Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290082
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Neither of the petite 23-year-olds began her career with figure-skating aspirations.
Yamaguchi had in mind a career as an Ice Capades kick-line skater, but she was told she was too short for the job.
And back when Gordeeva started out she didn't even like skating.
"I think I was 11 or 10 years old when I started liking it," said the woman who is half of a Russian pair-skating team with her husband, Sergei Grinkov.
But that was a long time ago for both skaters, and much has changed since, they said in recent telephone interviews.
Now, they're part of a team of professional figure skaters who are headlining the 48-city Discover Card Stars On Ice tour, which will be at the Roanoke Civic Center on Friday.
The show's cast includes such skating phenomenons as two-time Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt and Stars On Ice co-founder and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton.
Yamaguchi, who as a child wore corrective casts for her feet, never thought she'd be in the company of such skating greats, nor did she believe she'd ever win a gold medal.
"I dreamed of it, but you never know how lucky you're going to be," she said. So she kept her goals small, and took it one step at a time, until the Albertville gold was within her reach.
"In Albertville everything just came together for me. I thought about going back [in the 1994 Olympics], but it wouldn't have done anything more for me. I've accomplished all that I wanted to," she said.
That, however, doesn't rule out a try for a pairs-skating gold in 1998, which she's still considering.
But for now she's satisfied with the show life.
"It's great skating with such talented skaters," Yamaguchi said. "We live for the time we're out there, once the lights go on and the music starts, we're in our own world. The crowd gets us going."
But the professional circuit isn't all applause and roses. It's also hard work.
As an amateur skater, Yamaguchi had four or five competitions a year. Now, she might do four competitions in a month. And then there's the travel.
Stars On Ice keeps her on the road five months out of the year, bouncing from one hotel to another. "Just being away from my family and friends is hard. I'm just so out of touch with things," she said.
The travel is especially grueling for Gordeeva and Grinkov, who have a 4-year-old daughter.
Gordeeva's mother keeps Daria in the family's Connecticut home, occasionally bringing her to see her parents perform. Still, Gordeeva and Grinkov wind up spending weeks away from their little girl.
"It's hard to combine this skating and being a mother to Daria," she said.
But Gordeeva admits things would be more difficult if she were still an amateur skater. Back then there were daily three-hour practices. Now, she and her husband only practice for about 45 minutes a day.
And the programs they skate are easier.
"In [amateur] pair skating you have to have exact elements to get a good score, but in professional life you can be more artistic," she said.
In amateur competition, Yamaguchi averaged about seven triple jumps a performance. For Stars On Ice, she does five a night. "The content is still there," Yamaguchi said adamantly.
And for Gordeeva, so are the butterflies.
"Each time I go on the ice I'm nervous because if you're not nervous you don't care about what you're doing," she said.
But those nightly jitters are nothing compared to the pressure she endured at the 1994 Olympics. She and Grinkov had ended their amateur days in 1990, after clinching the gold in 1988.
After two seasons with Stars on Ice and other professional venues, the couple returned to amateur skating in 1992.
"We turned pro very soon. We decided to try to go back again," she said.
It was a return the whole world was watching.
"In 1988 we just come to enjoy and skate, but in 1994 everyone was waiting for good skating from the gold pair. It was harder Olympics," Gordeeva said.
And the "gold pair" didn't disappoint. They skated their way to gold in Lillehammer, and have since turned pro - again. And they've rejoined the cast of Stars On Ice.
"We decided this because we have baby and the money. There's lots of work now in professional world," said Gordeeva.
The couple plans to finish out this year with Stars On Ice, but after that Gordeeva isn't sure what the future will bring.
"We never make big plans, we're just happy with the work we have, and we're hoping we're going to do more shows," she said.
As for Yamaguchi, she plans to continue with Stars On Ice for another five or six years, and then perhaps return to college for a career in broadcast journalism and eventually marriage and a family.
"I know I won't be doing this forever, and for now I just consider myself being one of the luckiest skaters around to make a living doing what I love," Yamaguchi said.
``Stars on Ice'': Friday, 7:30 p.m., Roanoke Civic Center. Tickets, $20-$30, are available at the box office (981-1201), through TicketMaster locations, or through charge-by-phone (343-8100). One dollar from each ticket purchased goes to the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening diseases.
by CNB