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Fitting finale Canadian duo end skating career on a highPosted: Saturday March 29, 2003 6:14 AMWASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz can finally live the storybook ending they had cherished for so long. The Canadian duo captured the ice dance event at the world figure skating championships on Friday, clinching the gold medal that had eluded them for more than a decade. Their narrow victory over defending champions Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh of Russian placed an exclamation point at the end of their remarkable careers, and the two ice dancers can now exit the competitive arena with "no regrets." In the process, they made Canadian figure skating history. Twice. Their 10 national titles are the most won by any Canadian figure skater in any discipline and, for the first time since ice dance was introduced to the world championships in 1952, they have managed to bring gold home to Canada. When the final notes of Sarah Brightman's rendition of Adagio of the 21st Century sounded on Friday night, the 31-year-old Kraatz paused to reflect on his career. Lying on his back at center ice, he replayed every single one of their 12 seasons in his mind, particularly focusing on the number of near-misses. "We were so close last year (at worlds), but we didn't win, so I just went through all the programs we had done (in my mind) and savored that moment because that's what it's all about," he said. Bowing out While their skating has often been described as brilliant and revolutionary, the Canadians were second behind the Russians going into the free dance and seemed set to bow out having never completely won over their critics or claimed a major title. They were 10th at the 1994 Olympics, fourth at the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games and had to settle for bronze four times and a silver twice at previous world championships. When he got back to his feet from the ice, he and Bourne embraced. She whispered a thank you. "This has been such a great ride skating with Victor for 12 years," she said, her voice quivering and tears pooling in her eyes. "We won the (world) bronze, the silver and now we won the gold. No one knew if this would actually happen, but it did. "I'm so excited. I don't think it's totally hit yet. It's a wonderful feeling." Bourne and Kraatz's initial goal was an Olympic medal at last year's Salt Lake City Games. But they had to settle for fourth there, just as they did four years earlier in Nagano before grabbing silver at the world championship a month later. Confident the elusive gold was finally within their grasp, Kraatz persuaded his partner to postpone their retirement and bid for the world title one last time. One more "I wanted to do one more season because I like to win... I guess you could say I pressured Shae to go one more year, " said the German-born Kraatz, who moved to Canada as a teenager. Bourne, now 27, was his second Canadian partner. "Deep down, I really wanted to win, too," Bourne conceded. "We skated the best we could. When the marks came up, it was like the cherry on the top." A few years ago, Kraatz coined the expression "athletic art" to describe their unique style and their signature hydroblading technique is now part of the lexicon for all disciplines. That, along with their never-say-die approach, will be their legacy. "We had a lot of down times, but that's what pushed us," Bourne said. Bourne and Kraatz have no qualms about moving into the professional ranks to begin the second phase of their on-ice partnership. The duo have signed to tour with Champions on Ice in the United States later this year, but also hope to guest star in various Canadian shows. "I think you have to know when to leave," Kraatz said simply.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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