Ice Skating
One charismatic couple – Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean – will always be remembered for their outstanding performance when they danced on ice to Ravel’s “Boléro” at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984.
It was Valentine’s Day, so the romantic routine couldn’t have been more apt, and it wasn’t only the judges in Yugoslavia who were mesmerised.
Back in the UK, around 24 million people were glued to their TV sets (a ratings record) and cheered as the skating duo were awarded maximum points.
The pair tried to repeat their success at the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994, but pushed the rules with a controversial assisted lift, so had to settle for bronze.
Since 2006, Torvill and Dean have been judges themselves, on ITV’s “Dancing On Ice”. Both from Nottingham, where they met as teenagers, they’ve now worked together for over 45 years.
Two other names are synonymous with great skating achievements – John Curry and Robin Cousins.
Curry, a gold medallist at the Innsbruck 1976 Winter Olympics, was responsible for turning ice skating from a sport into an art form, and his love for ballet and modern dance were evident in his legendary creative performances.
Bristol-born Cousins won his first figure-skating national title aged just twelve, and 10 years later he proudly wore a gold medal at Lake Placid, USA, despite beginning a nearflawless programme with a slight slip.
He slipped again as he eagerly climbed on to the winner’s podium. A regular commentator for BBC Sport, a former judge on “Dancing On Ice” and a star of the West End stage, Cousins became President of British Ice Skating in May 2021.
Another perhaps less well-known British figure skater also returned home with a gold medal.
Jeannette Altwegg had been a young tennis champion competing at Wimbledon, but at eighteen she swapped the court for the ice rink.
Her decision paid off at the 1952 Oslo Games when judges marked her highly for beauty of style and musical interpretation.
A year later, Altwegg turned down £2,000 a week to turn professional. Instead she went to Switzerland to care for refugee and orphaned children.