Oleg and Lyudmila Protopopov to be honored by Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- The Village of Lake Placid, N.Y. and the Skating Club of Lake Placid will celebrate the careers and achievements of pairs figure skating icons Lyudmila and Oleg Protopopov during a special figure skating show, Saturday, September 3, to be held in the Olympic Center’s 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena. (Watch Protopopovs skate to Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun here)

Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov (at right) are beloved around the world and are best known for their romance and artistry on the ice. Their beauty of line and perfection of unity, along with their harmony with the music, have often been emulated by many pairs’ teams but duplicated by few. Many pairs innovations have been attributed directly to them including but not limited to the lovely “death spiral” which they feel should be more aptly named the “cosmic” spiral.

The Protopopovs were six-time USSR National Champions, 1965, 1966 1967 & 1968 World and European Champions and two-time Olympic Champions in 1964 & 1968. Additionally, after retiring from eligible competition, they went on to become four-time World Professional Champions. In 1979 Oleg and Lyudmila defected from the then Soviet Union to seek asylum in Switzerland, which is now their winter home and where they hold citizenship. Lake Placid holds the happy distinction to be the summer home of the Protopopovs as well as their training center.

The Saturday night show is expected to bring several figure skating stars to Lake Placid to honor the Protopopovs, including Richard “Dick” Button. Before becoming the sport’s most recognizable analyst, Button skated to two Olympic titles and is credited as the first skater to ever land the double-axel. Button successfully landed the jump during the 1948 Winter Olympics.

The event will also feature 1984 Olympic Bronze medalists and World competitor in pairs from the former USSR Larisa Selezneva & Oleg Markarov, 1980 Olympic ice dance competitor and 3-time Canadian ice dance Champion Lorna Wighton-Aldridge and 2007 Swiss Ice Dance Champion David De Fazio. These skaters represent the past and present of the Protopopovs. Oleg & Larisa, like the Protpopovs, represented the former Soviet Union in their international career, where as David, along with his former partner Nora von Bergen, represented Switzerland, the country that Ludmilla and Oleg now call home. 

Local village and town officials will also present the pair with a joint proclamation from the Village of Lake Placid and the Town of North Elba, along with the esteemed Key to the Village of Lake Placid. In addition to a USFS presentation, New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) president/CEO Ted Blazer will present and honor the couple with an Olympic Regional Development Authority Executive Office Citation commending the skaters on their excellence and dedication to building upon such a wonderful sporting tradition throughout the years. 

The event begins at 7 p.m. Admission for adults will be $10 and $8 for junior and seniors. All proceeds from this event to benefit the Skating Club of Lake Placid (SCLP).

-- About ORDA --
Established in 1982, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) was created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid. ORDA operates Whiteface and Gore Mountain ski areas; the Olympic Sports Complex at Mt. Van Hoevenberg; the Olympic Speed Skating Oval, Olympic Jumping Complex and Olympic arena. As host to international and national championships, the Authority has brought millions of athletes, spectator and participants to the region, resulting in significant economic development. 

Michael Weiss on the state of men's figure skating (video)

I caught up with Michael Weiss, three-time US national champion and two-time World bronze medalist, at Rockefeller Rink in NYC in late January. Michael was there to skate an ensemble number with some of the cast members from Stars On Ice, including Evan Lysacek, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. We chatted about the state of men's figure skating as well as his long-running participation in Stars On Ice. Michael has been keeping busy with his own projects, including the Michael Weiss Foundation, which awards funds to up-and-coming skaters in need of financial assistance (Mirai Nagasu and 2011 US silver medalist Richard Dornbush are past recipients) and guest-starring in various skating specials. Can't wait to catch the entire show when the tour hits East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 2! (see tour schedule here)

Ekaterina Gordeeva joins 25th anniversary tour of Stars On Ice (video)

Here's an update on one of my favorite skaters -- Ekaterina "Katia" Gordeeva, who was at Rockefeller Center Skating Rink promoting the 25th anniversary tour of Stars On Ice. After winning two Olympic pairs titles in 1988 and 1994, she and partner/husband Sergei Grinkov continued their professional touring before Sergei died of a massive heart attack in 1995 at age 28. Katia then raised their daughter Daria as a single mom, began performing as a solo artist, and in 2002, married Ilia Kulik, 1998 Olympic men's figure skating champion. Katia and Ilia have a daughter Liza who is nine. Katia said that Daria is now applying to colleges(!) and she is enjoying every moment of familytime since she'll likely go away for college. Doesn't time fly? Katia will turn 40 in May but watching her skate transports you to the 1990s all over again - she is a timeless skater and an icon in the skating community. 

Watch Scott Hamilton's skating special on Thanksgiving Day

How fitting that Scott Hamilton's first television skating special since being diagnosed with non-malignant brain cancer five years ago will air on Thanksgiving Day. I say "fitting" because in every interview and even in his book The Great Eight, Scott is always thankful for everything that has happened to him. Isn't that hard? I mean, the man fought testicular cancer in 1997, brain cancer in 2004 and yet, he thanks God for all that has happened. I think I saw in an interview that he worried most about his wife and two boys (who are now six and two years old) during these times. So I will definitely be tuning in to FOX this Thursday, starting at 4 p.m. EST to watch Scott and fellow skaters Dorothy Hamill (who's also had her own battle with breast cancer), Nancy Kerrigan, Johnny Weir, Rachael Flatt and Brandon Mroz celebrate all the cancer fighters and survivors out there.

The show is called Kaleidoscope and was created to help raise awareness of the key issues surrounding women and cancer. The skaters will be joined by Olivia Newton-John, herself a breast cancer survivor, David Foster and American Idols Katherine McPhee and David Archuleta. Scott was promoting the special last Thursday on the Today show and also performed live at Rockefeller Rink. Above is his skate to Everything Old Is New Again (can you believe this is Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman singing!?!) and he's still skating great at 51 years young. Oh! And the answer to the mystery question from my last Scott Hamilton post is.....Barack Obama.

(Photo below: Scott and U.S. pairs champion JoJo Starbuck at Rockefeller Rink after his skate. JoJo teaches a class at the rink and was on hand to support Scott during his first live performance in several years.)

Johnny Weir debuts new short program for 2009-2010 season

Johnny Weir debuted his new short program yesterday at the 8th Annual Stars, Stripes and Skates Icetravaganza in Danbury, Connecticut. The event was to benefit The Heritage Foundation of 9/11, which promotes patriotism, heroism and volunteerism as a way to honor the lives lost on 9/11. Johnny skated to I Love You, I Hate You, composed by Argentinian pianist Raul di Blasio. The number was also choreographed by his new choreographer, Canadian David Wilson, which is a departure from Johnny's previous "I must have Russian choreographers" mantra. I thought the program was good. I loved the costume and the colors (as usual), but the program itself didn't grab me as some of his other numbers. I don't know if it's still being tweaked, if he was tired (he was at the Danbury Arena Rink the entire day), if the reality show crew following him around was a distraction, or maybe it's as simple as -- I liked the program, I didn't love the program.

By the way, the crew filming his reality series Be Good Johnny Weir (beginning January 4, 2010 on the Sundance Channel) was filming Johnny being interviewed by me. It was kind of surreal since I'm used to just seeing my lone video partner doing it all. It actually made me nervous to be surrounded by an additional cameraman, a soundman, an assistant to the directors, the directors, and god knows who else. It also made me appreciate all that my chief cook and bottle washer Joe does when we produce video stories.