Miss Bianca told me today, that she was once on freestyle with Viktor Petrenko. It was an insane freestyle. She said it had thirty-five skaters on the ice.
Then she, Viktor and another skater nearly crashed into each other. She said, Viktor avoided the crash, shrugged and laughed it off.
The Man Has Class
(And Bedroom Eyes)
A couple of years ago, I was taking a dance lesson at Lake Placid when my coach nearly ran us into the Protopopovs. We both stopped with a foot to spare.
"Nice, move," I said as we skated away, "You nearly killed the Protopopovs."
I've written about Famous Former Olympian Now a Coach here before. When I'm on ice he glares at me. Well, maybe that's just his natural expression and he glares at everyone. Whatever. Anyway, I sometimes say "Hello dear" in my little old lady voice, then stay well, well, very well out of the way of his students.
So today, I was waiting for the ice to open, and he walks past me. It was like this:
That's me on the left.
Ten seconds later, as he stepped on the ice, he caught a toepick and nearly went down. The coach skating next to him had to grab his arm to keep him up.
Everyone remembers who came in first in the Battle of the Brians (1988), and many people remember that Rudy Galindo beat the favored Todd Eldredge in the US Championships in 1996. But who came in third? Then there's some people who spend much of their career with bronze medals. Let's talk about third place winners.
Battle of the Brians. All eyes were focused on two talented men skating serious, masculine military music feeling programs. Anyone remember who came in third with a sensitive, balletic program with wonderful timing and flow?
Let me be blunt. As a teenager with the regulation 80s skater big hair, this was not a good looking kid. Put some grownup muscle on him, and voila! I swear, the man does not take a bad picture. And as a skater, he just got better and better.
OMG, those bedroom eyes!
Rudy Galindo in his home court in 1996, skated the performance of a lifetime--and beat the heavily favored Todd Eldredge. Who took third?
The talented and puckish Dan Hollander. Let's face it, isn't he adorable? And that fast footwork! How I miss blazing fast footwork.
He had a successful post competition career in ice shows, and is well known for his comedic routines. If I had more skills (and money), I'd love to have him choreograph a light entertainment routine for me. I'll have to dream on (reminder to self: must get some spins).
Eventually, you find some people spend a career 'bravely clinging to third'. Schwomeyer and Sladky, Moiseeva and Menenkov, Blumberg and Seibert, and Wilson and McCall all had three Third Place standings at Worlds. But one team bested them with FOUR! third place slots and then finally went on to take a second, then first. They may hold the record for being on the podium for any individual skater or team in Worlds.
