Thursday, December 27, 2001
Sale and Pelletier continuing tradition
By GEORGE GROSS -- Corporate Sports Editor
The way our figure skating experts describe the chances of Jamie Sale and David Pelletier in the Salt Lake City Olympics, the International Skating Union may as well mail them the gold medals.
And that, frankly, frightens me.
It reminds me of the days when Elaine (Mighty Mouse) Tanner swam miles around the opposition while setting one world record after another just prior to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Her gold medal appeared a cinch. At least the Canadian media and officials had given the medal to her. Mighty Mouse swam her heart out, but was beaten by a dark horse and had to be content with the silver.
I'm not suggesting that Canada's and, probably, the world's best figure skating pair would be deprived of a gold medal in Utah. But it's a possibility and that's why I'm a little nervous. You see, the Canadians will not be the only team in the competition. There will be others.
Russia, a traditional force in pairs skating, will feature Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, former world champions. They will be ready for Salt Lake, eager to step on the top rung of the podium during the medal presentation. So will the Chinese pair of Xue Shen and Hongbo Xhao, and some others.
Nothing is guaranteed in advance in the Olympic Games. Sale and Pelletier are world champions, but they have no Olympic experience. And that will mean a lot. However, the Canadians have one thing going for them -- Canadian tradition. If the Russians rely on it, so does Canada.
It began in the 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where Toronto's Suzanne Morrow and Wally Diestelmeyer broke the ice and won a bronze medal. It continued eight years later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy with Toronto's Frances Dafoe and Norrie Bowden capturing the silver medal.
Still, the best was yet to come.
Indeed, four years later in Squaw Valley, California, Toronto's Barbara Wagner and Bob Paul dug for gold in a rather dramatic fashion. Traditionally, Olympic stress and tension are enough to affect competitors. They don't need the added pressure of technical glitches.
As it happened, Wagner-Paul were on the ice to perform to the best of their ability when, after a few of their moves, the turn-table needle jumped and the Canadian couple had to stop. They returned to their starting position, then came up with a flawless effort and beat the then Soviet Union's brilliant pair of Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, who finished ahead of German beauty Marika Kilius and her partner Hans Jurgen Baumler.
I watched Wagner and Paul skate in Squaw Valley and realized how strong they were mentally. So were Maria and Otto Jelinek, Canada's second pair, who would have deserved the bronze medal for their impressive showing, but were placed fourth by the manipulating judges. Yet, they kept their cool and won the global crown in Prague two years later.
Our next Olympic triumph in pair skating came in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1964 when Debbie Wilkes and Guy Revell won the bronze, but were eventually given the silver because of some irregularities associated with the German pair of Killius-Baumler.
In addition, Canada also has had many world championship titles in pairs skating with the help of Dafoe-Bowden, Wagner-Paul, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, but it's not the same as the Olympics. The pressure is not the same.
The Olympic experience is an intangible advantage.
I will say that Sale and Pelletier stand a good chance in Salt Lake City, but I wouldn't call it a foregone conclusion.
GROSSLY ABBREVIATED:
Our readers and friends responded to our request for help to get over the top of the Variety Village Christmas Fund. They accomplished it actually twice. The first time was when we set our goal at $20,000 and the second time when editor-in-chief Mike Therien issued a challenge whether we could beat the $25,000 mark. Our friends and readers took up the challenge. Peter Widdrington, a longtime friend and retired Labatt executive, called from London and promised to send in $100. IOC member Paul Henderson has sent an e-mail from Florida informing that he and his wife Mary will be contributing $200, while mutual friend and master political strategist Gordon Ashworth chipped in with $50. A number of other readers contributed as much as they could and we went over the top for the second time. Sincere thanks to all who supported this worthy cause. The draw for the prizes will take place in January and we will inform the winners accordingly.
2002 Games Figure Skating Coverage
