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Susan Wessling |
There were a lot of lessons learned at this year's World Championships.
None screamed out louder than the statement made by the victory of Irina
Slutskaya: Never count out a champion. And that, in fact, is a fitting
description for Slutskaya. This 26-year-old from Russia completed the
ultimate comeback when she won the ladies' title. In the process, she showed
the world what can be accomplished through good, old-fashioned hard work and
an unwavering belief in oneself. Many people had counted out the 2002 World
champion. Fate surely had not been kind to this Russian skating star. She
did not compete in the 2003 World Championships because of a health crisis her
mother was undergoing (her mother still is on dialysis and waiting for a
suitable kidney donor). Last year Slutskaya was ninth at the championships
after suffering from a serious heart ailment, vasculitis, an inflammation of
the heart lining for which she still takes medication. This year started out
with a knee injury. How did Slutskaya respond to all this adversity? Like a
true champion. She won every event she entered this season, capping off the
stunning year with a victory at the World Championships. And she didn't back
into winning the gold medal because of other flawed performances. She flat
out deserved to win it with a brilliant performance that included seven triple
jumps in the free skate and beautiful artistry that many people lament had
been lost from the sport. See our coverage on Slutskaya's courageous victory
and the World Championships on pages 15-17 in our Competitions section.
The win gives Slutskaya a boost heading into next year's Olympic season.
With the Games less than a year away, the team at International Figure Skating
has begun a new section. Starting with this issue, we have introduced
"Countdown to Torino." In this new section of the magazine we will report on
news stories leading up the Olympics. In this issue, see Susan Russell's
report on page 54, which gives a detailed look at the facility that will host
the 2006 figure skating events at the Games. Russell had a firsthand look at
Palavela, which is the official rink for the 2006 Olympic Games and where the
European Championships recently were held. Although it appears the organizing
committee still has some work to bring the facility up to speed for the
Olympics, officials are confident — with feedback from this "test event"
— that they are up to the task.
The jewel of our new Olympic section is our "Profile with a Champion"
series. The profiles will look at past Olympic gold medalists and historic
Olympic moments. We begin our coverage on page 52 of this issue by profiling
Oleg Vasiliev, the 1984 pairs champion with Elena Valova. Vasiliev has an
interesting perspective on his accomplishment, which was downplayed in the
former Soviet Union because, simply put, the Soviets were expected to win.
Such insights on his Olympic gold-medal experience make this story
thought-provoking as well as entertaining. Let us know what Olympic gold
medalists you would like us to revisit. Your input is always appreciated.
One elite ice dance team that likely will not get to experience the
Olympics in 2006 is Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. This dynamic, young U.S.
team recently won the silver medal at the World Championships. Clearly they
would be contenders for gold in Torino. Due to Belbin's citizenship issue
(she is a Canadian and her U.S. citizenship isn't likely to come through until
2007), they will not be a factor in the race for gold in Torino. But that
hasn't soured this duo's outlook. They remain upbeat and dedicated to
reaching their potential as ice dancers. They can even see the silver lining
in the situation. They talk about how they have turned a negative into a
positive as well as their experiences and thoughts about the Games in our
cover story, which we are proud to present. Belbin and Agosto epitomize all
that is good about athletics and are true role models in a time when those can
be hard to find.
Until next time …
Susan Wessling
Editor in Chief
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