Olympic Insider

ICE DANCING SKATING TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT?

Pasha Grishuk, 25, and Evgeny Platov, 30, have won all the competitions they have entered--21 in all--since capturing the Olympic gold medal in ice dancing at Lillehammer in 1994. What sets the Russians apart from most rivals in the sport--a combination of ballroom dancing and skating--is not only their innovative choreography but also their breathtaking speed. Grishuk, an aspiring actress who has changed her first name from Oksana to avoid confusion with singles skater Oksana Baiul, is particularly admired for her quick, clean-edge turns known as "twizzles." The high technical difficulty of the pair's programs has resulted in a few falls this season, but they accept the risk. "If we made our dance easier, we would never fall," says Platov. "But we have some footwork that is extremely difficult. It is so fast and has so many turns that it makes us unique and unbeatable."

Not if Anjelika Krylova, 24, and Oleg Ovsiannikov, 28, can help it. The younger Russian pair train with the coach that Grishuk and Platov used to have. Despite their relatively brief partnership, they have already won the Russian ice-dancing title and collected two silver medals at the world championships. This week they hope to glide ahead of the favorites. So fierce is the rivalry that at last month's European championships in Milan, the two pairs engaged in a game of intimidation during the warm-ups, whipping by each other so closely that costumes were torn by flashing skate blades.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING FAR FROM MOUNT KILIMANJARO

Cross-country-skiing coaches dream of athletes like Philip Boit, 26, who is blessed with a long stride, a powerful upper body, endurance and stamina. One problem: Boit, a Kenyan middle-distance runner, had never seen snow until 1996, when he was recruited by Nike to test the proposition that good runners make good skiers. He has cut his time for the 10-km classic race from 2 hr. to a creditable 30 min. But Boit has no illusions about challenging Norway's Bjorn Daehlie, who won the 1994 gold with a time of 24:20.1. "Even if I finish dead last," says Boit, "I will be proud of myself as long as I improve my time."

TWO SKATES CLAPPING

When a sport is transformed overnight by the arrival of new technology--graphite tennis racquets, fiber-glass vaulting poles, high-backed ski boots--the change makes everyone queasy. But performance trumps sentiment. The sport of speed skating is at one of those pivotal junctures, with good old tradition being upended by a Dutch contraption called the clap skate. Unlike the conventional skate heel, the heel of the clap skate's boot detaches from the blade like a one-way seesaw. The skater's heel lifts off the blade, lengthening the blade's contact time on the ice, then the blade snaps back to its original position with a noisy "clap." The result: 16 world records fell in a two-month period--some by more than a second.

Purists cry foul. "I liked knowing that I won more on my power and my technique versus what was on my feet and what kind of springs I had," says Olympian Bonnie Blair, who is glad clap skates came after her six Olympic medals. "It doesn't look like they're going back on it. It's time for those youngsters to take over."