 Skate
Today has teamed up with Barry Mittan to provide you an insight into
the personalities of the people in this wonderful sport and to give
you a more personal connection when you watch them on television or
see them at an event. Mr. Mittan is the author or editor of several
books and hundreds of figure skating articles. All of Barry's stories
are reviewed by the skaters, and their coaches or others if requested,
before publication to ensure the greatest accuracy.
All current
articles and many previous articles may be read in their entirety by
following the links below. Mr. Mittan retains all copyrights for these
articles and they may not be reproduced without permission. Please visit
www.jbmittan.com for more details.
Archived Articles
2008
January - March 2008
2007
2006
2005
2004 |
October 12, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 After winning their fourth world championships in pairs roller skating and finishing second twice, Italy's Marika Zanforlin, 25, and Federico Degli Esposti, 28, decided to switch from roller skating to figure skating. "We like the idea of trying a new sport," Degli Esposti said. "We like challenges. Also it's great to be part of the national team in two different sports. It's some kind of a small record in skating."
"Winning the first world title in roller skating was incredible, but of course the other three world titles were great parts of our career as well," Zanforlin noted. "We didn't have any goals left in roller skating, so we wanted to try something new."
"We gave figure skating a try once in 2005 but then for different reasons, including the fact we wanted to win another world title in roller skating, we didn't continue," Degli Esposti stated. "We tried it again, determined to go for it, in June 2007. We wanted to give it a try to qualify for the Olympic games, since we didn't have this chance in roller skating as it's not an Olympic sport."
Except for getting the feel of the blades, the skaters took to the ice with little difficulty. "They had warned us it was going to be the most difficult thing to adjust to," Degli Esposti stated. |
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October 05, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 South Africa's Lejeanne Marais made her first senior season a memorable one by competing at both the Four Continents Championships in Goyang, Korea and the World Figure Skating Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2008. She placed 20th at Four Continents and 51st at Worlds. Those were the first ISU championships in which the 2008 South African senior ladies champion competed.
This season Marais opened the season by finishing 20th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Mexico City. She'll next compete in the ISU JGP Skate Safari in South Africa.
Her mother, Susan Marais, coaches the 18-year-old, who trains in Pretoria. "I've been on the ice since I could walk," Marais said. "I was always around the rink while my mom was coaching and around seven or eight I started to get into it. I've tried some other things, but nothing that consumed my life like skating."
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