Chait, Sakhnovsky capture silver at Cup of Russia
By Lionel Gaffen

JERUSALEM (November 26) - Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski took a coveted silver medal - and $18,000 in prize money - at the Cup of Russia ice skating tournament in St. Petersburg yesterday after completing their original and free dance routines.

Describing the pair's performance as "simply outstanding," Israel Ice Skating Federation president Yossi Goldberg told The Jerusalem Post that "coming second behind the current World and European Champions, Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio of Italy, is no disgrace, and they [Chait and Sakhnovski] skated their hearts out in order to finish as close to them as possible.

"The crowd really appreciated their final number - the free dance, which ended with a stirring segment of 'Hava Nagila,' and was preceded by 'My Yiddishe Mama' and 'Heivenu Shalom Aleichem,' which is performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and gave them a standing ovation."

The Ukrainian couple of Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov (who finished 8th in the World Championships) skated extremely well to take the third spot.

"This second-place finish, combined with their second-place finish a couple of weeks ago at Skate Canada, guarantees them enough points to take their place with the other five finalists at the Grand Prix Final in Canada from December 14-16," Goldberg added.

"To date, this has been an exceptional season for them, as they have put together a string of four consecutive major international tournaments where they have won silver medals [the Goodwill Games in Australia, Skate America, Skate Canada, and now the Cup of Russia].

Chait and Sakhnovsky are now to make a special trip to Israel for a one-day gala performance on December18 at the Canada Center in Metulla, where all Israel's international skaters are to perform a "special tribute to make up... for the loss of our Skate Israel competition this year," said Goldberg.