Italians win 1st skate of ice dancing
TURIN, Italy — They took their Olympic bronze medals and skated off to retirement. Only one thing could entice Italy's favorite dancers back onto the ice.
"We said, 'Why not come back and skate for our country?'" Barbara Fusar Poli said Friday night after she and partner Maurizio Margaglio thrilled their flag-waving, chanting fans in the compulsory dance at the Turin Games. "Like this, I could skate for 10 more years, but I'm 34 years old."
Age and a few years away from the sport mattered not a bit. The Italians wowed the crowd and the judges in an event that rarely draws attention outside the skating community — and sometimes not even in it.
"In Italy, we talk every day about soccer," Fusar Poli said. "But there are a lot of people who like skating, and you could see that with the amazing crowd."
Indeed, scalpers were hawking tickets outside the arena. The fans might not have been aware that compulsory dance means two dozen couples basically repeating the same steps to the Ravensburger Waltz — many of them in hideous costumes the Salvation Army would turn away.
The audience didn't care once Fusar Poli and Margaglio, the 2002 Olympic bronze medalists, took the ice. Skating 19th, they surged to the top, shouts of "Italia, Italia" shaking the building.
Both skaters cried when they saw their marks.
"I think we did a great performance, we are skating really strong and we'll keep going like that because we know it's the right way," Margaglio said.
"It's just the start of the competition," Fusar Poli added. "We'd be very happy to stay in this position, so we will work very, very hard."
Their lead is minuscule, .58 points over two-time world champions Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov of Russia. American medal hopefuls Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto were a surprisingly low sixth heading into Sunday's original dance. The free dance is Monday night.
The Canadian-born Belbin, who received her U.S. citizenship Dec. 31, and Agosto were just 1.42 points out of first place, hardly insurmountable at this point.
"We're definitely all within striking distance of the podium," Belbin said. "I'm sure as the competition goes on, there will be a few more in there. I think they want to make it so it's not such a long shot for each couple to move around."
The leaders had to move around so they didn't blind the judges with their costumes. They wore neon orange, black, gold and fluorescent green outfits that Elton John wouldn't touch.
"I think we have beautiful costumes that are very elegant," Margaglio said, referring to the outfits created by Aspesi, a Milan-based designer.
Many Americans were convinced the 30-year Olympic drought in ice dance would end with Belbin and Agosto. They were second at the 2005 world championships and have sparked a renaissance in the event in America.
To Belbin, skating for her adopted country offset any disappointment with the marks. She worked long and hard to become an American so that she and Agosto could represent the United States in the games. An off night at the beginning of the event wasn't going to spoil her Olympic experience.
"We were shaky here and there, and could have competed it better," she said. "But we really felt proud we could go out and attack it, knowing the rest of the competition is better for us."
"I'm trying not to be overwhelmed by it," she added, "because not only am I competing in the Olympics, but I'm competing as a brand-new American. So it's double the emotion and excitement.
For once, Americans don't consider ice dance a filler between the men's and women's events. But Belbin and Agosto's slow start could mean yet another non-medal event for the United States. No Americans medaled in pairs or men's skating, and only Sasha Cohen is considered a serious contender among the women.
Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov were 15th, and Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O'Meara finished 18th.
The Russian-born Petukhov, who beat Belbin to citizenship by just over 10 months, barely looked at the scoreboard. This wasn't about marks for him and his wife.
"I'm a living example of the American dream," he said. "I walked into this country five years ago with one bag of clothes. In five years, to get this honor, to represent this country, it's an honor I can't even describe."
