Cover Story

"People today know them as one of the top contenders for an Olympic gold. As two-time World champions and four-time European champions, they have certainly proven their competitive capability. I believe they have what it takes to become Olympic champions," said Michael Collins who runs the Champions on Ice tour.

On Top of the World

Is Olympic Gold on the Horizon for Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin?

By Susan Wessling

For Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, winning the gold medal at the 2005 World Championships was an affirmation of their talent, dedication and courage. By now, everyone knows the story of how Totmianina suffered a horrific crash — headfirst from an overhead lift — onto the ice at Skate America last October. Knocked unconscious, she was hospitalized with a concussion and sidelined from the competitive scene for over two months.

The accident that put the two Russian skaters in the spotlight was played over and over again on American television. The two, who live and train in Chicago, were deluged with interview requests. They appeared on "Oprah" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Despite the round of interviews and media appearances, the duo has been — and remain, somewhat — an enigma to skating fans. Misconceptions about the two skaters' personalities (they lack passion, is one such criticism) have abounded on internet forums where zealous fans endlessly discuss today's skating stars.

Yet, nothing could be further from the truth.

A Big Decision

Overcoming obstacles is something this Russian pairs team has done many times over the years. Five years ago, they left their coach Natalia Pavlova, and ultimately Russia, to train in the United States with Oleg Vasiliev, who won the 1984 Olympic pairs gold medal with partner Elena Valova. "I was 19 when we moved here," said Totmianina, who is now 23. "I had zero English. I knew 'hi' and 'bye.' It was very difficult that first year. [Later] I understood but I was shy to speak. I don't like to do mistakes. It is just like with skating; I am never ready to make mistakes."

Marinin, 27, said the media is often the reason foreigners are either misunderstood or not well-known in the United States. "So here we have the publicity but American people seem to only care about their own people, like [other] Americans. We are okay with that," he said with a laugh, adding that the pair has a close circle of friends and business associates. "So it is a very limited circle of people that gets to know us. If we talk about in general [about people's perceptions], about all Americans who watch figure skating, I don't think they know us as humans, as a people."

In candid interviews with IFS by telephone from their Chicago homes, their personalities shone through. Both skaters have an optimistic outlook and a sly wit, and both are very intelligent and perceptive people.

Vasiliev said the two initially had a hard time putting their personalities on display while they skated because this was not what was expected of them in their country. "When they came to me, they were really, let's say, 'Russian' skaters. They did … just what they had to do but nothing else on the ice," he said.

Relocating to America proved a difficult transition for both skaters. "The most difficult thing was being by ourselves," Marinin explained. "The first year there was a lack of information because there was the language problem. The first year was the hardest for us. There weren't any bad surprises; it is just another kind of life here, maybe more comfortable than in Russia, from one side. But from another side, we didn't have enough money, we didn't know the language and it was the hardest thing for us."

"If we talk about in general [about people's perceptions], about all Americans who watch figure skating, I don't think they know us as humans, as a people."
— Maxim Marinin

Their acclimation was made easier by their coach, who had been in the United States training young singles skaters. Marinin and Totmianina initially lived with him for a short period of time and then he placed them in the homes of the American families whose children he coached. "When we came here Oleg helped us a lot. He took care of us," Totmianina said. "He was everything, our mom, dad, coach, cook, driver, everything. He put us with American families and that was helpful."

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin have a lot to smile about: They are three-time Russian champions, four-time European champions and two-time World gold medalists.

The move to America paid off, Marinin said, first and foremost because Vasiliev is a good coach. "Another thing he helped us also with was getting used to a new life in the United States because we didn't know language or things like how to drive a car and we didn't know absolutely anything about real life here. He was like a father for us, taking care of every one of our steps," he said. "As a coach he worked here like most American and Russian coaches, from the morning to the late evening. We respect that, we trust him and we have gotten excellent results."

When they arrived in America they were not yet high-level skaters, according to Totmianina. "It was a challenge for us to go and do it. I could have cried and missed home but it was our choice," she said. "We were happy we did this because if we had stayed there we would have just been skating for fun. But skating here, we were hungry for work. We were ready to go and do anything. Oleg was a new coach [at that time] and he was hungry. It was a good union to work together and get results."

Both skaters started as singles competitors. "So we did all the triples and it was easy to get the singles skaters' elements," Totmianina said. "It was difficult to do the pairs elements. Max has long legs and arms and I am short. He was so patient. He basically taught me how to do all this stuff."

Vasiliev has witnessed much growth — on and off the ice — in his two star skaters since they came to America in 2001. "In the beginning, they were more like a cat and a dog," he explained. "They fought; one would say, 'I like red color.' The other would say, 'I hate red.'"

Both skaters say their time with Champions on Ice has helepd them grow as performers.

Their skating was solid but there really was no camaraderie between the two. Since then their friendship has flourished. "With their personal relationship, you weren't able to see that; nothing was there. It was just very good work, very good elements, strong jumps and throw jumps, maybe not very strong lifts, but still good, but nothing else," Vasiliev said. "But eventually, like family, when you spend a lot of time with someone, you understand each other better. They worked together and they worked hard together. So it is good. Maybe because they are working together, they are both changing."

They are also beginning to put their personalities out front and center for their fans to see. "When I first saw Tatiana and Max perform, they were very tentative and did not relate so well to the audience," said Michael Collins who runs the Champions on Ice tour on which the pair performs. "This was a difficult task to overcome, but with their hard work ethic and increased confidence, now they are able to connect with the audience and allow them to feel the passion that they have in their skating. We are now beginning to get a sense of their personalities on the ice, which is drawing people to them."

While neither is comfortable in big gatherings, one-on-one they exhibit a quaint charm and are quick to laugh when while sharing their perceptions about themselves and their lives today. "In the United States, in general, the lifestyle is different than in Russia," Vasiliev said, as he explained how the two have adapted to living in America. "Here, it is, 'How are you? I am fine.' And that is how it goes with everything. Basically everything outside on someone's face [here] doesn't mean … they have the same in their heart. I am sorry to [say this] but it is true," he said. "I work with the American kids for a long time, I can see this. In Russia it is different. Whatever we have in hearts, we have in our faces. If I came, for an example, as a skater to do my job, I have to do my job. I don't need to take time to say, "I am fine." No, [as] Russians we came to win, that is what we have in our minds."

When they first came to the United States, Totmianina and Marinin simply did not understand the concept of having fun or trying to look like they were having fun at competitions, Vasiliev said. They were very serious about skating, he said, and saw it as their job. "But staying with American families, being part of American [life], and I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but they learn how to smile when you don't want to smile," Vasiliev said. "They learn to talk to people when maybe they do not want to do this. Now they are a little different, especially in the last year, they have changed and their relationship on the ice has changed. That is the result of hard work. We started working on this in 2001 and last year we were able to see some improvement in this direction."

Accomplished Skaters

Totmianina and Marinin have accomplished much in the past five years. They have won three consecutive Russian titles, four straight European Championships, and the last two World Championships. "I think our best result was to come [back] after the accident and win Russian nationals, Europeans and Worlds," Totmianina said. "I was very nervous [going into those competitions]. I didn't know what to expect. It was scary. It was hard mentally. It was hard physically skating."

This perception comes from a woman who, at first glance, seems shy, slight and quite feminine. Yet she is a physically strong athlete who admits with a laugh that she does not stick to a special diet or work out at a gym. "I do 200 lifts a day," she said about her skating workouts. "It is enough. I need strong muscles in my arms and legs but I don't do anything special."

Mentally she is strong-willed, her coach said. "Tatiana has a very strong mind. If she decides to do something, she will do it anyway, regardless of the conditions around her and basically if she shouldn't do it," he said. "If she is doing, for example, a triple toe and something goes wrong on takeoff, she is doing this jump anyways, even if she is tilted in the air. Her mind is so strong, and sometimes she does things another skater will not be able to do in a lifetime."

After the accident at Skate America, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin came back to win Russian nationals as well as Europeans and the World Championships.

Totmianina has no memory of the accident, which left her unconscious on the ice for several horrifying minutes. She has never watched a video replay of the incident either. "I didn't want to look back. It wasn't good times. I don't want to blame Max; it can happen to anyone. I have to forget about that and help my partner. He also helped me," she said. "It was our decision, we didn't discuss it, and we just kept it inside ourselves. We forget everything and forgive each other."

A Part of the Sport

"When I started pairs skating I knew such things could happen to anybody," Marinin added. "When you are driving a car for example and you hear news about an accident on the TV, you don't think that kind of thing will happen to you, but one day it happened to me. It was hard but I am not alone, first of all. And people around us, like coach and friends, helped me get through the troubles. Another thing is that Tatiana and Oleg never mentioned it afterwards. We just go on and we forget about it. They never blamed me and that is because in pairs skating we share in the positive and bad things. It wasn't only my mistake; Tatiana also shared the responsibility about this and that helped."

Ironically Totmianina's biggest attack from nerves wasn't on the ice all. One challenge she faced after the accident was presenting herself to the American media. "It was scary," Totmianina said about the media circus after the accident. "I was afraid I wouldn't know my English enough to get [or understand] the questions. And in stressful situations or when I am tired or nervous, I can't pronounce my words. I was shaking for 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show.' It was a live program; I was more nervous then than when I was skating at Worlds."

Their Biggest Accomplishment

For Marinin, the first World Championship title was the most memorable but last year's was a bigger accomplishment. "The second time was harder than the first time, but you didn't get the same emotional pleasure of the first time. I think it happened because we passed through the whole season with many, many problems, starting with the accident and the whole season passed very quickly. The final result was excellent. Since we have moved here life is going pretty fast," Marinin said with a laugh. "The competitions are going very, very quickly. It feels like one day."

The pair's biggest competition lies ahead in February, the Olympic Games in Torino. In Salt Lake City, the duo finished one place off the podium. "Of course our goal is for the Olympic Games," Totmianina said. "The first goal is to just be healthy and work good enough to get the results. We went to the Olympics before and came in fourth. This Olympics it is not just good enough to be there, we want to come in first."

Alexander Matveev has choreographed both their programs for this season, Marinin said. Totmianina and Marinin will skate their short program to "The Snowstorm" by Russian composer Georgy Sviridov from the film (based on a Pushkin short story) of the same name. "It is very nice music, very powerful," Marinin said. "It is romantic at the beginning, and then it is like a team going forward and getting more and more power." They will use Edvin Marton's version of "Romeo and Juliet," which he originally created for Evgeni Plushenko.

With the International Skating Union's scoring system and an emphasis on elements, the program is packed with technical difficulty. "It is element, element, element, but without that it is impossible to get the best results," Marinin said.

With the new judging system, Vasiliev said, every element counts. "Everything is critical. If you do Level 3 instead of Level 4 you can lose a lot," he said. "From my point of view, in my experience, they need to be very consistent with their results this season. They need to show very good skating in competition after competition. They need to skate clean programs, and they have the experience of being there in 2002. They know what to expect so it won't be so stressful."

And who will be their biggest rivals? "Ourselves," Marinin said, "because if we can beat our fear and our anxiety and do what we do in the practices and do what we are working for, it will be a good result. When we come out on the ice, we struggle against ourselves, first of all. There are a lot of strong skaters. Anyone who is in the first five or six places in the world can be the champion or on the podium. That is the sport.

"You have to have, as we call it, the package," he added. "Package means you have to have talent, you have to work a lot to get the results and last but not least, you have to have luck. Then you have the chance to be the best."