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Tag: ice skating

  • Tanith Belbin And Ice Skater Boyfriend Charlie White Get Engaged In Hawaii

    Olympic gold medalist and Dancing with the Stars alum Charlie White, 26, is finally engaged to girlfriend of five years, ice dancer Tanith Belbin, 29.

    White posted a picture on Instagram on Monday with the caption “Couldn’t ask for a more beautiful setting for the best time in our life! Hashtag she said yes!!!” White popped the question while they were in Hawaii for a vacation.

    In the photo Tanith can be seen wearing a dazzling new diamond engagement ring on her finger.

    White has been busy the past year. He and his professional dancing partner, Meryl Davis, who also competed and won Dancing with the Stars, won the gold medal in ice dancing at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Many have speculated that White and Davis are together, but Davis has also been linked to her Dancing with the Stars partner, Maks Chmerkovskiy. Davis congratulated her dancing partner on Twitter, “Congrats to these two! Beautiful girl, beautiful (ring). Good work @CharlieaWhite.”

    According to Belbin, she does not mind that people assume White and Davis are together. In March, White said in an interview that Belbin gets it. “She won the silver medal in 2006 with her partner Ben Agosto, and people were always like, ‘Are you guys dating?’ It’s just something you get as dancers. Her understanding makes my life so much easier.” Two weeks ago, White thanked his girlfriend and their puppy and wrote, “The past 6 months have been the craziest of my life and I can honestly say there’s no way I would have survived without these two. 5 years together, but it only feels like 5 days.”

    The news of White and Belbin’s engagement stole the spotlight from Davis and Chmerkovskiy, even if just for a bit. Rumors about Davis and Chmerkovskiy dating started to emerge during the last season of Dancing with the Stars, and even became more widespread when the season ended. With the engagement news, fans on Twitter congratulated the couple, while some were disappointed that White is engaged to Belbin and not Davis. One user wrote, “possibly the most devastating news this morning is charlie white is engaged to not meryl davis.”

    Image via Charlie White, Instagram

  • Ashley Wagner Says “You Can’t Just Be A Zombie”

    Twenty-two-year-old U.S. figure skater Ashley Wagner is a world-reknown athlete who knows how to thrill and entice a crowd. The talented skater coins herself as “Figure skater. Two-time US National Champion. Ice cream enthusiast” on her Twitter account. Wagner recently explained the importance of maintaining a unique balance in order to become a champion capable of performing memorable ice-skating routines. In order to captivate an audience, a skater must adhere to technical knowledge and guidelines as well as showcasing an individual personality. Wagner understands this balance all too well.

    In a recent interview Wagner shared her thoughts on figure skating. “It is difficult because in a way to put on a performance you have to be emotional, you can’t just be a zombie out there or it will come across that way. It is about finding that happy medium of emoting enough so that the audience can really enjoy your performance and staying technical enough so that you can really just get the job done. The fighting spirit comes out in the pieces of music that I choose. I like to choose stronger pieces of music and honestly I like to become somewhat of a vicious character in my program. These characters that I take on fight for what they want and that’s really what I identify with,” she said.

    Though the Olympics can bring out the competitive nature in athletes, Wagner has learned that the true success of any athlete is achieved when challenging oneself. “In this crazy, crazy world of figure skating it is easy to focus on a name or a target, but when you are going after someone it really only holds you back from what you are capable of yourself. I am focusing on challenging myself and making myself better. I want to put out a program that will do the fighting for me.”

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Olga Graf, Russian Speed Skater, Nearly Flashes Crowd After Winning the Bronze

    Speed skater Olga Graf won Russia its first medal of the 2014 Olympic Games on Sunday. In a surprising win, she took the bronze medal in the women’s 3000 meter event at Adler Arena.

    Her moment of triumph almost ended in embarrassment though, when – following her cool-down lap – an ecstatic Graf unzipped her skin-tight racing suit right down to her belly button, forgetting that she was wearing nothing underneath.

    “I totally forgot,” Graf admitted through a translator. “We have very good suits and they are very tight. … You just want to breathe and you want to take off your suit.”

    She went on to say “Only afterward did I realize that maybe this video will appear on YouTube. But I don’t think it will be so bad.”

    And sure enough, video footage abounds on YouTube.

    Despite her wardrobe malfunction close call, Graf made her home country proud.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin offered words of praise: “You brought an unforgettable moment of triumph and utter joy to millions of fans by taking the first medal for our team,” he said.

    Graf’s time in the 3000 meter event was 4:03.47. Dutch speed skating legend Ireen Wust took the gold with a time of 4:00.34 and Martina Sablikova took the silver for the Czech Republic with a time of 4:01.95.

    It was Wust’s third straight Olympic gold medal. She previously won the gold in Vancouver (1500 meters) and Turin (3000 meters.)

    “I have won three times in a row, I can’t believe it,” said Wust. “It is unbelievable and it is also a big relief. I have never felt this much pressure. I was not the only one who wanted to win, 17 million Dutchies wanted the same.”

    Sablikova, who specializes in longer distances such as the 3000 meters and who won gold for the distance in Vancouver four years ago, was favored to take the top spot in Sochi.

    Germany’s Claudia Pechstein was expected to be a medal contender in the 3000 meter event. It would have been her tenth Olympic medal. She ended up in fourth place with a time of 4:05.26.

    Her much talked about fashion blunder aside, Graf’s best surprise of the Sochi games was edging Pechstein out of the top three and claiming the host country’s first medal of the 2014 games, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

    “I didn’t expect such support from the audience,” Graf said. “I want to thank them.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Gracie Gold Wins First U.S. Skating Championship

    On Saturday night, 18-year-old Gracie Gold won her first title in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

    Following in second place was 15-year-old Polina Edmunds and third was Mirai Nagasuf, a previous Olympian in 2010.

    Former two-time titleholder, Ashley Wagner, gave her titled away by falling twice during her performance, landing her in fourth place.  Ironically, in 2013 Gold was second to Wagner but has now improved immensely.

    Although Saturday wasn’t Gold’s best number, she was more than confident in taking the winning spot.

    “The nerves are something I’ve battled with and have let get in my head, but tonight I was strangely calm,” Gold told ESPN.

    Last year, Gold made one of the best decisions of her life. She moved to California from Illinois in September to start fresh training with a brand new coach.

    In a statement by Gold’s coach, Frank Carroll, he was happy to see his protégé overcome her slip-ups on the ice:

    “What made me happiest was to see her miss the [triple] flip a little bit. She didn’t go down, which she’s worked hard on. And then to go out and skate perfectly after that … I thought her performance was brilliant tonight, and I was so happy to see her overcome that little tiny flaw and not go bonkers.”

    Gold’s night ended very well with an outstanding score of 211.69 points.

    Now she has created her own winning headline: “Grace Gets Gold.”

    Decisions are still being considered by officials in regards to which three women will be heading to the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

    The officials plan to make their announcement Sunday. Looks like Gold will be in their top picks of potential candidates to bring back a gold for the U.S. Olympic team.

    Here is an interview with Gold about the skating trials that took place in Boston on Wednesday 8th:

    Image via Youtube

  • Nancy Kerrigan – Remembering Her Assault

    It was on this day 20 years ago that Nancy Kerrigan’s life and skating career were changed forever. Nancy was leaving a practice session at the rink when she was assaulted by rival, Tonya Harding’s ex husband’s friend. Kerrigan had been preparing for the national championships and Winter Olympics prior to the assault.

    The man hit Kerrigan in the knee with a police baton, injuring her and preventing her from competing at her normal level. Tonya Harding ended up winning the national championships and claimed that she had no knowledge of the attack and was not involved in her ex’s plans to injure Kerrigan.

    Both Kerrigan and Harding went on to compete in the Winter Olympics. Although Kerrigan’s knee was not completely healed and still bruised, she ended up taking home a silver medal. Harding took home an unimpressive eighth place and a ruined reputation. After the excitement of the Olympics ended, Harding continued to spiral downward and lost most of her fans as a result of the attack.

    To this day, many people think of Tonya Harding as a jealous monster who hired someone to take out her competition. Kerrigan however, says that she tries to put the assault behind her.

    “I really don’t look back unless someone asks me to look back, and then I have to,” Kerrigan said. “Otherwise, why would I? I was attacked.”

    Harding also prefers not to look back on the past. “It was 20 years ago and I don’t remember lots and lots of it,” Harding said about the incident. “I know it was a horrible time for everyone involved. It was a bad streak, going through all the crud, and I was able to rise above it. I think Nancy and I have good lives now.”

    In the end, Harding pleaded guilty to felony hindering of the prosecution and was ordered to pay $160,000 in fines. She also lost her title and was banned from women’s figure skating.

    Kerrigan now lives in Boston with her husband and kids and has put the 1994 attack far behind her.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.