THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603150093
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
TO BE 30 in the elegant sport of figure skating is to be old, Katarina Witt was saying in Norfolk one day not long ago over a plate of freshly made pasta.
Thirty. 3-0. By that age, skaters years ago were all washed up.
They won their gold medals, took their bows and faded away long before they reached their 30s, except for one or two who skated on with the Ice Capades or Holiday on Ice.
Sonja Henie made the transition from Olympic skater to movie star on skates late in her 20s. But who else did?
Today, the world-class skaters do not fade away in their 30s when the Olympics and other championships are behind them. Instead, they fade into our living rooms.
Today the world can't get enough of 30-year-old Witt in person or on television.
Long after they heard their national anthems played in triumph at the Olympics, Witt, Oksana Baiul, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Nancy Kerrigan, Kristi Yamaguchi and Dorothy Hamill skate on - on television.
Millions of viewers, totally ignorant of figure skating until a thug under the spell of Toyna Harding nearly crippled Kerrigan in 1994, have embraced TV's ice age. No sport except pro football has better ratings in prime time than figure skating.
And because the numbers are so high, hardly a week goes by without figure skating on television. In the week ahead, there are four skating specials on TV including ``Ice Princess,'' starring Witt, on Home Box Office Sunday at 7 p.m.
``Perhaps it was an accident that so many people became interested in figure skating. Perhaps the interest was created by Nancy and Tonya. Maybe the people watched only because of Nancy and Tonya. But it is obvious they liked what they saw, because so many continue to watch today,'' said Witt, who appeared in Norfolk with Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton and other stars during the 55-city tour of Stars on Ice.
The appeal of figure skating as TV spectacular is no mystery, said Witt, who was born 30 Decembers ago in Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany. ``You have here a sport which is not violent and beautiful to watch. There is rivalry and competition, and at the same time there is music, glamour, beauty and grace.''
Winning the gold medal at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, she got the best of American skaters both times. She has been told that because of her looks, grace, skill, charisma and sex appeal, many Americans were rooting for her against their countrywomen.
``I am pleased to say that I am very much in their hearts,'' she said of the Americans.
Now comes ``Ice Princess'' on HBO - another opportunity for her American fans to see Witt at her sparkling best. The princess Ella (Witt) tries to win the prince (Christopher Barker) over two sisters who have the same idea. But can it be any better than her 1990 HBO debut in ``Carmen on Ice``?
Earlier on Sunday, Hamill, Kerrigan and Yamaguchi appear on ABC at 5 in ``A Passion to Play.'' On Thursday, the world championship of figure skating will be on ESPN and ABC.
You have to go back to early October to find a weekly TV schedule without figure skating on it.
``Where once there were few opportunities for professional skaters, today there are overwhelming opportunities,'' Witt said. ``Skaters no longer have to quit early in their careers because there are no possibilities for them.''
And so Witt skates on.
Skaters of her stature earn millions. She's a conglomorate, producing TV shows and films. There is a Katarina Witt line of jewelry.
And there is Stars on Ice - 55 cities in four months, which means living out of three suitcases, going it alone on the road.
``I am completely tired of it,'' she said. But she will not quit. Not yet. Witt wants to continue to be part of the figure skating boom.
Might Witt again skate in the Olympics? No, she said. ``That chapter in my life is closed.''
She skated in the 1994 Olympics at Lillehammer in the wonderful ``Where Have All the Flowers Gone?'' tribute to the people of Sarajevo. That was just for the joy of it. She was a young girl when she skated for the Communist regime in East Germany in the 1980s.
There was so much pressure to win, she said. Fun? Hardly. Work? Yes.
``I didn't feel the true spirit of the Olympics until I skated in 1994,'' Witt said. ``I did not come back to win a medal. I came back for the pure joy of it. I was there with friends and family. It was a joy.''
And today, she skates on for the joy of it, the money, the independence that comes with wealth. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by HBO
Katarina Witt and Christopher Barker star in "Ice Princess"
by CNB