 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 |
August 30, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Japan is attempting to improve its prospects in pairs skating with the new team of Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran. The couple finished 15th at their first ISU championship, the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Earlier in the season, they placed 12th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Tallinn, Estonia and sixth at the JGP in Chemnitz, Germany.
Tran, who was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, started skating when he was four. "My parents came to Canada from Vietnam and Cambodia as refugees," he explained. "They wanted us to have something to do in Canada so they threw me into hockey camp. I had all my equipment and would skate around dragging my stick behind me. When I took CanSkate, the class was taught by figure skaters so instead of hockey I got into figure skating instead."
The 17-year-old competed in singles until 2007, finishing as high as ninth in novice men at Canadian Nationals. He landed his first triple salchow at 13 and has landed up to a triple lutz.
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August 23, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Thailand's Charissa Tansomboon was a surprise pick to give the skaters' remarks at the closing ceremonies for last year's Four Continents Championships. Traditionally, that honor has gone to a current or past medallist from a much larger country.
She finished 23rd at Four Continents. In 2006-07, Tansomboon had placed 40th at the World Championships and 30th at the World Junior Championships. This year, she finished 47th at Worlds.
Although Tansomboon was born in the United States, her parents are originally from Thailand and moved to the U.S. just before she was born. She lived in Thailand for a year when she was in second grade and still goes and skates there every year.
Tansomboon started skating when she was eight. "My best friend was a skater and I went to a public session with her," Tansomboon recalled. "She does synchro now." The 18-year-old had learned all the jumps up to the double axel and is now working on her triple loop. "I did my first double axel about three years ago," she said. "I was doing the triple salchow, but now I'm focusing on the triple loop. The loop is my best jump. The toe is just scary. I'm definitely an edge jumper."
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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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