International Figure Skating July/August 2019

Even I find it hard to believe that International Figure Skating (IFS) is celebrating its 25th year of publication in 2019. I feel the same way every time IFS celebrates a milestone — how did we get here so fast, I ask myself? The individual magazine covers that grace the cover of this current issue represent many of the Olympic champions from 1994 through to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Putting that project together conjured up many wonderful memories of the past. And as we looked through the IFS photo archives, we realized how many wonderful singles skaters, pairs and ice dance teams have come and gone throughout that time — and wondered where are many of them now and what are they doing? Those questions formed the basis of…

One year later, Patrick Chan has no regrets about his decision to retire from competitive figure skating. But retirement has not meant the 28-year-old is kicking back in a rocking chair, putting his feet up and taking it easy. If anything, Chan has been busier than ever the last 12 months. It has been 16 months since he last stepped onto competitive ice, but, for the most part, Canada’s Patrick Chan is looking forward not back. Though the change of lifestyle can be daunting for many, Chan appears to be managing the transition from elite-level athlete to his new life rather well. He does admit, however, that there are still occasional brief moments when he feels the tug to his skating past. What has helped with his transition is the…

One year ago, Anjelika Krylova, the two-time World ice dance champion (1998-1999) and the 1998 Olympic silver medalist with Oleg Ovsyannikov, returned to her Russian homeland after living and working for 24 years in the U.S. Krylova, who moved to Moscow with her children Stella, 14, and Anthony, 12, wanted to start a new skating school. Together with colleague Oleg Volkov, she achieved that goal and is now based at the Megasport Sport Palace where she is coaching — among others — the 2019 Winter Universiade champions Betina Popova and Sergey Mozgov. “The first year went very well, I think. It was productive,” said Krylova, 45. “I tried to get into the Russian way and I think I did. The system is very difficult and it is different from the…

Tom Collins, the man behind Champions on Ice (COI), the longest-running skating tour in North American history, was honored at a reunion in May. An elite group of skaters celebrated the beloved tour producer — who did so much for so many in the years he ran the tour (1975-2007) — at Nolo’s Kitchen, a Minneapolis restaurant co-owned by his son Marty. The concept of the reunion was simple: invite all the former skaters from the tour and just have a party. Many made the trek to celebrate Collins, including Katarina Witt who came from Germany and Philippe Candeloro from France. Other COI alumni included Michael Weiss, Isabelle Brasseur, Lloyd Eisler, Rocky Marval, Caryn Kadavy, Surya Bonaly, Jerod Swallow and Elizabeth Punsalan. Those who could not attend sent photos and…

He knew it was time for a change after not qualifying for a spot on the 2018 U.S. Olympic team, following a sixth-place finish at nationals in San Jose, California. Jason Brown also knew he wanted to continue competing for another four years and if he really wanted to make a run at it, a new training environment was necessary heading into the next quadrennial. “I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing for another four years. So that was the original thought — but where, I didn’t know,” said Brown, who spent five years training in Monument, Colorado, with longtime coach Kori Ade. He tested a number of options but settled on the Toronto Cricket Club — and two coaches — Tracy Wilson and Brian Orser — who appreciated…

The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame named its 2019 honor list in April. This year’s inductees all hail from regions outside North America. Two ice dance teams — one from Russia, the other from the former Czechoslovakia — a singles skater from Slovakia and a Russian coach are being honored for their personal accomplishments and their contributions to the sport. QUANTUM LEAP FOR ICE DANCE When Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin danced away with the 1988 Olympic title their triumph was the culmination of 11 years of hard work. Legendary Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova had worked with Bukin since his late teens, and in 1977 decided to pair him with Bestemianova, a singles skater. The opportunity to try ice dance was a blessing for Bestemianova whose former coach considered…