The Russians not only won, but they redefined the sport, layering a Bolshoi aesthetic on top of the event’s athletic triumvirate of jumps, lifts and throws. It began with the Protopopovs, so nimble their feet seemed to glide above the ice. Then there was the elegant Irina Rodina, who won three golds with two different partners; a similar feat was pulled off by the rugged he-man Artur Dmitriev, who won two golds tossing two different ladies toward the rafters. And of course there was the ethereal beauty of Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, whose tragic love story translated to tears in every language.
And tonight in Salt Lake City, that winning streak, now almost four decades long, rests on the skates and shoulders of a remarkable pair of young Russian lovers, Elena Berezhnaya, 24, and Anton Sikharulidze, 25, who barely escaped being another Russian tragedy. Five years ago, when the two were romantically involved but skated with different partners, Elena was slashed by her partner’s skate during side-by-side spins. The razor-sharp blade caused a two-inch gash, penetrating her skull. She required emergency brain surgery, which left her partially paralyzed on one side. For a short while, she was unable either to talk or walk.
It was while she was recuperating in the hospital in Riga, Latvia, that Elena and Anton decided they would leave their current partners pair up on the ice, too. “I don’t know why,” he said, “but we both just thought, ‘Let’s skate together’.” Perhaps the ideas seemed so obvious because, at the same time, it seemed such an unlikely prospect. But a few months later, Elena was taking tentative steps on the ice. And nine months later, the two began competing again. They capped their season with a second-place finish, behind the reigning world champions, in the Russian national championships and then a remarkable bronze medal at the European championships.
Their career was ascendant. They finished second at the Olympics in Nagano behind their countrymen Kazakova and Dmitriev. When Dmitriev retired immediately after the Winter Games, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze won the first of back-to-back world titles and seemed pointed toward gold in Salt Lake City. But their career was plagued by a whole host of minor mishaps and misfortunes. They had to withdraw from one European championship they were leading because of illness, another because of injury. Another year, they competed after Anton took 12 stitches in his arm following a practice accident. And after winning the European title, they were disqualified after Elena tested positive for a banned stimulant, likely in her bronichitis medication, and they withdrew from the world championships.
All these difficulties have taken something of a toll on the pair and their performances the past few years. Just a little slippage, enough to let the defending world champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier of Canada emerge as the number one pair in the world and arrive in Salt Lake City as the favorite. And the acrobatic Chinese duo of Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao, with two silvers and a bronze at the last three Worlds, were also considered a serious threat to the Russian dynasty.
Saturday night at the Delta Center produced one of the finest Olympic short programs in history. The top six pairs all skated without major error. American champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman, an unlikely combination of New York brass and laid-back Alabaman, went hip, skating to Pink Floyd and gave the performance of their lives. But the string of flawless performances by all the top competitors forced them to settle for fifth going into the free skate. (As usual at the Olympics, judging is stirring up some controversy, mainly revolving around bias along lines thought to have disappeared with the end of the Cold War. So it’s hard to know what to make of the fact that the American judge gave Ina and Zimmerman their lowest score.)
The Chinese too were strong. His powerful tosses of his partner rivaled any power moves Karl Malone might make in the same building. Still, their footwork is slightly flat and they had to settle for third position. The Canadians were, as always, adorable, performing a little romantic farce. One farcical aspect was unexpected when, in their final romantic tangle, they got tripped up and spilled to the ice in each other’s arms. But they got up laughing and it had a negligible effect on their scores. It didn’t cost them much, as they scored all 5.8s and 5.9s for artistry, but they landed in second place.
Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze were facing an unusual problem that complicated their task. She had suffered a bad sunburn at a tanning salon in Logan, Utah, where the couple were doing their pre-Olympic training. It made almost every touch–and pairs is nothing but touches–painful and curtailed their training regimen.
But on Saturday night, Elena just grinned and beared it. The duo delivered a stunning turn of intricate footwork, lifts and spins, a reprise of the majestic style that has kept the pairs gold in Russian hands seemingly forever. Their artistic marks fell slightly below the Canadians’, but the Russians’ technical marks were higher and they took a 7-2 split decision from the judges. “A lot of things have happened the last four years, good ones and bad ones,” said Sikharulidze. “To be here and skate well is just great.”
To be here and win, that would be the greatest thrill of all. To accomplish that tonight, they will have to again outperform the Canadians, who will reprise romance–but this time solemn, to “Love Story,” rather than silly. But the Russians have an extraordinary national legacy behind them. Tonight is Elena’s and Anton’s to join it.
