NAGANO 1998/FIGURE SKATING	FEBRUARY 9, 1998 VOL. 151 NO. 6
	The Miracle on Ice By JULIE K.L. DAM n recent years figure skating has been full of drama--from the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan shenanigans to the tragic death of Sergei Grinkov and Ekatarina Gordeeva's survival without him. But Yelena Berezhnaya has a story made for the movies. During practice on Jan. 9, 1996, Oleg Shlyakov, her then partner, accidentally struck his blade against her head while they were performing side-by-side camel spins. "All I could hear was people screaming," she recalls, "and then I knew something really serious had happened to me." She underwent hours of neurosurgery to remove bone fragments. The injury caused partial paralysis on her right side and for a time affected her speech. Her doctors didn't know if she would even walk again. But then no one yet knew how strong her resolve was. After only a few months of rehabilitation, she was back on the ice training with famed coach Tamara Moskvina. Today, as Berezhnaya heads to the Olympics having recently taken first in the European pairs championships, her speech is fine, her gait normal, and her skating nearly perfect. Part of the credit goes to her new partner, Anton Sikharulidze. As soon as Berezhnaya got out of the hospital, Sikharulidze, a friend who was having problems with his skating partner, whisked her off to St. Petersburg to see Moskvina. They asked her if she thought that Berezhnaya could still skate. On March 15, just two months after the accident, Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya took to the ice together for the first time and proved that the answer, miraculously, was yes. "I didn't have any false dreams about the future," says Berezhnaya, now 20. "All I thought about was those first steps." But, says Moskvina, something just clicked. "They're a natural pair," says the coach. "They've got it--something magical." Indeed, commentators are already comparing the couple--who were once romantically linked--to the legendary Gordeeva and Grinkov, who wedded passion with athleticism in their performances. For Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya this is the ultimate compliment, especially considering how new their partnership is. Most pairs take four or five years just to get attuned to one another, never mind becoming Olympic favorites. "We haven't even begun to exhaust their possibilities," marvels choreographer Alexander Matveev. "The talent is that deep." Though the off-ice relationship apparently is over, Sikharulidze, 21, says: "No matter what happens at the Olympics, we'll keep skating together." With all the attention surrounding Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya, Oksana Kazakova, 22, and Artur Dmitriev, 30, are destined to be known as the "other" Russian pair. Also coached by Moskvina, they are the older, more accomplished couple, who were favorites for the Olympic gold medal before finishing second at the European championships. They have only been skating together for three years, but Dmitriev has won two Olympic medals with a different partner. "Most skaters don't get to see their third Games. This is an honor for me," Dmitriev says. "But don't think I'll be satisfied just to skate. We want to win in Nagano." With last year's world champions, Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer of Germany, struggling after an injury, Russia is likely to keep alive its 34-year streak of Olympic pairs gold medalists. "Russia will have two pairs in the final three," Kazakova says confidently. It would be nothing short of miraculous--if it doesn't happen. --Reported by Andrew Meier /St. Petersburg
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