Spassova and Todorov Make Pairs History

Rumiana Spassova and Stanimir Todorov

September 30, 2006
Article & Photo © J. Barry Mittan 

Bulgarian pairs skaters Rumiana Spassova, 17, and Stanimir Todorov, 24, made history at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy by becoming the first pairs skaters to compete for their country at the Olympics. The couple finished 19th. They have finished 17th and 15th at the World Championships in the last two years and 12th and ninth at the European Championships during the same period. Spassova and Todorov were 16th at their only appearance at Junior Worlds in 2003. In each event, they were the first Bulgarians to compete in pairs there.

Spassova & Todorov are off to a great start in the 2006-07 season placing 8th overall at the 2006 Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. The team brought in 103.84 points in total.

The couple had a busy season in 2005-06. They finished seventh at both the NHK Trophy in Japan and the Karl Schaefer Memorial in Vienna, eighth at the Cup of China, and 13th at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Spassova said, "I started skating when I was seven. I watched skating on television and asked my mother to take me to the rink. I competed at Nationals in ladies for three years and was fourth in novice in 2000. But I never learned any triple jumps. I only landed a triple salchow on two feet. So my coach said I should try pairs. I was very young and I wanted to do ladies. I didn't like pairs and I didn't want to go at the beginning. I didn't like it at first but now I like everything."

Todorov began skating when he was six. "When I was young, I lived in a city in the mountains," he said. "All the guys were skiing and I learned to ski when I was two. Then my parents sent me to the ice rink because they thought it was similar to skiing." He landed his first triple, a triple lutz, at 16, and then quickly learned the other triples up to the axel.

He was junior men's champion in Bulgaria for four or five times and competed at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships thrice, finishing as high as 25th in 2001. "When I was 18, it was the end of juniors," he recalled. "I thought that I could not compete with Ivan Dinev in seniors because I felt I could not do the big jumps. My former coach told me about Rumi and said I should try pairs. I thought it was not a good idea because I thought that pairs were where the worst skaters go, but I don't think that now. I tried it and I liked it." The couple began skating together in 2001.

"Everything was brand new for us," Todorov said. "But Rumi is very brave to be a pairs skater. She never gives up on anything and she really captures the crowd." Her courage was tested early that first year. While practicing a side-by-side camel spin, the skaters got too close together and Todorov's blade sliced into Spassova's skull. Although Spassova lost all of her hair when they shaved her head to operate, she suffered no permanent damage. "The next day I told Stanimir that I would skate again," she said. Because of the injury, Spassova could not skate for two months. The couple first competed at the Junior Grand Prix in Chemnitz, Germany in 2002.

Pavel Dimitrov coaches the couple, who train in Sofia when they can. "Our ice rink is not very good and it is closed in summer," Todorov said. "Before the Olympics, it was minus 15 in the rink and we got sick. So we can only train two or three hours a day, five days a week there." In the summer, the skaters go to either Lithuania or to Ashburn, Virginia to train with Andrei Kroukov. That allows them to spend three to five hours each day on the ice, six days a week. They also do one to three hours of off ice work daily. "We spend all day at the rink," Spassova said.

The couple landed their first throw triple salchow just a week before Worlds in 2006. "For the next season, we need to do better triple throws and jumps," Todorov said. We want to try some new things and to make the crowd happy when we skate. Our goal is to always try to do our best and to bring more people in our country into skating." "They are very talented and have a chance to have a good future if we go step by step," Dimitrov said. "They work very hard, but have no sponsors and the rink in Bulgaria is very expensive."

Sofia Angelova choreographed their 2005-06 programs. The short program, which they also used during the 2004-05 season, is listed as a Renaissance medley, but is composed of music known mainly in North America as sea chanties. "Our coach found the music from Italy and picked it for Torino," Spassova said. The long program, skated to "Balkan Concept", was new for 2005-06. "We both heard the music and loved it," Todorov stated, "but we weren't sure the judges would like it. But our coach said we should try it anyway."

For the 2006-07 season, the duo has changed both of their programs. The long program is to a paso doble from "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Hugo Strasser while the short program is to "Condemned Souls." "It's from a Bulgarian movie," said Todorov. "We're sure the crowd will like it." The skaters don't prefer any particular style of music while skating. "When we listen to music and like it, it doesn't matter what style it is," Todorov said. "If you can feel the music and you like it, you can skate to it." Off ice, Todorov listens to Bulgarian pop and R and B, while Spassova likes pop music.

Off ice, both skaters like bungee jumping and belong to a co-op of individuals who jump from bridges. "This summer I want to jump off a higher bridge," Spassova added. She also enjoys going to the disco, shopping, and watching movies, especially the new releases. She also collects all kinds of pins. Todorov likes assembling models of airplanes and motorcycles.

Todorov is studying to be a coach at the National Sports Academy, while Spassova is still in high school. "I like languages," she said. "I can also speak English and German."