 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.
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August 16, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 It's not often that you see a skater from Australia in the top ten at an ISU championship but Sydney-born Jonathan Guerreiro was in that elite group at the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships with his partner, Ekaterina Riazanova, both 17. And they were competing for Russia!
The couple finished sixth at Junior Worlds, capping a successful season in which they won a bronze medal at Russian Nationals, silver medals at the ISU Junior Grand Prixs in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania and Chemnitz, Germany and placed eighth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. In their first season in 2006-07, the dancers placed fifth in Russia, fourth at the Golden Lynx and ninth at the Harghita Cup.
The unusual pairing was possible because Guerreiro has dual-citizenship for both Russia and Australia. His mother, Svetlana Liapina, is Russian. She won a bronze medal in ice dancing at World Juniors in 1984 with Gorsha Sur and a silver the following year. His father is from Portugal and was a tour manager for Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean for over eight years. |
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August 09, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Elladj Balde won the junior men's title in Canada in 2008 after placing second in 2007. He was 21st at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. "My goal was to win Nationals, go to the Junior Grand Prix Final, and skate well at Junior Worlds," he said, "but I screwed up my JGPs. Next year, I'll go senior at Nationals for sure. My goal is to be in the top five in seniors. I'll stay one more year in juniors internationally and want to be in the top five at Junior Worlds next season. Eventually I hope to compete in the Olympics in 2010 and 2014."
Eric Therneu trains Balde in Pierrefronds, Quebec. "I've been with Eric since I was 13," Balde said. "I train for two hours a day, five days a week, and off ice for an hour, three days a week. I do Pilates and cardio during the season and add ballet and yoga in the summer when I'm up to five hours a week off ice. I'm on the ice for three to three and a half hours a day in the summer."
Jean-Pierre Bayer choreographed Balde's short program to "Lunatico" by Gotan Project, "Tanguera" by Mariano Mores, and Por Una Cabeza. "I'd never done a tango before and I wanted to see how it would go." |
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August 03, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Georgia, the country not the state, should have a dance team at Europeans and Worlds next season with a chance at placing a team at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The new team of Isabella Tobias and Otar Japaridze has a chance to be Georgia's first Olympians in dance after a successful first season in which the couple finished 14th at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships after less than a year together.
"We had no expectations this year," Tobias said, "especially as a new team. It was a dream to be in the top 20. Next season, we hope to do well at Europeans and Worlds."
Japaridze, whose father is the president of the Georgian skating federation, started when he was seven. "Both of my parents were skaters," he said. "My mother was twice winner of the Cup of the Soviet Union, but my father stopped at the junior level in the USSR. I started just for fun, but I liked it. I stayed in singles until I was 15. I had a triple toe loop and a triple salchow, but then because of injuries and a growth spurt, I moved to dance. I thought about doing pairs, but it's the hardest. Dancing is more fun." |
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July 24, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 The 2008 Canadian junior dance title went to the team of Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill. The dancers' goal for the season was only to make the podium at Canadians after winning in novice dance last season and in pre-novice dance in 2006, but they took the top spot for the third consecutive season.
"We didn't expect to win or to go to Junior Worlds at all," Ralph said. They finished eighth at Junior Worlds, even though they had failed to medal at either of their Junior Grand Prixs or to make the JGP Final. The couple placed fourth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Lake Placid, New York and seventh at the JGP in Sheffield, England.
"We'll be going senior next year," Ralph noted. "We never thought we would get this far together, but we like a challenge too." Hill also expects to continue skating in singles. "I want to skate forever and ever," he said. "Both give me a thrill.
Hill began skating when he was five. "I didn't want to do it, but my twin sister Acacia did," he remembered. "My mother put us both into skating because she wanted to do it. Eventually I got into it.""
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July 17, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Estonia's best chance at a medal when the European Championships come to Tallinn in 2010 may be Elena Glebova, a native of the city who turns 19 in June. The talented brunette has won the senior ladies title in Estonia three times and already competed five times at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Her highest placement there was sixth in 2007, but she had hoped to do better in 2008.
"My goal was to be in the top five, but I injured the kneecap in my right knee in December 2007 doing the triple lutz-triple toe loop too much," she said. "I was off the ice for six weeks and had just five weeks to train for Junior Worlds. I had surgery in the beginning of April after Worlds. It went successfully. I started training again in June and I am getting stronger day after day."
The injury prevented her participation in the 2008 European Championships. Earlier in the season, Glebova 2007 skated at two Grand Prix events, Skate Canada, where she placed eighth, and Trophee Eric Bompard Cachemire, where she finished sixth. Glebova has placed as high as 12th at the European Championships in 2007, 15th at Worlds in 2008, and 28th at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. She hopes to be able to compete in two more Olympics. |
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