Oct. 16, 2003
Chait and Sakhnovsky dazzle at Skate Israel
By LIONEL GAFFEN

The first-ever performance of synchronized ice skating in Israel took place at the opening ceremony of Skate Israel International 2003 at the Canada Center in Metulla on Wednesday in front of a packed arena.

Afterwards, Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky, who finished sixth in the last World Championships, delighted the highly partisan crowd with their display of pyrotechnics during the Original Dance to take a commanding first-place lead after both the Compulsory and Original Dance were completed.

Their coach, Evgeny Platov, a four-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, looked on with obvious satisfaction. He and Maya Usova will perform Thursday evening.

Natalia Gudina and Alexei Beletsky, who have improved greatly over the past year, are in second place. They hope to crack the world top 10 this year. They are coached by Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov, who are two-time world champions and Olympic gold medalists.

Alexandra and Roman Zaretsky, skating in their first International Senior event, are in sixth. Their most recent tournament was the Junior Grand Prix in Mexico City, where they earned a silver medal.

Diane Towler-Green, a British four-time world champion in Ice Dance and a professional coach for more than 20 years, is visiting Israel for the first time. She coaches her daughters and their partners – Philippa Towler-Green and Philip Poole, and Candice Towler-Green and James Phillipson. It is the first time that twin sisters have competed against each in an international skating competition.

"We are just delighted to be here and my daughters are just thrilled to be on the ice together with Galit [Chait] and Sergei [Sakhnovsky]," she told The Jerusalem Post.
"I feel that [Chait and Sakhnovsky] should be much higher in the [world] rankings than they are," she added.

The men's competition featured Israeli skaters Sergei Kotov and Roman Serov, who won the last two Skate Israel International competitions in 2000 and 1999 when he represented Russia.

Serov competed in the Russian Nationals almost two years ago. Prior to that, he finished second at the Cup of Russia Grand Prix tournament in 2001. He sat out a year to become eligible to skate for Israel, a requirement for any skater changing countries.
Serov arrived here from the United States, where he trains, on Tuesday. He was injured three weeks ago when a skate slashed his leg, causing a cut that required more than thirty stitches.

"I wouldn't have missed the opportunity to come and skate in Israel, and the pain is felt now only when I walk," he said.

Serov skated beautifully in the Men's Short Program, successfully hitting a triple-triple combination that awed the audience and earned him first place overall. He has completed quadruple jumps in practice, but because of his injury did not attempt one.

Kotov, who normally skates as a junior, managed a commendable fifth-place finish.

Keren Shua Haim, representing Israel, finished fifth in the women's short competition. She last skated at Skate Israel 2000 as a Junior.

Julia Shapiro and Vadim Akolzin began to skate as a pair after Shapiro made aliya last year. They are eligible to skate as juniors, but intend to represent Israel in future senior events. They just returned from their first junior tournament, last weekend in Bled Slovenia, where they finished eighth overall.

The Gala pageant that will conclude Skate Israel will be shown this evening on the Sports Channel from 8-10 p.m.