Calgary

I'm in the olympic skating spirit.

A, because Sao Paulo was just chosen last week as the site for the 2016 summer olympics.

B, because my awesome friend Gillian gave me her size 9 figure skates last week.

A good week for the olympics and for skating, don't ya think? I mean, now that I'm back on ice and all.

I believe we last left off, in our olympic pre-game review, at 1988 (by "believe" I mean "know" because I've been pumped ever since about getting to this pair).

The games were held in Calgary, Canada. Side note (and/or useless piece of information): Calgary put in a bid to host the 2010 Olympics, but Vancouver won the bid as the nation's representative and, ultimately as the international host. Now you know.

There's a big, long story with Gordeeva and Grinkov that is the reason I like them so (because I do so love a good biography), but in 1988 they were just two russian kids. This was their first olympic try, where everyone expected them to simply put their feet in and test the waters. Never mind that they were the two time world champions (86 and 87) at the time.

She was 16, barely five feet tall and 90 pounds.

He turned 21 during the olympic festivities, stood at five feet, ten inches tall and weighed 160 pounds.

Ekaterina attributes their cohesion to an accident that happened in mid-November before the February olympics. During a training session, practicing a star lift, Sergei tripped on a rut in the ice and dropped Ekaterina, leading to a major concussion and six days in the hospital for her. She says, "After getting out of the hospital, it was another week before I was allowed on the ice, and Sergei continued to visit me at home every day. When, at last, I could skate again, I immediately noticed a change in the way he was holding me. He was holding me tighter, as if he didn't want to give me a chance to touch the ice. It was like he grew up during this period when we didn't skate. I felt more secure. Something had happened in those two weeks, and even I -- so focused on skating, so serious about training and life -- realized that his thoughts for me had changed. Before we had been like two skaters. After that, we were a pair."

Apparently.

Together, still with a sibling sort of relationship and some crazy russian training, they were this tiny powerhouse. At Calgary they skated what is considered to be one of the cleanest long programs of Olympic history.

That night, Ekaterina writes in her book, "Elena and Oleg, who won the silver medal, went out with Sergei, leaving me behind. I was left to enjoy my ice cream by myself, but as it turned out, even that fell through. After waiting all those days, when I went to the game room to create a fabulous sundae, I found they had closed the soda fountain for good (she had been looking forward to this since they got to the olympic site, but wouldn't have the sweets before their performances). I was so angry that I went to the regular cafeteria and took three bowl

s of ice cream, but it wasn't the same. It's mind boggling that I should have been bored after winning an Olympic gold medal. But understandable, too, since I'd been left behind and had no one with whom I could share my success."

"What drives me crazy now, when I look back on Calgary, is that I don't remember Sergei from out first Olympics at all. I can't even picture him there, probably because I was so wrapped up in the competition I didn't even look at him. I don't remember if we took a walk together before skating our free program, which we usually did. Or, if we did, where we walked. Or what, if anything, we talked about. I just don't remember and it makes me angry at myself."

Frustration over not having fully soaked up the experience would bring the couple back some years later (get excited). Not before some significant changes would happen in their lives. But that's a story for 1994.

As for 2010, here are some hopefuls.

Thing is, they better hope good.

Bryce Davison and Jessica Dube ranked 7th this year at the world championships, which isn't where you like to be going into an olympic year, I would imagine. Still, they are getting stronger and have a good chance of representing Canada in Vancouver, given that they did win the gold at the canadian championships this year.

This video is from last years (2008) World Championships, where they won the bronze medal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWD2L1qRSLo

(you have to copy and paste this into the browser bar)

And because everyone loves a good skating accident (from which people recover, of course), this is a video from the 2007 Four Continents Championships when Bryce ran into Jessica during their side by side camel spins.

And finally, because everyone loves a good gala performance probably more than they love a good accident, here is the gala following Dube and Davison's gold at this years canadian championships.

I don't even know why I said finally earlier because I have yet to answer the all important question: are they or aren't they a couple? After some intense google research the answer is that I can't even know. There's nothing saying specifically that they aren't, and there are a few articles that hint at a relationship. Guess we'll find out come olympic season. Wish them luck.

Did you miss the first two installations of our Olympic pre-game? Here you go!

1980

1984