The British ice dancing pair came tenth in the Figure Skating in Sochi and are starting to stand out as future Olympic medalists. Lauren Carbran takes a look back at what happened…
Girlfriend and boyfriend, Penny Coomes and Nick Buckland, glide in a Disneyesque style to “I Won’t Dance” by Fred Astaire at the Sochi Olympics. It’s mesmerising, partly because he looks like Prince Charming and she looks like Cinderella. Except, they don’t live in a castle – they live in Nottingham, and she would never leave a skate behind at the ice rink.
The skating sweethearts, who are British National champions and third in Europe have now become medal contenders for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang , South Korea. The 24 –year-olds advanced ten Olympic places in the space of four years, having finished 20th in Vancouver 2010.
Mark Hanretty, professional ice skater on ITV’s Dancing on Ice said: “It’s truly wonderful for British skating to see Penny and Nick in the top ten in Sochi. I sincerely hope that this result ignites more interest in competitive ice dancing within the UK. We are all behind them continuing with these great successes towards a medal in 2018.”
No British pair, since Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean hypnotized the nation with Bolero fever, has made the Olympic Podium. But it is clear that Coomes and Buckland want to change this, even though competition from the likes of Meryl Davies/Charlie White (USA) and Elena Llinykh /Nikita Katsalapov (RUS) is sky-high.
Penny and Nick ranked 11th after the short program and scored 59.33 points, an improvement from the team event score – 52.93. They skated to upbeat Fred Astaire and “Swing Set” by Jurassic Five – an energizing and crowd-pleasing performance. The fans were clapping, the Russians were waving and I’m sure the judges were tapping their feet.
Then came the long program – a test of strength, stamina and mental endurance, where they earned a score of 91.78. They skated to a four minute Michael Jackson medley which gave them an overall combined total of 151.11.
Despite Penny’s legs feeling like jelly, the couple powered through the routine. Apparently, it was the worst she had ever experienced. But when you’re at the Olympics, there is no time for jelly legs. It’s a survival-of-the-fittest show; a Hunger Games on ice.
Nick told the National Ice Skating Association: “It is good to know that you have come off and have nothing left, you have given it all out there and that is what we wanted to do.”
And their hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Ollie Williams, BBC Olympic reporter tweeted: “Ice dancers Penny Coomes & Nick Buckland in our office. Today, they start prepping their routines for next season. Two days after competing. “
The victory of placing in top rankings was even sweeter as Nick has recently recovered from tachycardia – a medical condition where the heart beats too fast, commonly due to stress and adrenaline – and was forced to have a heart procedure, which made their Olympic goal seem further away than ever. A ‘reveal device’ was implanted under his skin to monitor unusual rhythms. Weeks later, experts told him it could be cured and they immediately resumed to training.
Last week, Penny and Nick came 9th in the World Championships in Saitama, Japan. They will continue to train at the National Ice Centre Nottingham and New Jersey Ice Rink in preparation for the 2018 Winter Games.
Edited by Caroline Chan