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Congratulations!! Elena Berehznaya & Anton Sikhuralidze Elena's story became well known during interviews for the 1998 Olympic games in Nagano. She and Anton made their Olympic debut at those games coming away with the silver medal. An amazing accomplishment considering Elena could barely walk or talk, let alone skate just two years earlier. On January 9, 1996, during a practice with partner Oleg Shliakhov, they were too close doing camel spins and his skate blade and toe pick pierced Elena's skull. The injury damaged the motor and speech areas of her brain and part of her skull was removed temporary to clean out her wound. Before the accident, Elena and Oleg had begun training with legendary Tamara Moskvina, coach of Two time Olympic Pairs Champion Artur Dmitriev. There, Elena met Anton who was then skating with Maria Petrova. Elena and Anton had grown very close training together. There had been rumor and innuendo before the incident that Shliakov had become an abusive partner to Elena(a fact that he has denied repeatedly). Once Sikharulize learned of Elena's injury, he went to Latvia when she was released from the hospital and spirited her away to St. Petersburg by train. It was then that they decided to become a pair. They felt very comfortable with each other from the beginning, but did get off to a shaky start as Elena had to endure hours of physical therapy. Anton also had his share of problems, including the fear of dropping her during a lift and injuring her more. Tamara Moskvina offered him sound advice by telling him to treat her like a "crystal vase", beautiful yet fragile. Her guidance seemed to pay off and they began enjoying success with their romantic classic style. Many who saw their performance in Nagano began comparing them to the legendary pair of Gordeeva and Grinkov. Anton and Elena's romance has cooled off over the last couple of years, but they still remain "great friends". That friendship was dear to them both as they recently faced one of the most publicized scandals for figure skating in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. After being awarded the gold medal, popular opinion and the media gathered in support behind the Canadian pair of Sale and Pelletier when it was thought that the Canadians had skated a cleaner program. Inpropriety was found on the part of the French judge and her marks exsponged. The ISU then awarded a second gold medal to the Canadian team. Elena and Anton were villianized in the press as if they had done something wrong. But in the end, during a second medal ceremony, they were finally able to enjoy the spotlight that had been clouded during the original ceremony. It is not clear now whether Elena and Anton will put this incident behind them and decide to turn professional. Perhaps they are waiting to see just how much damage the media did to their careers before they decide what to do next. Despite all the controversy, Berehznaya and Sikharulidze are a beautiful pair. They have brought a lot to figure skating and will continue to do so no matter what venue they choose.
Quick Facts...Elena Berezhnaya: Born: October 20, 1977 - Nevinnomyssk, Stavropolski krai, Russia Height: 5'0", Weight: 92 lbs. (154 cm 42 kg) Interests: Music, ballet, cars Former Partner: Oleg Shliakhov (Latvia) Marital status: unmarried Anton Sikharulidze Born: October 25, 1976 - St. Petersburg, Russia Height: 6'0", Weight: 167 lbs. Interests: car racing, cooking, music Former Partner: Maria Petrova(Russia) Marital status: unmarried.
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