"I'll take your breath away..." (please excuse my ramble!)
Does anyone know where Speedy is? I just realized I never rubbed it in his face that I'm engaged and now he really can't have me. *smiles*
Shae got me thinking about the Olympics, which got me thinking about last season. So...
It all kind of started at the 2001 Worlds, when Gwendal and I...lost...our World title. To Fusar-Poli and Mar-fall-io. Many people thought we should have won, including us. And suddenly the former favorites for Salt Lake were being looked at closely again. "Could they win the Olympics? Look at how well F-P/M did this season, the season before the Olympic year, could mean trouble for A/P!" It was a really disappointing loss. It's the thing people think about when they look forward to the next season. We both knew that this would be our last season as amateurs, so we dedicated ourselves to training. 2001 was a disappointing year (lost basically all the titles we got in 2000) and we didn't want that to happen in an Olympic year. Then the reporters just started to ask a lot of questions, causing unneeded stress. They find you wherever you are, ask you questions, and tell you to smile. They tell you to smile, but it comes out something like this. (Just shoot me already!) They tell you to smile, but what you're really saying through those teeth is "Bite me!"
So we did some shows and tours. We did the Masters Miko, which is always fun. Then we did the French Team Tour. And I needed a change. So I went for drastic. Meaning, gone were the red curls...and I went blonde. Eek, it was so not me, I am never going to do THAT again! I think I did it because I was tired of the image that fans had of me, that I HAD to be a redhead. But I soon discovered that the reason they had that view was because it just was--me! the blonde me didn't last too long. Pretty soon I was a redhead again, but I left my hair straight.
Then, back to training. We totally dedicated ourselves. By the time it was time to debut our programs, we were ready to win. Our compulsories were strong, we had the most difficult freedance, and we had a flamenco/tango that could give you a swift kick in the butt. Ohhhh, yeah. We were ready.
We chose a free program that not everyone liked. Some people thought it was inappropriate. Well, screw them. We used Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's speech in our program because we wanted a tribute to America. We dedicated that program to those lives lost on September 11th. People didn't understand. They thought we were playing to the judges. Guess what. There was NO AMERICAN JUDGE on the panel in Salt Lake, dearies. It wouldn't have mattered if we had done it to cater to an American judge, which we didn't.
So...Trophee Lalique. We came. We saw. We skated. And ultimately, we conquered. And were glad to share the podium with Shae and Vic and Rita and Povi:) And these hugs happened. Just some of those moments where you keep on denying your feelings, but you still file away these moments because they are special. Little things like that happened throughout the season, but I think I attributed them to the fact that this was going to be our last season skating together, period. I go back to Russia, and he'd stay in France. That's the way things were going to be...but, not anymore as you can see!
It was a great season. Very, very difficult, but great. We won everything we entered this season, except for the freedance at the Grand Prix final,[I think that's all they lost!] which cost us the title. (it went to Shae and Vic--great program, lots of fun!:D) By the way, this is a funny picture of me colliding with Shae. You can see Vic and Gwendal trying to stop us...LOL!
And then there was those Olympics. Well. I'm just going to give you a link for my thoughts on Salt Lake+the "scandal". here. So many emotions at the end of that program...our final competitive freedance, skated error-free. Normally I'm one to keep my emotions hidden, but on that night, there was no way. We just...hugged, and he dried my tears...I think that's when I realized there was something more there, for real. I just didn't mention it. (what is it with us ice dancers being so clueless?)
After the Olympics, life was kind of a whirlwind. Appearances, shows, tours. Suddenly the most popular people in France again! After some shows in Paris and Monaco and such, we joined the COI tour, and, well...the rest is history.:)
What was this season like? Hard. Hard. Hard. Fun. Emotionally draining.
Am I going to miss competing?
Ohhhh, yeah.
Shae got me thinking about the Olympics, which got me thinking about last season. So...
It all kind of started at the 2001 Worlds, when Gwendal and I...lost...our World title. To Fusar-Poli and Mar-fall-io. Many people thought we should have won, including us. And suddenly the former favorites for Salt Lake were being looked at closely again. "Could they win the Olympics? Look at how well F-P/M did this season, the season before the Olympic year, could mean trouble for A/P!" It was a really disappointing loss. It's the thing people think about when they look forward to the next season. We both knew that this would be our last season as amateurs, so we dedicated ourselves to training. 2001 was a disappointing year (lost basically all the titles we got in 2000) and we didn't want that to happen in an Olympic year. Then the reporters just started to ask a lot of questions, causing unneeded stress. They find you wherever you are, ask you questions, and tell you to smile. They tell you to smile, but it comes out something like this. (Just shoot me already!) They tell you to smile, but what you're really saying through those teeth is "Bite me!"
So we did some shows and tours. We did the Masters Miko, which is always fun. Then we did the French Team Tour. And I needed a change. So I went for drastic. Meaning, gone were the red curls...and I went blonde. Eek, it was so not me, I am never going to do THAT again! I think I did it because I was tired of the image that fans had of me, that I HAD to be a redhead. But I soon discovered that the reason they had that view was because it just was--me! the blonde me didn't last too long. Pretty soon I was a redhead again, but I left my hair straight.
Then, back to training. We totally dedicated ourselves. By the time it was time to debut our programs, we were ready to win. Our compulsories were strong, we had the most difficult freedance, and we had a flamenco/tango that could give you a swift kick in the butt. Ohhhh, yeah. We were ready.
We chose a free program that not everyone liked. Some people thought it was inappropriate. Well, screw them. We used Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's speech in our program because we wanted a tribute to America. We dedicated that program to those lives lost on September 11th. People didn't understand. They thought we were playing to the judges. Guess what. There was NO AMERICAN JUDGE on the panel in Salt Lake, dearies. It wouldn't have mattered if we had done it to cater to an American judge, which we didn't.
So...Trophee Lalique. We came. We saw. We skated. And ultimately, we conquered. And were glad to share the podium with Shae and Vic and Rita and Povi:) And these hugs happened. Just some of those moments where you keep on denying your feelings, but you still file away these moments because they are special. Little things like that happened throughout the season, but I think I attributed them to the fact that this was going to be our last season skating together, period. I go back to Russia, and he'd stay in France. That's the way things were going to be...but, not anymore as you can see!
It was a great season. Very, very difficult, but great. We won everything we entered this season, except for the freedance at the Grand Prix final,[I think that's all they lost!] which cost us the title. (it went to Shae and Vic--great program, lots of fun!:D) By the way, this is a funny picture of me colliding with Shae. You can see Vic and Gwendal trying to stop us...LOL!
And then there was those Olympics. Well. I'm just going to give you a link for my thoughts on Salt Lake+the "scandal". here. So many emotions at the end of that program...our final competitive freedance, skated error-free. Normally I'm one to keep my emotions hidden, but on that night, there was no way. We just...hugged, and he dried my tears...I think that's when I realized there was something more there, for real. I just didn't mention it. (what is it with us ice dancers being so clueless?)
After the Olympics, life was kind of a whirlwind. Appearances, shows, tours. Suddenly the most popular people in France again! After some shows in Paris and Monaco and such, we joined the COI tour, and, well...the rest is history.:)
What was this season like? Hard. Hard. Hard. Fun. Emotionally draining.
Am I going to miss competing?
Ohhhh, yeah.