Russian Figure Skating

The Russian Olympic figure skaters have been practicing in a town 25 minutes away from Langley. We went to watch for what we thought would only be 20 minutes but there weren't as many people there as we had guessed, so we were able to watch for an hour & a half!


This is Ksenia Makarova, the 2010 Russian National Champion. She had the ice completely to herself while we watched.


Watching on the television just doesn't do figure skating justice. The speed at which she went around and around the rink was incredible. You can't see that speed on the tube.


After she practiced the Russian ice dancers came out. Not only were the two couples on the rink but also one of their choreographers and one of their coaches. It looked crowded to me but no one ever ran into each other!


After they had warmed up they took off their outer layers and just wore their costumes...one of the Recreation Center workers said this was the first time she had seen that!


The costume display did not last long, however. As soon as she could, Jana Khoklova (pictured below) donned a T-shirt. After she and Sergei Novitski went through their entire program, she grabbed her jacket and put it on backwards, holding it up to cover her mouth. We don't really think of them getting cold while they're skating but they obviously do!


And for those of you who want to see us too, here we are - John, me, and my prayer partner, Becky! We had such a great time!