was introduced by his mother, that his next wife should be a Muslim. For the Christian Navka it will be a hard choice to make – love or religion.

Romance with Basharov became an integral part of her life. She got used that he was always near her – at shows, during their trips to the suburbs and in their rented apartment.

During their last tour the couple decided to formalize their relations.

Marat and Tatiana announced their intention to get married in the hotel after the show. They are not hiding their relations any more and want to become a family.

Asking Tatiana to marry him, Marat made a big decision in his life. He stepped on his love of freedom and hopes that he will be able to tame his 35 years old blonde bride, who is known for her unpredictability and love for variety in everything. At the time of this printing, she was considering his proposal. Maybe that is why men love her so much – she was always having the last word and made the men wait for her decision.

Navka was always popular with men. When she was 18, she was not only able to charm her coach Alexander Zhulin, but was able to break him away from two women – his wife and his mistress. The 30 years old skater lost himself in her bottomless eyes and for her he did the unthinkable – he divorced his wife, Maya Usova. The passionate love of Navka and Zhulin was a hot subject in the skating world. For Usova the situation was not new. She knew that Zhulin was in a relationship with 20 years old skater Oxana Grischuk. He did not divorce Usova, but lived with Grischuk without advertising this situation. Oxana trusted him until the last moment of their relationship. One day Maya, Usova called her at 3 am and told her that Zhulin was cheating on both of them with Navka. Usova described to Oxana all of the details of the relationship of Zhulin and Navka.

Grishcuk left Zhulin, who was now free to continue with Navka, who was assuring everyone that she did not want to break up Zhulin’s family and did not want to build her happiness on the misery of others. Nevertheless, Navka married Zhulin and they had a daughter, Sasha. It seemed that the couple was happy.

In August of 2006, the family came back to Moscow and the fatal meeting that broke two families took place.

Navka and Marat felt sympathetic toward each other from the very beginning. Soon Navka befriended Marat’s wife, Lisa. Madly in love with her actor husband, Lisa converted to the Muslim faith for him. She was sure that their marriage was solid. Zhulin was similarly sure of his family.

Unfortunately they both were wrong. Soon Tatiana and Marat stopped hiding their relationship from others.

It seems that for the second time in her life, Tatiana is going to build her happiness on the ruins of other families.

MARIA BUTIRSKAYA

2009-03-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

The most beautiful figure skater: Life on Ice.

Translation of an interview by Diana Khachaturjan (DK) with Marina Butirskaya printed in the Russian Language publication “Novie Izvestia” on February 3, 2009.

Maria Butirskaya (MB) is one of the most beautiful and talented bright stars of figure skating. Recently she started a new career, as a coach of future Olympic champions. In her family, she plays the role of wife to hockey player Vadim Khomitsky and mother to an 18 months old son, Vladislav.

DK – Maria, you just came back from practice. Do you have any time for your home chores?

MB – Practices take place every day from the very morning. At night I come home and start doing my housework. Even if I have a helper, I am still getting very tired, and not just physically, but psychologically as well. I give my all to my pupils at practice – I want them to get results. But I also want to be a good wife and mother.

DK – Did you ever think of dropping all of that and doing something different, not related to figure skating?

MB – I like to be a coach and I love what I do. I know figure skating very well and that was the reason why I opened my own school of figure skating. I do not think that I would be that professional in another line of work. I put my knowledge and experience into my students. Sometimes I raise my voice, but it is for their own good. The girls are becoming more responsive to my requests. In general, I am happy with the results of my work.

DK – Is it possible to learn in advance if the child will be successful at figure skating? When a child is brought to you what do you look for?

MB – Character. Even at 5 years of age, it is possible to figure out if the child will be successful at figure skating or not. After working with a child for some time it becomes clear if the child is trainable, how he reacts to explanations or if she is ready to fight for her success. I went through a lot of that myself in figure skating and know how important it is.

DK – What about the physical conditions?

MB- Of course I am considering flexibility, stretch and jumping abilities. But it is very important that physical conditions would go together with a fighting spirit. I am working as a couch now for 3 years. During this time I saw a lot of children. Sometimes I see a child who is physically very adept, talented and trying very hard, but does not have the right character. Those are dropping out very soon.

DK – What qualities you are trying to cultivate in your girls?

MB – The ability to focus, to concentrate, to get ready for a performance. Young athletes sometimes are lose their nerve at the most important moment and then they forget everything that they learned in the months of practices. I had an episode like that at the beginning of my career. Sportspeople should learn to control their nerves since competition involves not only a physical, but also a nervous struggle.

DK – Sometimes the other competitors may try to get you out of your equilibrium. Did you have situations like that?

MB – Yes I did. Once, a day before competition, I came to the practice, opened my locker and found out that my skates were missing – someone hid them. It was terrible to lose the skates before the start. In sports, one has to be ready for all eventualities.

DK – Is your son interested in figure skating?

MB – Not really. Sometimes he comes with me to the rink, but he does not pay attention to the ice. I would not want him to be a figure skater. If he would go on the ice, he would follow in the footsteps of my husband – he will play hockey. We are not going to force him, but he already has a uniform and a stick, so we will see.

PISEEV PROMOTES PLUSHENKO

2009-03-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

Piseev – Pluschenko has good chances to participate in Olympiad – 2010

Translation of an article printed in the Russian Language publication “Novosti” on February 24, 2009.

Mr. Valentin Piseev, the President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, stated that Evgeny Pluschenko, who decided to return to big sports, has A perfect chance to become a member of the Russian National Team and to participate in the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Says Mr. Piseev: “It IS very well that Mr. Pluschenko announced his decision to come back to big sports. I welcome and support his desire to return. I think that if he would start full time practicing, there will be no trouble for him to make the team. I was at his practice a couple of weeks ago and I saw that he was jumping triple jumps and was trying to jump quads. To get on to the National Team he has to train not from time to time, but all the time.”

In the opinion of the head of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, participation in ice shows by Mr. Pluschenko can not replace full time practice.

Says Piseev: “Exhibition shows are nice, but one has to be smart in how he would use them. They are fine up to a point. It would be better if instead of skating in shows he would practice twice a day. If he would be as enthusiastic in his practices as he is in the shows, he could come back to the highest level. At present, Evgeny is at least 10 pounds overweight. He knows about that problem and is planning to do something about it. The number of participants in the National Team will depend on our performance at the World Championship.”

BOOK TALK

2009-02-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

Got an idea for a figure-skating novel of your own? Or maybe a book about nothing to do with skating at all?

Not sure how to break into the publishing biz?

I'll be giving a talk on how to get your book from idea to manuscript to store-shelf, this Thursday, February 26 at 6:30 PM.

SCORE Learning Center
412 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY

Stop by and say hello!

ME, MYSELF AND HENRY

2009-02-05T07:03:00.001-08:00

As Anthony Perkins observed in Psycho, "I'm not feeling like myself these days."

Who am I feeling like? I'm feeling like Henry Coleman, the "author" of my latest As The World Turns tie-in book, "The Man From Oakdale."

Not only did I help an imaginary character write a book that is now sitting on shelves in real-life stores near you, but now I, Henry, am wrestling with the dilemma of whether to give in to my gorgeous, Swedish girlfriend's pleas to have a baby.

And I, Henry, am blogging all about it, here.

TARASOVA TIME

2009-02-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

Tatiana Tarasova: “A little bit longer and I can step aside.”

Translation of an interview by Elena Voitsekhovsky (EV) printed in the Russian language publication Sport Express on January 30, 2009

In her presence, I have always felt awkward to complain about my life. Even when I wanted to do it very much -- we all from time to time have problems that seem to be impossible to solve -- Tatiana Tarsova (TT) would never allow people around her even to suspect that she had any problems. Last year, she regularly appeared on TV screens - beautiful, assertive and full of energy -- as if her car were not stolen and her home not burglarized. When I touched on that subject in my interview she brushed it off: “It is all such a nuisance, just nonsense compared with the situation when someone close to you is seriously ill.”

All of last year she saved herself by immersing herself in her work. She was stretched very thin between her home and the rink, periodically traveled to competitions. She was consulting someone and staging programs for others. People came to her for help from all over the world. We met at the rink after her return from Helsinki’s European Championship.

EV – Tatiana, did you like what you saw in Helsinki?

TT – I think that, except for men’s skating, and especially the performance of Sergey Voronov, we reached the maximum of our abilities, considering our current situation.

EV – What do you think happened to him?

TT – Sergey is a talented skater, and his coach is very talented as well, but what I saw in Helsinki leads me to think that he is not working hard enough. No one else of the leading skaters runs through their complete programs only once a week. They polish their programs every day – the short one in the morning and the free program in the evening. Specifically how to practice is supposed to be decided by the athlete and the coach. I saw recently how Alexey Urmanov works with his students. They looked good. Voronov was just not ready for the current season. In Helsinki, he did not show any elements of his program at the practices and warm-ups when judges were present. Sergey is a talented person, but not a great athlete. Only athletes win competitions.

EV – As long as we touched upon that sad subject I would like to ask you what in your opinion happened with Maxim Shabalin in Helsinki?

TT – For a long time, I did not have any information about the pair of Domnina-Shabalin. Everything was a secret. In reality, after two operations, his leg was in bad form, and at the end of last season he went to Germany for rehabilitation. It was the right move, in which I assisted by helping to organize the trip. Last fall I wanted to go to the States to see how they were getting ready to this season, but I was not allowed to go. Natalia Linichuk, who was coaching the pair after they left Gorshkov, told me that she needed some more time to work with them before I could see them. I believed that she was a good coach and she knew what she was doing. If she decided to take him out of the competitions, she had her reasons for it.

EV – But did you agree with that decision?

TT – I was against it.

EV – Why?

TT – Maybe because I always think as a maximalist. I always thought that an athlete should not withdraw from competition if he decided to compete. Maxim went on the ice in Helsinki, he was seen by the judges. One practice was not very successful, but the other was normal. Everything that they were supposed to do, they did. They fell in the compulsory program and the coach took them out of the competition. The other Russian pair, Chochlova-Novitsky, coached by Alex Svinin and Irina Zhuk performed very well and I was happy for them.

EV – But maybe Shabalin had too much pain in his leg?

TT – Why no one thought about that when he was allowed to go on the ice on the 9th day after an operation? Whatever happens now is normal. A knee operated on twice will never work as normal. There will always be something wrong and the athlete has to learn to overcome the pain and work with it, or quit the sport.

EV – I know that you watch the performances of the young coaches. I was happy in Helsinki for your student Evgeny Platov and his British dance team. In all of the previous years it seemed that Platov was somewhat upset that his pair was not taken seriously. Could you explain why it took him so long to be successful?

TT – It was not that long. Evgeny completed his skating career not long ago. He left amateur sports in 1998 and for some time he participated in professions competitions with Maya Usova. Thrn he spent 3 years as my assistant, and only then he started his own coaching career. Coaching requires not only knowledge, but patience as well.

EV – Did you think that way when you started your coaching career?

TT – My situation was different from the very beginning. I started working with sportspeople when I was 19 and I did not think at all how long it would take before I would see any results. Platov was a two times Olympic Champion. He came to coaching after a huge sporting success, and in coaching work he wanted a similar success. The waiting looked long to him. About a year ago, I was talking to his mother and told her not to worry, he would be fine.

EV – Why were you so sure?

TT – Because I saw how he was progressing. He likes to work on small things. He taught his skaters to skate, to love figure skating and to understand it. This is a great coaching art. But the most important thing was that Evgeny learned together with his students the things that he did not understand before. He has a nice pair of juniors. Alex Zhulin also has some nice juniors. There are other good coaches – Elena Kustarova, Svinin, Zhuk. They are that young generation of coaches that I've waited for, for so long. A little bit longer and I can step aside with a light heart.

EV – We talked about this issue in Turin. You told me then that you were forced to stop working with Shizuka Arakowa because you lost your coaching patience without which there is nothing to do in the big sport. But now you are working with another Japanese skater, Mao Asada. How serious is this cooperation?

TT – I am working less with Mao than I worked with Shizuka, but only because I am in such a predicament that I have to take care of my ill relatives. I can not be permanently in Japan. Mao spent all summer in Moscow with me. The short program of this season she choreographed in Canada with Lori Nichol and I should say that it was a great achievement of the choreographer. I created her free program. I suggested to include in it two triple axels. Her fist trials, especially the jumps, Asada worked on with me. When I realized that Asada could perform both axels and the rest of the program did not suffer, we decided to leave these elements in the program. At this time my assistant, Janna Folle, is working with Asada in Japan. We talk on the phone every day, so I am informed on everything that is going on there. When I can I come over there and I try to go to all of the competitions with her.

EV – Does the Figure Skating Federation of Japan control your work or get involved in it?

TT – As far as I know the decision to change coaches Asada made by herself together with her mother and her manager who runs all of her affairs. When they approached me, I set two conditions - that I would be provided an interpreter and they would hire an athletic trainer. These requests were satisfied.

EV – How many programs did you create this summer?

TT – Janna and I created two programs for Evan Lysacek– he was sent to Russia by his coach Frank Carroll specifically for that purpose. Two more programs were staged for Canadian Kevin Reynolds, who came over with his coach and Joann McLeod, who is also my friend. I also helped my Russian colleague Elena Vodorezova to stage her programs.

EV – Are you still being reproached for working with foreign skaters on Russian ice?

TT – I think that now this point of view outlived itself. The specialists all over the world are working with people who can pay.

EV – For the last 3 years you are working on the ice project of the first channel of TV. Will you continue this collaboration next season?

TT – There are 8 programs scheduled for the near future. I am very proud to participate in this program. I think that it is the best program on our TV.

EV – Is it possible that this TV program would influence the big sport?

TT – But of course. Zhulin is working in the TV program and is also coaching the French dancing pair Natalie Peshala/Fabjen Burza and I think that their free program came out very well.

WHO I AM NOT

2009-01-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

I am not a gorgeous half-Egyptian/half-Norwegian.

To be fair, I've never been mistaken for one.

But as I was looking at the cover of my latest novel, "The Man From Oakdale," I realized the following:

There is a couple in a clinch on the cover. The authors are listed as being "Henry Coleman with Alina Adams."

Since "Henry Coleman" is one-half of the couple, it might be presumed that Alina Adams is the other half.

But I am not that gorgeous.

Believe me, no one on Earth is a gorgeous as Ewa da Cruz, the woman who plays Vienna Hyatt on "As The World Turns" and is pictured with actor Trent Dawson, who plays Henry.

Do you know who else I am not?

I am not Henry Coleman. I'm not even the one who plays him on TV.

I merely "collaborated" with Oakdale's resident bon vivant -- as Trent Dawson explains in this interview with "Soap Opera Weekly."

NIGHT-NIGHT, NAVKA

2009-01-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

Tatiana Navka missed the taping of a New Year’s show.

Translation of an article printed in the Russian language publication Life.ru on December 27, 2008.

Olympic champion Tatiana Navka was late for the taping of the final holiday show of “The Ice Period” and her number was dropped from the program. It caused a huge scandal between Ilja Averbuch – the producer of the show and Ms. Navka.

During the regular shows Ms. Navka was allowed such freedom that no other participant could dream about. She was always a privileged person, complained her colleagues at the show. As a favorite of the show she was always fighting with the wardrobe and makeup artists.

Ilja Averbuch always forgave her escapades since she was the highlight of the show, who was loved by the spectators, but when she was late for the taping of the New Year’s holiday show, he did not tolerate it any more. Ilja was doing his best to have her at the taping on time; he called her repeatedly and pleaded with her to arrive on time. But Ms. Navka ignored him and their conversations gradually devolved to fighting and yelling.

By the end of the taping session she finally arrived at the studio. Ilja informed her that it was too late and the jury could not wait any longer; her number was dropped from the program. Ms. Navka asked the members of the jury to stay a little longer, but they could not stay any longer. The Olympic champion left the studio without taping her number for the Holiday Show.

Now the first channel of Russian TV is trying to figure out how to resolve the conflict between Ilja Averbuch and Tatiana Navka, since according to the polls of spectators, she was a leader of the show. Navka’s partner – Gediminas Taranda -- said that they prepared a beautiful number but could not tape it for the New Year’s show due to Navka’s absence.

This year the show is different from all of the other years. The director of the show had all of the participants to change their partners for the New Year’s concert and all the numbers were performed as comedy. In this show Maxim Stavijsky would skate with Jana Friske and Irina Slutskaya would skate with Vadim Kolganov who usually skated with Navka.

ICE SHOW ROMANCES

2008-12-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

Translation of an article by Maria Remizova printed in the Russian Language publication “Komsomolskaja Pravda on November 27, 2008.

Thanks to two almost identical ice shows – “The Ice Period” and “Starry Ice” figure skating became the most popular sport in Russia, just like it was in the former Soviet Union.

Two main TV channels – Channel One and “Russia” -- this year again are fighting in mortal combat for ratings. And as the saying goes – in war the ends justify the means. The channels are not only employing the best coaches, selecting the right jury and other interested parties, but are also paying attention to the wild personal lives of the participants. As if on their command, families and hearts are broken on ice. And it is no wonder that romances flourish in the shows, since the star participants are practically living with each other on ice for months.

For example Tatiana Navka, who was for several years married to a coach of the Ice Period Alexander Zhulin, and who always claimed that their marriage was great, has been seen in the company of Marat Basharov. She was seen leaving in the morning the Moscow Ritz Carlton hotel where she secretly meets Basharov. Basharov and Navka are not even hiding their romance any more from the people around them. This was not the first romance of Bashariov with a figure skater. His first flame was Maria Butirskaya. He was so much in love with her that he was considering divorcing his wife, but Maria was not ready for him and broke up their relationship.

Alexander Zhulin was not falling much behind Navka and was seen in public with young female skaters.

Figure skater Sergey Slavnov found his love on the ice. His partner - the young actress Anastasia Zadoroznaja, became ill during the show and he was so kind to her during that period that her heart melted and she fell in love with him.

The Ice Period show radically affected the life of another figure skating couple – Margarita Drobjazko and Povilas Vanagas. Before the show, these sportspeople lived very well for 10 years. Than suddenly Povilas asked for a divorce based on the fact that Margarita started a romance with her partner – the actor Alexander Djachenko, with whom, it has been said, she is currently sharing an apartment.

Although Vanagas was not lonely for long - he was seen going out with his partner – the actress Ksenia Alferova.

Evgeny Pluschenko initially supported the decision of his girlfriend Jana Rudkovskaya to participate in the show Ice Period. He even gave her some training. It is not a secret that the couple is very rarely together – they live in two different cities – Evgeniy is living and practicing in St. Petersburg and Jana is living and working in Moscow. But seeing who she was paired with at the show made Pluschenko worried. The figure skater Ruslan Goncharov was a serious competitor for the heart of Jana. If Rudkovskaja would not be engaged to Pluschenko, she would fall for Goncharov. The unavailability of Jana drives Ruslan crazy. Seeing this situation Pluschenko started spending more time with Jana and even accompanied her to practices and tapings.

After her divorce from Averbuch, Irina Lobacheva and Ilja stayed friends, but Irina was very depressed. Her partner at the show - Dmitry Marjanov, helped her to get over Ilja and out of depression.

Alexey Yagudin did not have much luck with romances in the previous shows. He, who used to win in competitions, was mostly unhappy with the performances as skaters of his female partners on ice. This year he is skating with a 21 years old actress Valeria Lanskaja who was trained as a dancer from childhood. Valeria met Yagudin a few months before the start of the show when they both worked at a serial – “My Hot Ice.”
Yagudin started paying attention to her then, but she was not interested, since she was getting married to her than boyfriend of three years – Andrey. Yagudin himself was not free at that time – he was having a romance with singer Sasha Saveljeva. Their relationship was broken up by another figure skater – Tatiana Totmjanina. But that intrigue was not long lasting either. Currently Yaguding is going out with his partner – Valeria Lanskaya, who apparently is no longer engaged to Andrey.

HOT ICE

2008-12-24T06:16:00.000-08:00

Hot ice of Sikharulidze.

Translation of an article printed in the Russian language publication “Zhizn” on December 16, 2008.

For the first time after his official break up with his fiancée Nadezda, Anton Sikharulidze was seen in public with his new girlfriend.

The figure skater came to the presentation of a solo album by Anna Semenovich in the company of a gorgeous blonde. They stayed at the party just for 20 minutes. They came in the club through the back door and went directly to the VIP zone.

Anton and his girlfriend did not see anyone around them – they were completely absorbed by each other. Anton was talking only with her and was gently holding her hand. Their privacy was secured by two bodyguards. After paying their respects to the hostess, they left the same way they came - through the back door.

A few months ago Anton canceled the wedding to his then fiancée - 23 years old journalist Nadezda. The wedding was supposed to be on the 5th of July. The break up occurred after the finale of the show “The Ice Period.” Anton’s participation in the show was the sore point between Anton and Nadezda for quite some time.

COACHING CRISES

2008-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Domnina and Shabalin betrayed Gorshkov.

Translation of an article by Sergey Dadigin printed in the Russian language publication Express Gazeta on November 27, 2008.

Many fans of figure skating are still guessing why Oxana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin left Russia for the USA. How could it happen that they left the coach who gave them many years of his life, and because of whom they for the first time became the European Champions this year?

Oxana and Maxim are now training at the ice center of the State of Delaware with coaches Natalia Linichuk and Gennady Karponosov. As it became known, Linichuk invited them a year ago, but then she just used the invitation as a trial balloon. Last summer the skaters themselves contacted the famous coach and told her that they were ready to move.

That decision of Domnina and Shabalin was completely unexpected by their longtime coach, Alexey Gorshkov. When Oxana and Maxim wanted to meet with him before leaving for the States and explain their decision, he was so angry that he refused to see them. “I see what is going on, go anywhere you want” - said Gorshkov.

The president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Mr. Valentin Piseev, thinks that Shabalin was upset with Gorshkov. Allegedly the coach forced Shabalin to participate in the European Championship in Zagreb. A month before the competition, Shabalin had an operation on his knee and did not completely recover. The skaters won the European Championship, but Maxim developed complications with the operated leg and they had to skip the World Championship. At the Moscow segment of the Grand Prix in November, Domnina and Shabalin for the first time performed for the Russian audience as pupils of Natalia Linichuk. A few days before the competition, Domnina and Shabalin came to practice at the same rink where they worked with Gorshkov for the last several years. Gorshkov was on the ice at that time and the coach and his ex-students just acknowledged each other with a nod.

Gorshkov said that he was upset by the way it was all done behind his back; that he did not force Shabalin to take part in the European competition – it was Shabalin’s decision. “If he would not want to participate, no one could force him,” -said Gorshkov. “The other thing was that I felt then and I feel now that it was important for him to take part in that competition. Since shortly before that they won the Grand Prix, it was important to establish them as real world class competitors. They needed to be seen by the judges. Ice dancing is a very subjective kind of sport. If you miss some events, your place will be overtaken. The title of European Champions is going to stay with them for good, no one would take it ever away. Their rating went high up after Zagreb."

Last June, Gennady Karponosov’s mother passed away. He and Natalia came to Moscow for the funeral. At that time, the deal with Domnina and Shabalin was fixed. Everything went very fast from that point on. In a few days Linichuk and Karponosov went back to the States together with Domnina and Shabalin. Oxana’s boyfriend, Olympic Champion in ice dancing Roman Kostomarov stayed back in Moscow. He begged Oxana not to leave. But she would not listen and now they see each other occasionally.

When accomplished skaters leave their coaches it is always a drama. Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergey Grinkov left legendary coach Stanislav Zhuk with a big scandal. Alexey Yagudin – World and Olympic Champion left Alexey Mishin. Maria Butirskaya dropped coach Victor Kudrjavtsev. It is hard to count them all. At some point in the past, Natalia Linichuk lost to Tatiana Tarsova the famous ice dancers Oxana Grishchuk and Evgeny Platov, although it was Linichuk who made them Olympic Champions in Lillehammer.

Relations between the coaches and their pupils are a complex matter. Often, when sportspeople leave their coaches, they forget to pay them for their work. Gorshkov did not suffer financially from the skaters, but he has some claims against Linichuk. Domnina started her career not with Gorshkov but with another coach – Irina Fedorova. At some point Oxana and Maxim worked with another coach – Oleg Sudakov. Gorshkov payed off these coaches when he took on the pair. Linichuk will take advantage of the pair’s European Champions’ status and will get financial benefits without sharing them with Gorshkov. He feels that it is not fair, but he does not have any contact with Linichuk, although he has no problems with other coaches.

At the Moscow segment of Grand Prix there were two Russian pairs competing – Domnina and Shabalin and Khohlova and Novitsky. When Gorshkov was asked who would he like to win – he said Khohlova and Novitsky. The pain was still there!

These days Gorshkov is coaching ice dancers from Japan, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. In other words he works for the competition.

HARD V. SOFT

2008-12-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

(My apologies that the above sounds a bit like a soft core porn version of "Law & Order.")

When my figure skating mysteries, "Murder on Ice," On Thin Ice," "Axel of Evil," "Death Drop," and "Skate Crime," came out, my publisher printed the book, shipped it to warehouses around the country, and confirmed that it had landed on the shelves of various Barnes & Nobles, Waldenbooks, Borders, several independent book stores and on-line at Amazon.com.

And then we all waited for people to buy it.

But first, the people had to find it.

And even though a moniker like Alina Adams does mean at least I'm one of the first names browsers see as they peruse the mystery shelves, the odds of my book sticking out in the public consciousness from among the literally hundreds of thousands of other titles available (and we're not even talking about all of the books that have been published since the printing press was invented; I'm talking about the books available just that day in just that space) was always rather slim.

Original paperbacks (as opposed to paperback releases of books that were a hit in hardcover), even if they manage to sell out their print-runs, rarely become huge, best-selling hits. (There are, of course, notable exceptions, but I'm referring to the average romance or mystery novel).

On the other hand, my upcoming novel, "The Man From Oakdale," will be promoted on television, as a tie-in to the soap opera, "As The World Turns." It will get front of the store placing in many book-stores and (we're hoping) maybe even make a best-seller list or two.

Its predecessor, another ATWT tie-in called "Oakdale Confidential" was #3 on the "New York Times" best-seller list for two weeks and on the accounting overall for more than a month.

What's interesting is that, as the author of each of the above books, it's not like I worked harder on one tome than I did on another. It's not like I spiked one with secret bestseller sauce and left the others to languish.

To me, their fundamental literary quality is the same.

But the difference is soft v. hard.

One is a paperback and one is hardback, which means, when it comes to promotion, one is the unloved stepchild, and the other the belle of the ball.

To read more about "The Man From Oakdale" and "As The World Turns," click here!

A TALE OF TWO HEADSHOTS

2008-12-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

I had my first ever head-shot taken in November of 1997. At the time, I'd published two Regency Romances, but my first single-title contemporary romance, "Annie's Wild Ride" was about to come out Summer of 1998, and I needed an author photo.

I had it done the same day I did the photos for my press credential at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

I was 28 years old, single, and alternating free-lance, television production work in skating and soap operas with writing novels and assorted articles and short stories for publications ranging from "International Figure Skating Magazine" to "Lilith" to "Black Diaspora."

This past November, eleven years after the first, I finally had another shot done. Now I was 39 years old, married with three kids (in fact, my solo shot was part of our holiday card session), the author of five figure skating mysteries, three non-fiction books on skating, four romance novels, and two soap opera tie-in books, with a third, "The Man From Oakdale" set to hit the shelves in January 2009. I still freelance occasionally, but mostly on issues of multicultural family life and parenting.

They're two pictures of me, but they present a pair of completely different people.

ICE THEATRE OF NEW YORK

2008-11-18T08:11:00.001-08:00

Learn about Ice Theatre, here.

DASHA IS DONE

2008-11-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

Ekaterina Gordeeva: “My daughter Dasha dropped out from figure skating.”

Translation of an interview by Sergey Latinin (SL) a correspondent of the Russian language publication “Express Gazeta” with Ekaterina (Katia) Gordeeva (EG), printed on November 10, 2008.

She has lived in the USA for a long time. But the love of our spectators for this outstanding athlete did not die down throughout the years. The news that she was coming to Moscow to participate in the show “Ice Period” spread among her admirers like wild fire.

SL – Katia, did you think long before agreeing to participate in this project?

EG – Ilja Averbuch invited me and my husband Ilja Kulik to participate in the show two years ago. But due to family issues we declined the invitation at that time. Now it was different, although Ilja could not come over, he has a lot of work in the US. He is bound by a contract with the American show:”Stars on Ice.”

SL – But I have seen him not long ago in Moscow at the Central Army Sports Club.

EG – He came over to visit with me and our daughter Leeza, who is practicing figure skating at that club. The “Ice Period” show goes on for about 10 moths, so at our family council, we decided that Leeza and I would go to Russia, while the older daughter Dasha, who is now 16 years old, would stay in the US with her grandmother.

SL – If I am not mistaken your older daughter also wanted to be a figure skater?

EG – It looks like I wanted it more than she did. She started skating, then Ilja started coaching her and when she was 10 we had her to start practicing with a professions trainer, but when she got older she dropped out of figure skating.

SL – What about Leeza, will she continue skating?

EG – So far she likes it, but I do not know what will happen in the future. She has a talent for skating.

SL – Does she speak Russian with an accent?

EG – No, she does not have any accent. Even though we live in the US, at home we speak only Russian. Unfortunately she knows English better than Russian. Recently we gave her a cell phone and she texts all of her friends in English and only me in Russian.

SL – What did you know about the actor Egor Beroev, with whom you are skating at the show, before starting working with him?

EG – I met him a month before the start of the show. I also saw some of his movies. In life he is somewhat different than on the screen.

SL – Your partner probably travels a lot for the shootings of his movies. Do you have time to practice with him?

EG – In October, Egor was traveling a lot, but lately he is around more and we do not have to practice at night any more.

SL – Aren’t you scared when he lifts you in his starched hands? He is not a professional and could drop you on the ice.

EG – No, we are practicing all of the elements first on the floor and than try to reproduce them on the ice. I could not trust him at the very beginning. Figure skating is a sport where it is hard to guess what may happen. Many years ago my first partner and husband Sergey Grinkov dropped me from a lift. He had performed that lift hundreds of times and everything was fine. But that time his leg tripped, he was not able to support me and I dropped on the ice and hit my head hard. I was sent to a hospital. Sergey was beside himself, he sent me flowers. I forgave him sooner that he forgave himself.

SL – Have you heard about the tragedy with 19 year old Russian hockey player Alexey Cherepanov? His heart stopped during a game. Sergey Grinkov died the same way, but during practice.

EG – He was 28. I do not want to blame anyone. It was probably fate. After he died I was left with a three years old daughter.

SL – Does Dasha remember her father?

EG – Only from my stories and the pictures. She also read my book “My Sergey.”

SL – Ilja Kulik was saying that you were hiding your relationship for a long time. Why?

EG – Ilja did not want us to be the subject of gossip by the press. I felt the same way. Most of our close friends and relatives were very understanding about our relationship, while the reporters could spoil everything. In the States they like to create stories.

SL – Coming back to the show “Ice Period”; don’t you think that the judges are giving out too many “6” marks.

EG – I agree. The mark 6 should be given in exceptional cases. It is strange, but it seems that judges are apologizing for giving a mark less than 6. If someone gets 5.7 it is a disaster. It should not be that way.

SL – Who of your competitors at the show became your friends?

EG – I do not have competitors on the show. I do not compete with any one. I do not have a goal to win at all times. I have very good relations with Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, with Albena Denkova and Maxim Stavisky, with Rita Drobjazko and Povilas Vanagas. I know them for a long time. We met at different championships. I think that when the show will be over, we will all remember it with pleasure.

SL – Will you go back to the States after the show?

EG – Yes, our children are there and they have to go to school in one place. For the New Year’s Eve we will come to Moscow.

SL – Russia badly needs coaches now. If the Russian Federation of Figure Skating would offer you a job as a coach, would you accept it?

EG – I would consider that offer. I like coaching. But I would not do it for about $400.00 a month.

SL – At the 2008 Worlds Championship the Russian figure skaters won only one bronze medal. How many years do you think we will be behind?

EG – May be three or five years. When I am watching my daughter practicing I observe how other girls of her age are doing. The seven years old girls are jumping two double jumps in one program. The 10 years old girls are jumping triple jumps. By the Vancouver Olympics the situation will not change, but at Sochi the results may be different. In regards of pairs and ice dancing, the results may be better in Vancouver.

PLUSHENKO'S PLANS

2008-11-11T04:42:00.000-08:00

Plans of Evgeny Pluschenko

Translation of an interview by Jaroslav Korbatov (JK) with the President of Russian Figure Skating Federation Valentin Piseev (VP) printed in the Russian Language publication “Komsomolskaya Pravda” on October 25, 2008.

JK – Is the return of Pluschenko imminent?

VP – It is hard to say. I have Evgeny’s individual plan which we discussed back in August when he came in for one of the qualifying performances. He was in good form. His appearance stimulated the performances of the other skaters. He is not practicing every day, but he still could jump a series of triple jumps one after another.

The other thing was that he was supposed to perform in a special program: he was supposed to participate in one of the segments of the Grand Prix. Then we talked about his participation in November at the Cup of Russia in Moscow, but he did not show up for any of these events.

It is not clear if he will be participating in any competitions this season and if he will come back to the big sports at all. When we talked on the phone the last time, Evgeny told me that if he would feel like participating in the competitions, he would just show up at the Championship of Russia. If he would miss this event, he will not be eligible to participate in the European and World Championships. He wants to participate, but he has to drop other shows and businesses and start practicing twice every day, while these days he can practice only a couple of days a week.

JK – Does he have a weight problem?

VP – He has lost about 8 pounds already. It was part of his training program. He has to drop another 8 pounds.

JK – Is he a member of the National team? Is he getting paid as a team member?

VP – Yes, we included him in the National Team at the beginning of the season. And he is getting paid as an Olympic Champion. But our salary is not that much for him.

JK - There was a rumor that at the Gala Show “Starry Ice” Evgeny had shown his program that he would skate at the Vancouver Olympics.

VP – Those were just gossips. In the first place at the show venue one could not skate an Olympic program, the size of the ice is different and that is very important. He could only show some fragments and the music. Although I am not sure if he defined his music yet. He had several options – some were offered by his coach Alexey Mishin, but Evgeny was waiting for his friend, Hungarian violinist Edvin Martion to present some music to him. Evgeny said that he will finalize his choice of music during his European tour. He will have ten shows there and will try out different pieces of his program and the music. Recently he was performing in Italy and the President of the International Union of Figure Skaters Mr. Chiquanta was very impressed by his performance.

YES, YES, YES, EVERYONE IS A VICTIM

2008-11-04T05:27:00.000-08:00

Prejudice against Russian figure skaters started long ago.

Translation of an interview by Dmitry Nadezhdin (DN) with Alexey Mishin (AM) printed in a Russian Language newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda” on October 29, 2008.

On October 29, 1908, one hundred years ago today, Russian figure skater Panin-Kolomenking won with some difficulties the first Russian Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the London Olympics.

As it also was in recent years, a big scandal surrounded that event. The judges and competitors created tremendous difficulties for the Russian skater who was competing with the strongest skaters in the world.

The Swiss and Swedish judges were doing anything they could to give the first place to the famous Swedish skater Ulrich Salchow, in whose honor one of the jumps in figure skating was named. But at the London Olympics, Mr. Salchow acted not as a honorable gentlemen at all. When Panin-Kolomenkin performed his program, Mr. Salchow stood at the side of the rink and made loud comments designed to make Mr. Panin- Kolomenkin lose his concentration and make mistakes. When it did not help, he started hysterically yelling at the judges, and was officially reprimanded. Nevertheless the Russian figure skater received low marks and ended up second in the compulsory program. In protest he skipped the free program and the gold medal went to Mr. Salchow.

Panin–Kolomenkin won in a different competition, where the judges could not fix the results – in actual “figure” skating, where the sportsmen were presenting drawings of figures on paper to the judges and then reproducing the figures on ice. When the Russian skater presented his drawings, the judges could not believe that such figures could be performed on ice without taking the skate off the ice, and when he was able to do it, Mr. Salchow withdraw from that event and the Russian skater got the gold medal.

DN – Alexey, how are you going to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Russian figure skating?

AM – But of course with a shot of vodka, as Mr. Panin – Kolomenkin would like to do himself.

DN – You wrote a whole book about him. Is it true that the judges even that long ago were prejudiced against Russian skaters?

AM – Actually the problem was not only with the judges. He was not very strong in free program, but he was outstanding in figures.

DN – Who do you think was the most outstanding Russian figure skater in the last century?

AM – Irina Rodnina. Of course different people have different tastes and it is hard to have a universal opinion. One has to compare the results – and Irina has the highest results in the sport. Besides her we do not have a three time Olympic Champion. That is why I would call her the Figure Skater of the Century.

DN – These days our figure skating became mostly a TV show on ice. Do you think that in this sport we will make progress in the future again?

AM – I think that it is nice to have the TV shows on ice. They are promoting figure skating. Success will come back as well.

List of Russian Olympic champions

Men’s single skating:

1908 – Nikolay Panin – Kolomenkin;
1992 – Victor Petrenko;
1994 – Alexey Urmanov;
1998 – Ilja Kulik;
2002 - Alexey Yagudin;
2006 – Evgeny Pluschenko.

Pairs skating:

1964 – Ludmila Belousova - Oleg Protopopov;
1968 - Ludmila Belousova - Oleg Protopopov;
1972 – Irina Rodnina – Alexey Ulanov;
1976 – Irina Rodnina – Alexander Zaitsev;
1980 - Irina Rodnina – Alexander Zaitsev;
1984 – Elena Valova – Oleg Vasiliev;
1988 – Ekaterina Gordeeva – Sergey Grinkov;
1992 – Natalia Mishkutenok – Artur Dmitriev;
1994 – Ekaterina Gordeeva – Sergey Grinkov;
1998 – Oxana Kazakova – Artur Dmitriev;
2002 – Elena Bereznaya – Anton Sikharulidze;
2006 - Tatiana Totmjanina – Maxim Marinin.

Ice dancing:

1976 – Ludmila Pachomova – Alexander Gorshkov;
1980 – Natalia Linichuk – Gennady Karponosov;
1988 – Natalia Bestemjanova – Andrey Bukin;
1992 – Marina Klimova – Sergey Ponomarenko
1994 – Oxana Grishchuk – Evgeny Platov;
1998 - Oxana Grishchuk – Evgeny Platov;
2002 – Marina Anisina – Gvendal Peizera (Marina skated under French flag);
2006 – Tatiana Navka – Roman Kostomarov.

There were no Russian Olympic Champions in women’s single skating.

TOO HOT FOR ICE?

2008-10-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Anastasia Grebenkina – no man can resist me!

Translation of an interview by Ekaterina Evsukova (EE) printed in the Russian Language publication “Sobesednik” on October 22, 2008.

Beautiful Russian figure skater and star of the show “Dances on Ice” Anastasia (Nastia) Grebenkina (AG) won the silver medal in the previous season of the show in a pair with Sergey Lazarev. This year she is skating with a new partner – movie and theater actor Maxim Averin.

EE – Nastia, how do you feel after your last fall?

AG – I do not feel that well. I have headaches and dizziness. Doctors recommend staying in bed for some time, but I can not afford that luxury. The show starts soon and I have to practice a lot. I am used to it; it is not my first concussion.

EE –How many did you have?

AG – Four, one severe and 3 light.

EE – And after all that you did not want to quit the sport?

AG – Of course not. These are minor things. Sport is my life. Not long ago, with my partner Vazgen Azroyan, we opened a figure skating school and are planning to open a class for children. You would not even guess how many elite moms, almost all of them from show business, approached me.

EE – Last season you won the silver at the show. Could you say now, a year later that the judges were not fair?

AG – I do not want to judge the judges. I always believed that if one did not get first place, it was a stimulus to work harder next time. Then everything will be OK and you will be first. If one does skate better than the others it is impossible not to notice. And the spectators see it first.

EE – Were the female admirers of your partner Sergey Lazarev jealous of you?

AG – Well, after out first show, Sergey told me that his female admirers hate all of the girls that they see him with. But for some reason they liked me. I was very pleased by that. It is normal to be loved by men, but to be loved by women – it is worth a lot.

EE – You are a beautiful single woman. Do you feel that your new partner Maxim Averin is attracted to you?

AG – No man can resist me! Of course I feel his emotions. They should always be present.

EE – Should we expect a new romance?

AG – I do not know. First I should like the person and then everything will fall into place.

EE – You have the eyes of a woman in love. Confess!

AG – OK, I will not hide it, I am in love.

EE – With Maxim?

AG – I will not tell. I am a person who easily falls in love. I can fall in love not only with a man, but with anyone else. To be in love is a necessary condition for a creative person.

EE – It is known among actresses that competitors in show business rarely become friends. How is it in sports, could competitors be friends?

AG – It is rare that competitors become friends. If you are in dancing, you may be friends with a single skater. I have been very friendly with Anna Semenovich for many years. Her sport’s past is not a problem for us. This summer we went together for a vacation in Jordan.

EE – How did the men there share you between them?

AG – We were lucky, it just happened that some men liked me and some liked her. We are so different that we do not have any problems.

EE – What if you both would like the same man?

AG – It was important for both of us that the men follow their feelings. We did not want to conquer them. It is not in our characters. If we see that we are not a favorite with a man we would not fight for his attention.

EE – It is known that sport in Moscow does not pay much, but at the age of 21 you bought a three room (one bedroom) apartment in the center of Moscow.

AG – I was not planning to buy it, I was considering buying a studio, but I liked it very much and I took a loan and borrowed some money for it. One could earn good money in any profession.

EE – What do you usually spend your money on?

AG – I love to shop. Recently I was in Rome where I spent 3 days shopping. The shops there are like museums, one can not stop looking. From every country that I visit I bring back dolls. I also collect porcelain figurines of figure skaters although I do not have that many so far - they are very rare.

WEDDED BL(ICE)

2008-10-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

Peter Chernishov and Anastasia Zavorotnjuk got married.

Translation of an article by Anton Stepanov printed in Russian Language publication “Zhizn” on October 14, 2008.

The church wedding service was performed in the temple of Resurrection of Christ which was built in the Byzantine style in the Ukrainian town of Foros in the Crimea region.

The couple came to the wedding directly from the European skating rinks. They met at the taping of the show “Dances on Ice” on the TV channel Russia and fell in love from first sight.

Peter Chernishov was born in St. Petersburg, but the last 16 years he lived in the US, received the US citizenship and skated in pair with the American figure skater Naomi Lang. For seven years he was married to another figure skater – Natalia Annenko, but when he left for the States, he divorced her.

The former wife of Peter told reporters that Peter was a great husband: - “They do not make husbands like that any more.” Natalia was telling the reporters that Peter was usually nice, kind and easy going; took good care of her and left her all of his assets when he left.

AND I AM TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING

2008-10-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Alexey Yagudin – “I am not coming back to big sport!”

Translation of an article by Raisa Murashkina printed in a Russian Language publication “Komsomolskaya Pravda” on October 6, 2008.

After receiving the Crystal Ice prize for 2008, the figure skater dropped his pants in front of the correspondents and confessed that he had grown up.

Last year, Yagudin also received a Crystal Ice prize for coming back on the ice after a hip replacement operation. This year he received a prize as Mister Congeniality.

Reporters asked the skater if he tripped the alarms of the metal detectors when he passed through airports. Rather than explaining what was going on, Yagudin told reporters to turn off their cameras and then he dropped his pants and showed the reporters his bandaged up right hip.

“The alarms are going off, but I am warning the airport workers,” - confessed Yagudin. And then he added – “I really wanted to come back to sports, I was living that dream, but the recuperation was not as successful as I expected.”

When asked if he would completely transfer his attention to going into business, he replied: “I will never trade creativity for business! I am acting in the movies and in the theater. I became quieter now, I have grown up. I am not planning to get married soon. Why bother? Look, every second couple is splitting these days.”

SASHA COHEN

2008-10-16T07:12:00.001-07:00

Mysterious Sasha Cohen.

Translation of an article by Dmitry Borisov printed In a Russian language publication “Sportsdaily.ru” on October 5, 2008. (I presume the initial interview was in English, making this version twice removed from the source.)

After a two and a half year absence, the Silver medalist of the Turin Olympics, American skater Sasha Cohen is coming back to big sports. The sportswoman who is going to be 24 at the end of October is planning to compete in the World Championship in the US in 2009 and at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Sasha was considered to be one of the most talented single skaters. And the most unlucky one. Good physical form and work with famous coaches the likes of Tatiana Tarasova, made Sasha a favorite for any World Championship. But she failed to win any of them. The problem was mostly psychological. Every time she stopped, it was just one step away from the gold. In 2004 and 2005 she won silver and in 2006 – bronze. The biggest achievement of her career was the silver at the Turin Olympics, but even there it was due to the kindness of the judges. Cohen fell twice while performing the free program, but the arbiters gave her higher marks than the Russian skater Irina Slutskaya, who won the bronze. Even Sasha looked embarrassed on the podium.

At the World’s Championship in Calgary in 2006, where the main contenders for the gold – Russian Irina Slutskaya and Japanese Shzuki Arakava -- were absent, Sasha was considered to be the main contender for the gold, but she only got the bronze. She could not control her nervousness. That performance became the breaking point for the American skater. She was so disappointed by her performance that she decided to quit eligible sports and become a professional.

Sasha explained her decision- “I know that I am being perceived as a skater who did not win a lot of titles. The wins mean much more that how one skates. I can not become a robot who stamps out high quality performances.”

She signed a contract with “Stars on Ice” and for 6 months was traveling all over the world. She took some time off and went to Hawaii to water ski.

And then she decided to go back to amateur sport:”I want to concentrate on figure skating and to do what I like and know how to do. Lately, I've practiced a lot and I hope that soon I will be able to compete with any figure skater. I would like it very much to start competing in the next season.”

Cohen is ambitious. Her motto in life is: “Try to fly to the Moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” But currently there are new heroes in vogue. Could she, after such a long break, compete with Japanese skaters Mao Asada and Yukari Nakano, Korean Kim Yu Na and Italian Carolina Kostner? Many experts doubt that she could do it. She is considered to be too unstable and it is not known how fast she could get back into her form after the break.

But no matter what, the return of this miniature (145cm – about 4ft 8in) and artistic sportswoman will make the women’s singles competitions more interesting.