 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
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June 15, 2009
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Nicole Della Monica, 20, and Yannick Kocon, 22, won the Italian senior pairs title for the 2008-09 season over more experienced couples, a year after winning the Italian junior pairs gold medal in their first season together.
In 2007-08, the duo placed 14th at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. This season, they won the NRW Trophy in Dortmund, Germany and took the silver medal at the Golden Spin of Zagreb before placing sixth at the European Championships. They finished the season by placing 18th at the World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles, California.
"For our career, our goal is to get to the highest level we can," Della Monica said.
Both Della Monica and Kocon competed in singles, but for different countries. Kocon, who was born in Evry, France, competed for France in singles until 2007, winning the novice menvs championship in 2002 and placing 19th at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 2006... (click the photo to read more)
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June 01, 2009
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Maylin Hausch, 20, and Daniel Wende, 24, placed well during their first season together. The couple won the silver medal at German Nationals behind world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. They the placed ninth at the 2009 European Championships and 15th at the World Championships.
“Our long term goals are to skate at the Olympic Games and to win the German championship some time,” Wende said.
Wende started skating when he was seven. "My sister was a skater and I came to the rink with her," he said. "After watching her, I wanted to skate too. I liked jumping."
Hausch started to skate when she was four. “I was going to public skating with my mom and when I was falling I was crying,” she recalled. “Then mom decided to put me into a club so that I could learn how to skate and in the end I stayed.” She also tried gym wheel and rhythmic gymnastics.
In singles, Hausch placed as high as third at German Nationals in junior ladies, while Wende placed third in novice men. |
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