Podcast appearances and mentions of katarina witt

Auch eine olympische Eiskunstläuferin wie Katarina Witt kommt nicht um die Waffeln drum rum! Gemeinsam mit Barbara Schöneberger spricht sie über ihre Karriere, das Playboy-Shooting und den Film über ihr Olympia-Comeback. Wie hat Katarina Witt eigentlich ihre Olympiasiege gefeiert? Und hat Donald Trump wirklich nach ihrer Handynummer gefragt? Diese und weitere wichtige Fragen werden in der neuen Podcastfolge geklärt!

Zwei Olympiasiege, vier WM-Titel, sechs EM-Erfolge: Katarina Witt gilt als die erfolgreichste Eiskunstläuferin aller Zeiten. Sie galt in der DDR als Superstar – wie auch im vereinigten Deutschland. Nun zeigt das ZDF einen Spielfilm über sie. Von Wolf-Sören Treusch www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Nachspiel

Im Sommer hat sie in Paris olympische Luft geschnuppert – die Weltklasseathletin Katarina Witt. Die Doppelolympiasiegerin und vierfache Weltmeisterin ist auf der ganzen Welt bekannt. Der internationale Durchbruch gelingt der Eiskunstläuferin 1984 mit der Goldmedaille bei den Olympischen Winterspielen in Sarajevo. Vier Jahre später wiederholt sie diesen Erfolg im kanadischen Calgary. Mitte der 1990er Jahre wagt sie ihr Comeback, mit dem Ziel, erstmals für das vereinigte Deutschland bei den Olympischen Spielen in Lillehammer anzutreten. Über diese Zeit, die sie mit ihrer Trainerin Jutta Müller noch enger zusammenwachsen ließ, wurde nun ein Spielfilm gedreht. Die Schauspielerin Lavinia Nowak verkörpert Katarina Witt auf beeindruckende Art und Weise. Wie es war, plötzlich seinem optischen Klon gegenüberzustehen und was beide neben ihrer Art zu Lachen noch verbindet, berichten Katarina Witt und Lavinia Nowak gemeinsam bei 3nach9.

Breathe's “Hands to Heaven” has been the soundtrack to many moments in our lives, whether it be to a slow dance with one you love or to the final moments before a devastating break-up. To us, however, “Hands To Heaven” will be forever paired with Brian Boitano's passionate skating routine to express his love for Katarina Witt during the climactic moments of the 1988 ABC special “Canvas Of Ice.” And speaking of heartbreak, Canadians cannot speak of Boitano without revisiting the moment we raised our hands to heaven during Brian Orser's 1988 Olympic long program skating routine. We feel it all in this episode, so turn up the volume and hold us in the darkness. Official video Brian Boitano: Canvas of Ice Mixtape You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at BandFGuiltFree@gmail.com, too. Feel free to rate and review us wherever you listen! Here is our Spotify playlist featuring every song we've featured. Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn.

Was haben Postcode-Millionäre mit Bollywood zu tun? Ist meine Postleitzahl ein Gewinner? Lohnt es sich umzuziehen, um mehr zu Chancen zu haben? Halt! Stop! Jetzt redet erstmal Julius - Mit Friederike Behrends, der Geschäftführerin der Deutschen Postcode Lotterie. In dieser Episode wird auf den Zahn gefühlt. Julius lässt sich von Fr. Behrends die "ins and outs" einer Postcode Lotterie Ziehung erklären und scheut auch nicht vor kontroversen Fragen, wenn es ums Glücksspiel geht. Die Postcode Lotterien sind weltweit der drittgrößte Fördermittelgeber und locken nicht nur mit Großen-Gewinnen, sie haben als Kirsche on-top auch eine (Kai) Pflaume dabei. Der TV-Host ist zusammen mit Eiskunstläuferin Katarina Witt teil des Botschafter Duo-Gespanns, das ausreitet und die frohe Kunde persönlich überbringt, sollte es eine*n Großgewinner*in geben. Aber noch nicht genug. Die Deutsche Postcode Lotterie fördert? Ja, wie? Ja, hör doch rein! Nein, im Ernst. Es geht um Chancengleichheit, Natur- und Umweltschutz und den sozialen Zusammenhalt. Wie das genau aussieht? Lauscht aufmerksam und taucht auch in eine Welt voller Glücksritter, eine bessere Welt und Max Raabe. Musik: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSn8xH7xPE&ab_channel=MaxRaabeVEVO Eine Produktion von MAKIKO* für die Viva Equality gemeinnützige UG Gastgeber: Julius Bertram Mitarbeit: Martin Gertz Produktion: MAKIKO*

Episode Notes Part 1 of my conversation with choreographer, director, and producer Sandra Bezic! With her brother Val, Sandra was a four-time Canadian pairs champion and competed in the 1972 Olympics. She is most well known, however, as a choreographer and the creative force behind many skating shows and TV programs. She has choreographed for champions like Brian Boitano, Kurt Browning, Katarina Witt, Lu Chen, and Tara Lipinksi. Most recently, she made Lindsay Thorngren's short program for the 23/24 season. She was the director of Stars on Ice for many years and collaborated with David Wilson on Yuna Kim's All That Skate and Javier Fernandez's Revolution on Ice. Sandra also produced the Canadian TV program Battle of the Blades and in 2023 made the series  “I Have Nothing” alongside comedian Carolyn Taylor. Sandra has a unique understanding of how to make skating appeal to general audiences, and we had a great conversation about choreography, entertainment, and the changes she'd like to see in the sport.  Transcript of our conversation at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16tp4AuF159XJuNPMNxgpq82pGFxA9GOUTNMFLfJESvE/edit#heading=h.tje8hivsf0d I've made a playlist of a few of Sandra's choreographies that is accessible on our YouTube page.  You can follow Sandra on Twitter and Instagram @SandraBezic . Her website is smbcreative.ca You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast  If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co Remember to subscribe to The Future of Figure Skating on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends! Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating Find out more at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Je vous propose un épisode de #belletrace « hors piste », court (20mn) mais exceptionnel avec une légende du patinage artistique. C'est une icône du sport mondial, une femme qui a révolutionnée son sport et la société. Madame Katarina WiitC'est donc un honneur de l'avoir reçu au micro de Belle trace tant elle se fait rare dans les médias. Merci @sportelawardsC'est un podcast en anglais donc pas possible de le sous-titrer… mais voici en français les grandes lignes et messages de Katarina. (si vous souhaitez la transcription complète MP)Sinon bonne écoute en anglais« je ne fais pas juste du patinage sur glace..., cela demande beaucoup de compétences difficiles avec une superbe chorégraphie et la plupart du temps, vous ressentez ce que vous faites, vous savez, vous ressentez la musique, le public. Mais pour moi c'était plus : j'aime être devant un public, ce sont tellement de bons moments. Quand tu es dans un spectacle aussi, tu sais et il fait noir, tu as une place et avant que la musique ne commence tout est silencieux et vous pouvez juste entendre une aiguille tomber, vous savez, puis vous êtes capable de transformer tout sur cet anneau de glace et vous les amenez dans votre performance, vous terminez et vous obtenez ces applaudissements, vous savez et c'est tellement gratifiant »« vous savez que vous entrez dans ce tunnel de concentration, vous bloquez tout ce qui vous entoure, donc vous n'avez aucune sorte de distraction et vous vous concentrez vraiment. Vous donnez à vos muscles le moment de mémoire musculaire, vous savez alors pourquoi vous vous êtes entraînée pendant tant d'années et si dur donc en gros ton corps sait quoi faire sans le dire. Tu sais que c'est automatique tu sais que tu dois juste le faire.Je pense que l'une de mes plus grandes forces était que je pouvais être plus performant et sous la plus grande pression lorsque le prix était le plus élevé et je savais que je n'avais aucun moyen de le faire, c'est à ce moment-là que j'ai le mieux concouru, »Sur le bord de la patinoire, Je baillais ! les autres devait dire : oh mon dieu, elle s'en fiche de la compétition. C'est étrange, elle est tellement détendue. Mais c'était un mélange d'être vraiment nerveuse et d'essayer d'avoir plus d'oxygène a rendu mon corps ok je bâille tu sais juste avoir plus d'oxygène c'était mon mode de préparation. Sur la pression du résultat, je lui ai demandé comment elle avait généré cette pression médiatique des journalistes ce qui ne l'a pas du tout gêné à la différence de la pression des instances de son pays l'Allemagne de l'est:« à cause de la guerre froide, vous savez, nos propres pays ont également beaucoup utilisé le sport pour dire que nous avons de très bons athlètes, ce qui signifie que le socialisme est meilleur que ce que vous avez, c'était donc ça donc la véritable pression sur nos épaules. sauf que je veux dire tu ne vas pas à la compétition en pensant :ok je dois gagner mais c'est ce qui m'a fait peur de rentrer à la maison avec un échec. Car les officiels du pays me disaient : »tu sais ton pays paie pour vos sports et vous devez ensuite rembourser en gagnant… » Heureusement, je n'ai pas eu beaucoup de ces moments parce que la plupart du temps, j'ai gagné mais honnêtement, j'aurais eu peur de rentrer à la maison avec une défaite, » Sur son entraineure : J'avais besoin d'un entraîneur fort comme mon Jutta l'était et je la respecte pour ça, mais la façon dont elle m'a traitée et à quel point elle était dure avec moi, c'était parfois blessant et je pense que c'est pourquoi je ne pourrais jamais faire ça à quelqu'un d'autre, tu sais, même si maintenant, bien sûr, il y a d'autres éthiques dans la façon dont tu enseigner à quelqu'un je veux dire il y a 35 ans c'était une époque différente Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

This Week in Skating is hosted by Gina Capellazzi and Daphne Backman and is a cooperative project between Figure Skaters Online and Ice-dance.com. New episodes are available every Tuesday.Website: http://www.thisweekinskating.comEmail: thisweekinskating@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisweekinskatingTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/thiswkinskatingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinskatingThread: https://www.threads.net/@thisweekinskatingPatreon: patreon.com/ThisWeekinSkating-----------------------------------------------------------------EPISODE 111Event Results RecapGrand Prix de Francel | Results | 2024 Eastern Sectional Singles Final | Results| Videos |Advancement to Nationals Criteria | Triple AxelVolvo Open Cup | Results Denis Ten Memorial | Results Japan Eastern Sectional - (Senior/Junior singles + pairs) | Results Ontario Sectionals | Results | Replays Quebec Sectionals | Results | Replays  Alberta/Nunavut Sectionals | Results | Replays General Skating News The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered the appeal filed by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), against the decision rendered by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC EB) on October 12, 2023.Oleg Protopopov, who with wife Ludmila Belousova won the first two Olympic pairs' figure skating titles of the Soviet dynasty, died at age 91. Jutta Müller, legendary coach of skaters such as Katarina Witt and Anett Pötzsch, passed away Nov. 2.Updates to the entries Grand Prix assignments can be found hereMenWomenDance(No updates to the pairs' entries this week)All-Event Tickets for the 2025 World Championships in Boston go on sale on November 15 at 10 a.m. Worlds in Boston is March 24-30, 2025. Richard Gauthier was given 12 months in jail for sexual assault. Yuzuru Hanyu opened his first solo ice show tour this past Saturday in Saitama, Japan.Segment - Recent InterviewsBook Launch - Jackson Haines: The Skating King, by SkateGuard BlogVideo Interview with Oona Brown and Gage Brown, by Anything GOEsInterview with Camille & Pavel Kovalev (in French), by Skate Info Glace Interview with Adam Siao Him Fa (English version), by Skate Info Glace Creating opportunities to compete, thrive and learn, by U.S. Figure Skating Segment - Upcoming Events for the Week:Nov. 7-12: Denkova Staviyski Cup, Sofia, Bulgaria Nov. 7-12: Pacific Coast Sectional Singles and Pairs Final, Tacoma, WashingtonNov. 10-12: Cup of China, Chongqing, ChinaNov. 10-12: Pavel Roman Memorial, Olomouc, Czech RepublicNov. 9-12: British Columbia and Yukon Territory Sectionals, Kelowna, British Columbia IDC and FSO spotlightIDC: Grand Prix de France RecapIDC: Grand Prix de France PhotosFSO: Grand Prix de France PhotosFSO: Grand Prix RecapFSO: Grand Prix TrackerSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/this-week-in-skating-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Judith Rakers und Giovanni di Lorenzo berichten im "3nach9 – Best of" exklusiv, wie es hinter den Kulissen von Deutschlands ältester Talkshow zugeht. Welche kulinarischen Köstlichkeiten benötigen beide unbedingt vor der Sendung? Warum wurden bei 3nach9 sogar mal Steine geworfen? Und was schätzen beide nach 13 gemeinsamen Jahren aneinander? Das erfahren die 3nach9-Zuschauerinnen und -Zuschauer in dieser Highlight-Sendung. Sie dürfen sich auf Gespräche freuen mit Giovanni Zarrella, David Garrett und seiner Mutter Dove Bongartz, Andrea Petkovic oder Marie Versini, die in den Karl May-Verfilmungen der 1960er Jahre als Winnetous Schwester Nscho-tschi bekannt wurde. Außerdem dabei: Ferdinand von Schirach, Katarina Witt, Tim Raue, Sabine Christiansen, Klaus Meine und eine ganz besondere Sporteinheit mit Olaf Scholz.

Time for 20 more trivia questions for your amazing brain!What is the name of the deepest oceanic trench on Earth?In Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Russel and Amy share their first kiss inside of what object?Kenneth Gorelick, who found commercial success in 1986 with his album Duotones, is known professionaly by what name?What scientific laboratory rhymes with the capital of the country that it is found in?Katarina Witt and Sonja Henie are the only two women to have accomplished what at the Winter Olympics?Saliva is made up of approximately 99% water. What are the proteins called that make it sticky?Which Spanish-born artist said, "There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad."What was the name of the ancient emperor that married Roxana after defeating Darius III?What does DM stand for in Dungeons and Dragons?What is DC villainess' Poison Ivy's given first name?The following characteristics describe what animal? Not native to Australia, are nocturnal, have hollow hairs made stiff with keratin.MusicHot Swing, Fast Talkin, Bass Walker, Dances and Dames, Ambush by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Don't forget to follow us on social media:Patreon – patreon.com/quizbang – Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Check out our fun extras for patrons and help us keep this podcast going. We appreciate any level of support!Website – quizbangpod.com Check out our website, it will have all the links for social media that you need and while you're there, why not go to the contact us page and submit a question!Facebook – @quizbangpodcast – we post episode links and silly lego pictures to go with our trivia questions. Enjoy the silly picture and give your best guess, we will respond to your answer the next day to give everyone a chance to guess.Instagram – Quiz Quiz Bang Bang (quizquizbangbang), we post silly lego pictures to go with our trivia questions. Enjoy the silly picture and give your best guess, we will respond to your answer the next day to give everyone a chance to guess.Twitter – @quizbangpod We want to start a fun community for our fellow trivia lovers. If you hear/think of a fun or challenging trivia question, post it to our twitter feed and we will repost it so everyone can take a stab it. Come for the trivia – stay for the trivia.Ko-Fi – ko-fi.com/quizbangpod – Keep that sweet caffeine running through our body with a Ko-Fi, power us through a late night of fact checking and editing!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5857487/advertisement

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 850, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: -ologies 1: Biology is generally divided into 2 branches: botany and this study of animals. Zoology. 2: A high school requirement for many, it's the scientific study of life. biology. 3: Buzz in if you know that apiology is the study of these. bees. 4: Although it sounds like it deals with oil, it's the study of rocks. petrology. 5: A book with a mix of various authors writing on various topics. an anthology. Round 2. Category: "r"t 1: Born in Limoges in 1841, as a child this Impressionist worked in a porcelain factory painting china. Renoir. 2: He was the youngest of the 3 creators of the high Renaissance. Raphael. 3: Fragonard, painter of "The Swing", is considered one of the greatest artists of this ornate style. Rococo. 4: His house in the Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam is now a museum. Rembrandt. 5: An adjective meaning "voluptuous" comes from the name of this old master. Rubens. Round 3. Category: female athletes 1: Cammi Granato played 205 games for the U.S. women's team in this sport and has been a rinkside reporter for NBC. ice hockey. 2: This track star was nicknamed "Flo-Jo". Florence Griffith Joyner. 3: In the 1980s Katarina Witt dominated women's figure skating competing for this country that no longer exists. East Germany. 4: This tennis player won women's singles titles at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001, but lost to her little sister in 2002. Venus Williams. 5: On July 30, 2002 Lisa Leslie became the first woman to do this in a pro game. a slam dunk. Round 4. Category: leading "roll"s 1: Some people use spray deodorants, but many conservationists prefer this non-aerosol kind. roll-on. 2: If you have lots of dough, you can buy a really nice one of these implements to smooth out your dough. a rolling pin. 3: Your supply of ready cash, or what a financial backer does when he provides funding for a film. bank roll. 4: Because of its name, we'd expect this hairstyle to be popular in Paris. French roll. 5: The kind of sandwich bread that's most appropriate for a German emperor. Kaiser roll. Round 5. Category: ballpark figures 1: In 2004 he published "My Prison Without Bars". Pete Rose. 2: With the Yankees from 1923 to 1939, his No. 4 was the first number retired in either league. Lou Gehrig. 3: Baseball's "Mr. October", he generated headlines for his cantankerous personality and his athletic prowess. Reggie Jackson. 4: Famous nickname of Leon Goslin, who played in all 19 World Series games with the Washington Senators. "Goose". 5: Sadly, this lefty pitcher who coined the Mets' battle cry "You gotta believe" died in 2004. Tug McGraw. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia! Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/

 In 1988, twenty-year-old American figure skater Debi Thomas headed to the Calgary Olympics to face off against East German juggernaut Katarina Witt. In the process, she became the first Black American in history to medal at a Winter Olympics. Then she disappeared from the sport. Where did she go, and who wasn't there to catch her when she fell? This week, Leslie Gray Streeter tells Sarah about growing up watching Debi skate, where she is now, how her sport and her country failed her, and just how many people are missing from the stories we tell and the dreams we dream. You can find Leslie online here. Debi returns to the iceDebi cover of TIMESupport us:Bonus Episodes on PatreonDonate on PaypalYou're Wrong About Spring TourBuy cute merchWhere else to find us:Sarah's other show, You Are Good [YWA co-founder] Mike's other show, Maintenance PhaseLinks:https://lesliegraystreeter.comhttps://youtu.be/CHUI3QpYnl4https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19880215,00.htmlhttp://patreon.com/yourewrongabouthttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/youre-wrong-abouthttps://www.paypal.com/paypalme/yourewrongaboutpodhttps://www.podpage.com/you-are-goodhttp://maintenancephase.comSupport the show

Join your hosts Chad Robinson, Bryan Frye, and Russell Guest for the Retro Movie Roundtable as they revisit Ronin (1998) [R] Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller Starring: Robert De Niro,  Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, Skipp Sudduth,  Michael Lonsdale, Jan Tríska, Jonathan Pryce, Ron Perkins, Féodor Atkine, Katarina Witt, Bernard Bloch   Director: John Frankenheimer Recorded on 2022-10-19

Recordamos la figura de Katarina Witt, un símbolo del patinaje sobre hielo, de la belleza y de una Alemania que ya no existe.

Recordamos la figura de Katarina Witt, un símbolo del patinaje sobre hielo, de la belleza y de una Alemania que ya no existe.

Recordamos la figura de Katarina Witt, un símbolo del patinaje sobre hielo, de la belleza y de una Alemania que ya no existe.

Interviewed by Peter Jonathan Robertson in London in 1993 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enfilez les patins pour une séance de glisse. Dans cet épisode, Valérie-Anne vous raconte le destin de deux légendes du sport, deux championnes du patinage artistique. Au début des années 80 Katarina Witt régnait sur les compétitions, à la fin de la décennie, une française ultra technique, Surya Bonaly tentait de l'égaler.     Deux championnes, deux légendes vivantes.  la première inspire la deuxième pour sa carrière. L‘une est championne olympique, l'autre pas... Les extraits sonors de cet épisode sont issus de ces videos  Katarina aux JO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57R7aAY5QiM  Surya aux JO https://youtu.be/XVnRAWkyP5M  Quant à Nelson et Candeloro c'est là https://youtu.be/p-XkKZ2UFAU  La musique du podcast c'est David Nilsson.  So 80's est un podcast du label Podcut vous pouvez nous aider à produire des podcasts en soutenant notre patreon, merci !    

In late 1985, the Cold War was simultaneously the hottest it had ever been AND it was at the same time obviously thawing. One of the most popular pop music acts of the era released an album that to this day still has a special place to me and has one of my Top Ten Of All Time songs. I was twenty-two years old, and the previous winter (1984) I had fallen head over heels in love with a girl that would never know that I was alive. Representing East Germany at the 1984/88 Winter Games, she danced across the ice on fire. I know - without any doubt - that I am not the only man who holds her in a special place in the heart of our youth. She became a symbol of the idea that the world could get along and could find a way to end the conflict. Her final Olympic skate, in Lillehammer in 1984, was one of - if not the - definition of grace and beauty and the Olympic ideal. When she retired, there was no more loved skater than Katarina Witt, now of just Germany. So when she speaks out on something, even all these years later, that ice melts and the fire dims. I listen to what she says and understand that she has a far greater appreciation of what happened than I ever will. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/plausibly-live/message

In late 1985, the Cold War was simultaneously the hottest it had ever been AND it was at the same time obviously thawing. One of the most popular pop music acts of the era released an album that to this day still has a special place to me and has one of my Top Ten Of All Time songs. I was twenty-two years old, and the previous winter (1984) I had fallen head over heels in love with a girl that would never know that I was alive. Representing East Germany at the 1984/88 Winter Games, she danced across the ice on fire. I know - without any doubt - that I am not the only man who holds her in a special place in the heart of our youth. She became a symbol of the idea that the world could get along and could find a way to end the conflict. Her final Olympic skate, in Lillehammer in 1984, was one of - if not the - definition of grace and beauty and the Olympic ideal. when she retired, there was no more loved skater than Katarina Witt, now of just Germany. So when she speaks out on something, even all these years later, that ice melts and the fire dims. I listen to what she says and understand that she has a far greater appreciation of what happened than I ever will.

Kunstschaatsster Sonia Henie startte een carrière in Hollywood, het Jamaicaanse bobslee-team werd wereldberoemd door de film Cool Runnings, Katarina Witt, "een ijsdiva die het publiek deed smelten" haalde de Playboy,…Maar de Winterspelen kenden ook hun downs. Schandalen, corruptie, politieke boycot, … tot het goedbedoelde gestuntel van skispringer Eddy the Eagle, die het er in 1988 in Calgary zo bekaaid vanaf bracht dat de eisen voor deelname aan de Spelen nadien drastisch werden aangescherpt.

Auch nach ihren vielen Erfolgen handelt Katarina Witt stets nach ihrem Motto: „Man sollte sich niemals auf seinen Lorbeeren ausruhen!" Als Sportstudio-Inhaberin setzt sich vehement für den Freizeit- und Gesundheitssport ein. Über die Leistungsbereitschaft nachfolgender Generationen und die Wichtigkeit von Publikum für aktive Athleten berichtet die ARD-Expertin der Olympischen Spiele von Peking im Januar bei 3nach9.

1984: Katarina Witt gewinnt Olympia-Gold im Eiskunstlauf und Limahl veröffentlicht "Neverending Story". Der Song wird ein Kassenschlager, aber dennoch ist die Karriere des britischen Sängers danach vorbei.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 273, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Let's Go To A Museum 1: You might find your invitation to her Deerfield, Illinois museum under your pillow, along with a dollar. The Tooth Fairy. 2: This Spanish museum's paintings are displayed in 2 buildings: The Villanueva Building and the Cason del Buen Retiro. The Prado. 3: Check into a motel in Plano in this state, then check out the Cockroach Hall of Fame and Museum. Texas. 4: The Ulster Museum in this capital city dates back to 1890. Belfast. 5: MOMA in N.Y. is the Museum of Modern Art and MOCA in L.A. is the museum of this. Contemporary art. Round 2. Category: Eat Your Veggies 1: Green olives are traditionally stuffed with these red veggies. pimientos. 2: In the early 19th c. George Stephenson began growing these pickle veggies in glass tubes so they'd grow straight. cucumbers. 3: The Dutch type of this is white, as it's grown underground; the American is green, as the spears are grown above. asparagus. 4: Developed in Canada, the Yukon Gold variety of this tuber has yellow flesh. potato. 5: When making a pie with strawberries and this tart vegetable, just use its red stalks; the leaves are toxic. rhubarb. Round 3. Category: Women On Ice 1: Training 6 days a week on her camels and other moves won her the Gold at the '76 Olympics. Dorothy Hamill. 2: At age 10 in 1924, she won the 1st of 6 straight Norwegian figure skating championships. Sonja Henie. 3: In 1984 she and partner Christopher Dean earned 6.0s for artistic impression across the Olympic board. (Jane) Torvill. 4: At the '94 Olympics, this German placed 7th in her attempt to win a 3rd Gold. Katarina Witt. 5: Though she fell on a triple loop in the 1992 Olympics, she still took the Gold. Kristi Yamaguchi. Round 4. Category: Advertising Slogans 1: "When you care enough to send the very best", send one of these. Hallmark Card. 2: "Wouldn't you really rather have" one of these cars. Buick. 3: "I like" this lemon-lime soda "in you". Sprite. 4: This maker of pre-school toys says, "Our work is child's play". Fisher-Price. 5: "Always low prices. Always". Wal-Mart. Round 5. Category: 1993 Movies 1: With a gross of over $330 million, this Steven Spielberg film was the big hit of 1993. Jurassic Park. 2: In his most recent film, this St. Bernard has a girlfriend named Missy and 4 puppies. Beethoven. 3: This Tim Burton movie was made using stop-motion animation. The Nightmare Before Christmas. 4: This sequel was subtitled “Back in the Habit”. Sister Act 2. 5: Anthony Hopkins played the role of author C.S. Lewis in this Richard Attenborough film. Shadowlands. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!

1984: Katarina Witt gewinnt Eiskunstlauf-Gold bei den Olympischen Spielen in Sarajevo - und Cindy Lauper veröffentlicht "Time after time".

Judith Rakers und Giovanni di Lorenzo begrüßen am Freitag, dem 14. Januar, folgende Gäste: Katarina Witt, Roland Kaiser, Philipp Hochmair, Leontine von Schmettow, Ricardo Lange und Katrin Hinrichs.

Die frühere Eiskunstläuferin Katarina Witt betreibt in Potsdam ein Fitnessstudio. Sie kritisiert die undifferenzierten Corona-Maßnahmen. Mit entsprechenden Konzepten sei ein Fitnesstraining durchaus möglich. Von Christoph Richter www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Länderreport Hören bis: 19.01.2038 04:14 Direkter Link zur Audiodatei

Der Lockdown schlägt nicht wenigen aufs Gemüt. Und so meldete sich auch Ex-Eisläuferin Katarina Witt mit einem emotionalen Facebook-Post. Darauf reagierte jetzt Sachsens Ministerpräsident Michael Kretschmer.

1988: Katarina Witt wird Olympiasiegerin im Eiskunstlauf - und "Circle in the Sand" von Belinda Carlisle wird ein Hit.

1984: Katarina Witt gewinnt bei den Olympischen Winterspielen in Sarajevo die Goldmedaille - und Nik Kershaw bringt "Wouldn't it be good" heraus. Im Text geht es um Neid, Eifersucht und Perspektivwechsel.

Du lundi au vendredi dans Culture médias, Eva Roque vous livre ses conseils TV pour la soirée. Ce mercredi, la télévision forme des arabesques avec une esthétique du mouvement, des courbes et des formes à découvrir dans trois documentaires. "Ogui, médecin des steppes de Mongolie" sur Ushuaïa à 20h45, "Katarina Witt, doubles axels et rebondissements" sur Arte à 22h25 et "Pierre Cardin" sur Canal+ à 22h40.

Sailor Noob is the podcast where a Sailor Moon superfan and a total noob go episode by episode through the original Sailor Moon series!Winter sports continue this week as the girls try out the new ice rink! But they'd better have their moves down when they face the greatest pair in evil skating, Zoilingeller!In this episode, we discuss ice skating in Japan, skating competition rules, show skating, the "Super Slam", Midori Ito, Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarina Witt, Yuzuru Hanyu, Manchuko, "bakana", Sailor Moon Prism on Ice, the "City of Blades", and sansei. We also talk about being the tenth-best ice arena, Johnny Weir energy, moon people genetics, Mr. Wile E. Coyote, esq., barbarian toilet paper, cyberpunk belly dancing, Jumped-Up White Guy, the other kind of ronin, The Romanji Whisperer, Mako-chan is good at everything, Kal has a startling confession, and yes, the Cutting Edge comes up!There were a lot of outfits this week!We're now on iTunes and your listening platform of choice! Please subscribe and give us a rating and a review! Arigato gozaimasu!https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sailor-noob/id1486204787Sailor Noob is a part of the Just Enough Trope podcast network. Check out our other shows about your favorite pop culture topics and join our Discord!http://www.twitter.com/noob_sailorhttp://www.justenoughtrope.comhttps://discord.gg/ATMBeUDBuy us a Kōhī on Ko-Fi!https://ko-fi.com/E1E01M2UA

Bei Rückruf Ricky! Franz stört seinen Kumpel bei einem Brunch. Kurz danach entsteht die längste und zugleich erste Folge, mit der beide Burschen ganz zufrieden sind. Wobei... ach hört doch einfach selbst!

In Sporza Retro op Radio 1 kiezen 2 gasten elke week een aantal momenten uit de sportgeschiedenis die voor hen speciaal zijn. Imke Courtois wilde het onder meer hebben over Euro 2000. "Het was het toernooi van Zidane, Totti en Kluivert, maar ik had vooral een boontje voor Emile Mpenza", zegt ze. Journalist Jan Segers had originele keuzes met onder andere kunstschaatster Katarina Witt.

...während Deutschland in die Rezension schlittert...

Sie hat Eiskunstlauf-Geschichte geschrieben – als vierfache Weltmeisterin und zweifache Olympiasiegerin. Als Gast bei Antenne Moderator Olaf Kosert hat uns Katarina Witt eines ihrer seltenen Interviews gegeben.  

Donald Trump und seine Affären sind immer spannender Stoff. Diesmal hat die Regenbogenpresse aus einer 30 Jahre alten Begegnung zwischen Katarina Witt und dem amerikanischen Präsidenten eine Story über klare Absagen und gekränkte Männlichkeit gebastelt. >> Artikel zum Nachlesen: https://detektor.fm/gesellschaft/katarina-witt-trump-absage

Donald Trump und seine Affären sind immer spannender Stoff. Diesmal hat die Regenbogenpresse aus einer 30 Jahre alten Begegnung zwischen Katarina Witt und dem amerikanischen Präsidenten eine Story über klare Absagen und gekränkte Männlichkeit gebastelt.Der Artikel zum Nachlesen: https://detektor.fm/gesellschaft/katarina-witt-trump-absage

"100 Gründe München und die ganze Region zu lieben: Oktoberfest Katarina Witt" von Radio Arabella München. Veröffentlicht: 2018. Genre: Hörbuch und gesprochene Inhalte.

In this movie Katarina Witt gets murdered, but shockingly Tonya Harding is NOT a suspect. Lots of French things happen, and Bobby De Niro is a total pro... again. Subscribe Android Google Play iTunes *RSS Address: http://sciencefictionfilmpodcast.libsyn.com/rss *Cut and paste the web address into ‘search’, or ‘add address’, or ‘URL’, or ‘feed’ field. Depends on your podcasting app. Follow Dean on Twitter. @Dean_LSGMedia Follow Matthew on Twitter. @MatthewFromLSG Follow Jessica on Twitter. Jess_LSGMedia (psst! she never uses it) Follow LSG Media on Twitter. @LSGMedia Support LSG Media by becoming a member. Recording/Release Schedule schedule.libertystreetgeek.net Disclaimer This is a commentary and criticism show that will routinely slander, suggest, and make wild claims - it should be considered comedy entertainment only, and not to be taken seriously. Take responsibility for your own feelings and actions.

Den Verschwörungstheorien abgesagt geht es leicht verdaulich um das, was sehr wahrscheinlich auf uns zukommt. Der Kassierer im Supermarkt wird durch einen Automaten ersetzt. Der Arzt bekommt die gesetzliche Vorschrift, einen Roboter die Diagnose zu meinen schlaflosen Nächten stellen zu lassen. Und der Mensch wird dazu ausgebildet, ein besonders wertvoller Konsument zu sein. Homo Consumicos vielleicht… Was fasziniert, kann auch angst machen. Genau in diesen Augenblicken setzt die gute alte Plattensammlung von Ricardo Hapke ein. Er serviert das Beste aus der sicher eingemauerten DDR, von den 60ern bis 80ern, in leicht verständlichem Deutsch. Dann ist man wieder kurz bei dem beruhigenden Gedanken, dass auch Katarina Witt noch einen Job hat: Als Motivationscoach für Manager. Spannend, was so alles passiert! Und ja, das macht auch Spaß. Die erfahrenen Berliner Humoristen Abbas Saberi und Willy Kramer führen gut gelaunt durch den Abend, denn das Ganze wird auch noch live aufgezeichnet. Alle Live-Sendungen finden ab sofort jeden 4. Donnerstag im Monat im Trust Club Berlin statt. Ab 21 Uhr. Bitte seien Sie pünktlich, liebe Konsumenten! Und zur Vorbereitung, denn man will ja eben wissen, was einen erwartet, gibt es die Heimaufnahmen zum Reinhören hier. LIVE Jeder 4. Donnerstag im Monat /21:00Uhr Trust Club Berlin Neue Promenade 10 /Sbhf Hackescher Markt 10178 Berlin EDIT: Die Live-Reihe wird vorerst nicht weitergeführt.

February 2014An interview with the legendary Dick Button. What hasn't he done? He's practically the father of our sport (if Jackson Haines were Grandfather). The two-time Olympic Gold medalist invented many of the jumps and spins we see today, and he invented figure skating commentary. He's a skater, producer, commentator, actor, truth-seeker, hall-of-famer, stirrer-upper, and figure skating's biggest fan. This first episode focuses on his new book Push Dick's Button, a fantastic book that is a really wonderful conversation on skating. 55 minutes, 50 seconds. [display_podcast] AM: Allison ManleyDB: Dick Button AM:  Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Manleywoman Skatecast. I'm your host, Allison Manley, and this is Episode 73, an interview with Dick Button. That's right!  You heard it, here it is! Any longtime fan of my podcast knows I have been chasing this interview for years. Years! And it only took writing a poem, some polite stalking, a pinch of begging, and quite a bit of persistence and tenacity — and let's face it, it doesn't hurt that he was trying to spread the word about his new book. All I know is that I'm thrilled to have been finally able to interview him. So, in case you don't know his many accomplishments, I'm going to list them off first. Here is the general overview of what Dick Button has done for this sport. He was the first skater to have won the men's novice, junior and senior titles in three consecutive years. He was the first skater to land a double axel. He was the first skater to land a triple jump, which was a triple loop, and the first male skater to perform a camel spin. And he was the inventor of the flying camel spin, also known as the Button camel. He's the only American to win the European title. He's the first American world champion, the first American to win the Olympic title in figure skating, the first and only American back-to-back champion. He is the first and only American skater to simultaneously hold all of the following titles: national, North American, European, World and Olympic. That's five. He's the youngest man to win the Olympic title in figure skating, at age 18, and it shocks me still that this record stands today. He is the winner of the Sullivan Award. In the 1960s he began doing television commentary, and has been gracing our television sets for decades since. He was inducted into the World Skating Hall of Fame in 1976, which was the initial class. He won an Emmy Award in 1981 for outstanding sports personality/analyst. He was a producer of skating shows including The Superstars, which was the first of the reality shows. He starred in movies and on television, and on the stage. The autobiography he wrote in 1955 is a fount of knowledge, and is incredibly well written. I highly recommend that you all find a copy and give it a read. And, of course, he is the author very recently of Push Dick's Button, a fantastic book that is a really wonderful conversation on skating. Dick and I decided to do this interview in two parts. The first will be focused on his book and all the ideas within. The second part will focus more on his career and life in skating, and will follow at a later date to be determined.  Anyone who knows my podcast knows that I've been dying to capture his voice on tape for the fans. So, ladies and gentlemen, may I present — Dick Button. ----- AM:  All right, Dick Button, are you ready? DB: I am. AM: So, thank you so much for your book. It's wonderful. I have to ask, why did you write it at this time? DB: And my question to you is, what do you mean by “at this time”? Are you saying that I'm a very old poop [laughs] and therefore don't have any understanding of what the hell is going on in today's world? Or are you asking it because it's been a long time since I have written? I wrote a book in 1952 or 1954, when I was a very young person, and then I did one other paperback kind of book a couple of years later. I don't understand the question “at this time”?  I mean, that does that mean? Am I missing something? AM: I guess it is curious that it has been such a long time. I do actually have the book from the 1950s, and I think it's interesting that the book that you chose to release now, rather than being a biography or an autobiography, is such a conversational book. So I suspect that you felt the need to have this conversation, so that's why I'm asking. Is skating frustrating you to the point where you felt like you had to tell these opinions? DB: I'll tell you what it really is. Number one, it was in the past exceedingly difficult for me to write. The advent of the computer and the lectures that I give on gardening introduced me to an entire new way to write. If you write on your computer, you can erase things, you can change things, you can move things around, and you don't have to rewrite painfully every single word. So the system and the ability to write was exceedingly pleasant. Then I also have a very good friend who had gotten me a major contract ten years ago, that was with Simon and Schuster, and I had a great opportunity to write a very good book at a very high-priced contract. And that was at the same time that I had gone skating on New Year's Eve, and fell and fractured my skull, and got concussions and lost the hearing in my left ear. And I also had a co-writer with me, and it didn't work. We just didn't work out. In other words, it was too much. I couldn't handle it at that time. It took me about two or three years to really get my act together and to recoup from that fall. So the important thing was, this same lady, who is a great friend of mine and who got me that contract, her name is Pat Eisemann-Logan — I finally said to her, Pat, what can I do for you? And she said, I'll tell you what you can do. I would like it if you would come and sit on the couch next to me and tell me what the heck is going on with what we are watching. So I sat down one day and I just wrote out a couple of things, a few chapters, and she said, yeah, that's terrific. And I love it because, number one, it doesn't have to be The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire of Skating. It is a simple conversation. Conversations are meant to be interrupted, to have answers, to have somebody kvetch about it. Conversations can range from any subject to any subject, and that's why I like the idea of this. I did not want to do a history of skating, which others have done before this, and I did not wish to do a biography. I think there's far too much more of great interest around the world of skating. I wanted to do what subjects came up to my mind, what it is to watch for at the Olympics, and most of the questions you've asked me about this are  all in that book. So it was a very pleasant experience for me, I enjoyed it no end, and I'm happy to have done it and done it the way I did. Although I will tell you that there are three books that you write and three skating programs that you skate and three pictures that you paint.  They are, number one, the book you plan, number two, the book you do, and number three, the book you wish you'd done [laughs]. So if you can put up with that, you're a good gal. AM: It does seem to have worked out that this is the book you wish you had done. You seem very pleased with it. DB: Oh, yes, but there's a lot of things that I . . .  listen, if I had started with all the things I made notes of, I would have had six more volumes [laughs]. I don't think so. AM: Well, I do love the fact that even though it's not biographical, that you have a lot of sprinklings of your history in there. I mean, I think that's a great addition to the opinion pieces that are in there, because there's definitely opinions in there as well. DB: Well, it's a conversation. It covers whatever's on your mind. The one chapter that many people have criticized, they say, we know what jumps are, you don't have to put a chapter in there saying the different jumps. But my doctor said to me, "Dick, my daughter skates and we all really like watching the skating, but I can't tell one jump from another, how can I do that?" And it annoyed him. So I put in this brief explanation, if you don't know what a jump is, there's three or four or five or six pages of it, and if you already know which jumps are which — skip over it! This is not the end of the world book. This is not the end of the world subject. It is a conversational piece. And I hope like the devil that people can figure out that they can learn something from it. Because I enjoyed very much doing it. AM: Well, great. And I do want to ask you some questions about it, obviously without giving away too much, because people should buy it and read it, of course [laughs]. DB: [laughs] Well, we don't have long enough on this conversation, so go ahead and spring your questions. AM: Well, one of the things you are concerned about is losing the theatrical part of skating. And I wonder, from a competitive standpoint, how you think it can be preserved. There are a lot of people trying to preserve it outside of competition, but in the competitive arena, what are your thoughts on that? DB: Let me also start out by saying that competition, the Olympic Games which we're about to start into in another day or two — they get the most audience. Figure skating and dancing, they're kissing cousins, and figure skaters have the opportunity to become instantly famous and household names. Dancers don't have that. So if a figure skater has that opportunity, and the Olympic competition is there, it's marvelous that they take part and do it. However, figure skating is a complete sport. It's a sport that has music, choreography, costuming, performance level, story level — it has so many different aspects that are intimately intertwined with each other. Figure skating is theatre, and I don't care who tells me that it's not. The head of the ISU, the head of the Olympic Committee, and a lot of guys get all honked about it and say it's not a sport. Well, don't watch it! If you think it's not a sport, don't watch it, and I couldn't care less. However, the point is very simply that it is all of these things. It is theatre, it always has been theatre, and it will always continue to be theatre. And that is the very reason that makes it so popular at the Olympic Games. Now the reason I'm saying this is, there's an old saying that Oleg Protopopov used to tell me all the time, and that was, “Deek! Deek! You cannot have artistry without technique. But neither can you have technique without artistry”. The old votes, the old judging system had two marks. They were for technical merit and for artistic impression. The new marks, in essence, if you really want to see what the icing on top of the cake is, the subterfuge of it all, is they have all the marks that you get on your point system first, and then they have the component scores. Have you ever read the component scores? AM: I have. DB: Then you know that they mix together choreography, step sequences, footwork, et cetera, et cetera, and they have something like 27 or 28 different criteria to figure and allot to a skater's program within about two seconds. That's almost an impossible thing. And also, you will never know what it's about because it's secret. All I'm saying is that yes, there are many other organizations — there's Disney on Ice and Stars on Ice and individual singles skating here and there, and there's ensemble skating with the Ice Theatre of New York, and there's synchronized skating, and there's all kind of things. But it's the theatrical performance level that mesmerizes us. I mean, why did we look at Katarina Witt? Not only was she sensational looking, but she had personality and pizzazz. Let me ask you a question. Why is Evgeni Plushenko such a hot subject? I'll tell you why. Because he has personality. He's a great jumper, not a great spinner. But he has personality. He has pizzazz. And you can't take your eyes off him, watching what he's going to do. He will bamboozle you with his wrist movements . . . AM: He'll make you think he's skating with those wrist movements [laughs]. DB: Of course, I've seen him do that half a dozen times. He stops and does a bunch of fancy wrist movements around his belt line, and that's supposed to be great theatrical skating or something. Let me tell you something. Who is it that you want to watch at this Olympic Games? Who is it they are looking forward to watching? AM: Jeremy Abbott and Jason Brown. DB: You mean you want to see the competition between them. AM: The competition between them, but I think both are so wonderful. They bring something so different. DB: Absolutely right. And so do half a dozen of these skaters. I think what you really want to see also is Davis and White and how they impact the show. And who do we remember out of the past? Come on, you remember the stars that had pizzazz, that had presence, that grabbed you. There's a whole chapter in my book there about entrances and exits, and it's all about the difference between an Irina Slutskaya entering the skating arena — the first thing she does is skate over to her coach, takes a swig of water, high fives her coach, and adjusts the pants on her dress. And the next thing she does is blow her nose. Now, come on, is that theatre? That's not a humdinger of an entrance. The point is that, how does Katarina Witt do it? She doesn't lose for one moment the presence, the theatre aspect of it. And the gal we remember most of those two has gotta be Katarina Witt. And that's why there's a chapter in the book called "Where Are You When We Need You, Katarina Witt?" And . . . what else can I tell you? [laughs] This is my favorite rant. AM: You're passionate and I love it. I love every minute of it. DB: Well, come on, you know, it's a fun activity. It's a very complicated activity. It has so many elements to it that you simply cannot avoid any one of them. And the level of performance is one of those characteristics. AM: Yes. Well, you are a vocal critic of the judging system, but I am curious because you have said that there are parts of it that you think are worth preserving. What parts would that be? DB: Well, for example, I think you should always have a markdown if you fall. Right now what we are seeing is — how many people fell in the last [2014] National Championship, both men and women, in the different parts. How many people fall down? AM: Not a lot this year, actually. DB: Well, Ashley Wagner, she did. But you're being rewarded if you do a quadruple jump and you fall down but you're rotated almost enough to complete the thing in the air. This is all part of Ottavio Cinquanta's desire to — if he had his way, he would not have any judges there at all, and it would all be based on points and timing. I would like the fact that there would be no reward at all for a fall. And a deduction if you fall down.  I write about this in my book, there was a communiqué from the ISU explaining what falls were. You don't know what a fall is, I don't know what a fall is, certainly. But this rule came out and then three months later, there was — I mean, the question was, what part of the body was the fall on, was it on your bottom, was it on your core, and if you were on your fanny, were you on one buttock or another buttock or were you on both buttocks [laughs]. And then along came three months later this explanation, this clarification, and then changes to the rule that explained what a fall was [laughs]. So you have to read all that to understand the sense of the nit-picking. Now listen, let me tell you something else, and I write about this in the book . I challenge you to count — take one of the ladies anywhere, not necessarily Ashley Wagner, but start with a young lady and start counting the number of times when they're doing step sequences and all of those wonderful things, where they raise either one or the other or both arms over the level of their shoulders. And if you start counting, my bet is that you will get to 20 very, very quickly, and then you can stop. They're like flailing windmills. That's exactly the point. That does not augur well, in my book. First of all, there's just gotta be less talk about it. Why do you have to have something that is exactly two minutes with so many seconds on either end of it? That isn't the way. You should have one program that is your technical program, and one program that is your creative or other program, but neither one should be acceptable or be able to be marked well unless it has the qualities of the other one. One should be of technical merit and one should be of — the old judging captions, artistic impression, they are in a sense that way now, they're just called something different, it's technical marks and the program components. AM: So I wonder, you do outline at the end of the book your wishes and suggestions for better scoring, and they do include that the two programs should be different and that there shouldn't be a time limit. DB: Put it this way, there should be a time limit, but a generous one. I mean, during the World Professional Championships, we recorded the length of time of every skater, and only once did somebody ever go over, I think, maybe four and a half or five minutes.  So if you have three and a half minutes or four minutes, a generous thing — what difference does it make? Why do you just have to limit yourself? This is just the one program, not the technical program, the artistic impression program. AM: Well, I'm curious, what do the powers that be think about your ideas? Have you gotten any feedback? DB: No, I don't have feedback, because they . . . Ottavio Cinquanta does not want any subjective judging there. Remember, he is a speed skater, and all he can see — number one, he has two goals to his agenda. And once you understand a man's agenda, you will understand what he will do. His agenda is to have, number one, to never have another scandal like we had in Salt Lake at the pairs skating competition. And number two, he's all for eliminating anything subjective about the sport. He would like it to be like speed skating. You get over the line first, you've won. Now that is not figure skating. And besides he's said it too many times, and he's the one who put the new rules system in. My chapters go into all of that and show the chicanery that was involved with it. And now because he [laughs] made a contractual offer and placed every officer in their position for an additional period of time, he will now remain as head of the ISU until the year 2016. It's a chapter in the book as well. AM: You have always been an advocate for great spinning. You've talked about Dorothy Hamill, Lucinda Ruh, Ronnie Robertson, so I have to wonder, that in the new judging system, it has to be nice that at least you see the spins getting rewarded even if you don't always love the positions. DB: Well, I find that the multiple levels — you know, everything that you look at, there's a grade of execution, there's a level of difficulty. If you add more moves and turns into your spin, you get more points. But nobody gets points for blurred spinning. Nobody gets points for the things that used to make the audience stand on their feet and cheer. Spinning is just as important as jumping, and it's one of the two major technical elements in skating, the other being jumping and then of course there's spinning. And when you see somebody moving from position to position and changing their edges, all that sort of thing, you're not looking at the spin. At least have one spin that reflects the total true quality of a fast, delayed, long lived spin, where everything counters on the centering and everything counters on the blurring of it and on the finishing of it. Look, I don't have to have everything that I like, it's what other people like too, but I will tell you, there's very little to cheer for when you get a 243.8 personal best score. That doesn't give the average person an understanding of what the heck the score is all about, except that somebody else can get 283.9. And I trust that was more than the first number I gave [laughs]. AM: Well, I've actually always wanted that. I've always wanted there to be at least one spin that was skaters' choice, if you will, that they could do just for choreographic effect. Just like they've finally done with the step sequences, where you can just do one that you don't have to do without so many turns and flailing and windmilling, but it's one that just works with the music. DB: Well, there's very little — you can't really create things that are unusual or unexpected or different and expect to get anywhere under the current judging system. AM: Well, you have of course mentioned before that the ISU needs to be split, that skating shouldn't be run by a speed skater any longer. It's going to be a while, of course, since Ottavio wrote his own contract . . . DB: Well, of course he did, and nobody stood up to him. Nobody was able to stand up to him because he has cultivated so many federations which are all speed skating federations which get their money from figure skating. So what do they care? Why would they care what the rules for figure skating are, any more than a figure skater would care less whether the speed skating race is another 50 meters or not?  That's up to the speed skaters to understand that. And the very fact that they — did you know that there are over 80 federations in the world of skating? AM: I didn't know there were that many. DB: Over 80, and most of them all — the majority either are speed skating or joint speed skating and figure skating. And they get money from figure skating, the ISU pays them money from figure skating. And the end result is that of course they're going to do what he wants. AM: Do you think there's anyone out there right now who can challenge him, who can be the next great leader, to separate the two? DB: I think probably everybody is scared beyond belief. You see, the impact of the Olympic Games is always the most publicized event, but I can guarantee you, even the world championships which are taking place after the Olympic Games, they're not going to be on live. They're going to be in about two weeks in a summary program on NBC. Now maybe there's some obscure cable system or Ice Network that will show them, but you have to buy that cable system. I'm sure there will be recordings of it. But [laughs] here's a world championship that will be coming up a month later than the Olympic Games. Wouldn't you think it should deserve — and it used to always be very much of a highlight. Now it's sloughed off and it's shown a week or two weeks later after the world championship is over. I don't like that. AM: I don't either. All right, well, let's move on from the judging and talk about which skaters for you right now are really exciting. You've mentioned Davis and White. DB: Well, look, let me tell you something. My book covers a point about to wilt or not to wilt. When you have somebody who simply does not wilt, that in itself is exciting. And many a time, those people that can rise to the occasion, and suddenly pull together a program that is phenomenal — it's what you want to see. I mean, I found myself rising out of my seat when Jason Brown performed, because he in a sense broke the rules. It will be very interesting to see how he fares in this international competition, when he has competition from not only Jeremy Abbott but from Chan, Plushenko, Denis Ten, Javier Fernandez, and the Japanese skaters. It'll be very interesting to see how he compares in that to them. Remember, the national championship is one where it's a single country. And there aren't countries that are vying to improve their lot because that's the way they get money from the ISU. It's a different situation. I hope like the devil that he does brilliantly. I find him a fascinating skater and I was entranced by the choreography. And the choreography was done by Rohene Ward. I remember talking to him a couple of years ago, saying, you are going to keep on skating, aren't you? And he said, no, I'm not. And I felt that was a great loss. I'm very happy now to see him back in force as a choreographer. AM: Yes. And I'm happy to see someone, that he has a student that can interpret that choreography so well. Because, you know, Rohene was a very unusual talent, and oddly enough Jason has a lot of the same qualities, with his extreme flexibility and his showmanship. DB: Wait a minute. Are you telling me that that flexibility can't be gained by other people? They can, if they would understand what that is and follow that. AM: No, but I think Rohene was very unusual for a male skater to be able to use it to choreographic effect. DB: Why as a male skater? AM: Well, because most men, if they could do the splits like that, they certainly wouldn't lower themselves on the ice and pull themselves back up and do a lot of — Johnny Weir could lift his leg all the way up before a lutz, too, just like Jason and Rohene can, but it is unusual. DB: Well, that's because they don't follow that either. If you look at the number of skaters among the ladies that – well, look, there's a totally developable way. Guys can learn. You see it in gymnastics, for heaven's sake, If they do it, why can't figure skaters? Look, this is called the development of the — right now, I can guarantee you there's very, very little of the component score voting for some of the stuff that Jason Brown did. He was marvelous in the fact that he did not open his program with the single most difficult jump that he could. I'm really fascinated to see how the international version of this will work out, the international competition coming up in the Olympic Games. AM: So you did mention that he is a bit of a rule breaker in that sense, and you have said in your book that rules are made to be broken. And you did use Torvill and Dean as a perfect example of that, of course, from 1984. Is there a rule that you see right now that you wish someone would break, or push a little more? DB: Yeah. If you look at the rules of the component scores, you will see that, number one, they include skating skills, transitions/linking footwork and movement, performance and execution, choreography, and composition. Now what is the difference between choreography and composition, and transitional and linking footwork and movement, et cetera? I mean, aren't these the same things? AM: To me they are. To me it's semantics. DB: That's right. And isn't it better to have a skater develop that through their own intelligence rather than having to control those step sequences through it? And the linking movement and the linking footwork? And the transitions and the linking movement? [laughs].There was a wonderful English lady who would always comment on English television, and she had a very high voice, and when it came out, linking movements, we were all happily amused [laughs]. AM: Well, that's a good challenge for the next person listening to this, to try to push those boundaries a little bit per Dick Button's request. All right. So, you have a chapter on music choices, and there are a lot of choices as you know that are constantly overused and that we are all tired of hearing about. So is there a piece of music that you have never gotten tired of hearing, that you feel is underutilized? DB: Look, these pieces of music are time-honored pieces of music. So if you look at, for example, Swan Lake, I still will go, when I go to the theatre in the winter time, I still will go to New York City and see Swan Lake. I mean, it doesn't stop any more than certain songs that you get tired of. It is the way they're developed, and I do a whole thing in this book on the development of music by the skater, and whether they understand what the music is saying. And when you pick a piece of music like Carmen or Swan Lake, it comes with over a hundred years — one comes with much more than a hundred years and one comes from close to a hundred years — of very fine history and development and interpretation. Are you telling me that because six skaters do it within a two-year period of time that you're tired of it? I find it's that the skater hasn't developed it. We're always seeing different interpretations of dance, and if you get tired of Swan Lake being done, then try to bring a great quality into it that makes it sing. Swan Lake is wonderful for skating because it has long sweeping movements. It is not Irish clog dancing or step dancing. AM: Well, I think if you're going to pick, and this is my opinion, but I think if you're going to pick one of the commonly used pieces, you better make it good and different and that's what I think — Samantha Cesario, I don't know if you saw her program, when she did it this year at Nationals I thought it was fantastic. And I am not a fan of using Carmen because I think that after Debi Thomas and Katarina Witt had the battle of the Carmens, you'd better leave Carmen pretty dead. You know? [laughs] DB: But one of the things is, you have to understand what the music is. I write about this in the book, and I talk about Mao Asada who is a lovely skater and a very nice person. But she had all the white feathers and all the music, et cetera, but there was no understanding of the movement of a swan in that. There was no understanding of the history of Swan Lake. I mean, you can't have a program that has been performed for more than one hundred years now, nearly one and a half centuries, in great companies with great choreography and great sweeping music, and not understand what that performance level is. You must understand the music, you must be able to — and there are different interpretations of the music, different orchestrations, there are many times different ones. Whatever the piece of music it is that you choose, you can find sometimes more than one interpretation, and unfortunately we don't hear about that on the commentary, I don't think. AM: Is there a piece of music you would like to hear more? DB: Look, that's like saying is there a great skater that I'd like to see more of. Always! Always.  I like great skating. That's all I'm saying, I like the best. And I want to be — it's theatre, it's athletic ability, it's competition, it's technical demands, it's music, it's choreography, it's costuming, it's the whole kit and caboodle. And I guarantee you, do you think they're going to cut out — I wouldn't be at all surprised, if Ottavio Cinquanta had his way, that he would make everybody wear the same costume for the team competition. AM: They were talking about that. One of the articles this week was talking about putting all the athletes in Nike outfits [laughs]. DB: Yeah, yeah, yeah, remind me of one event I don't want to see if that's the case [laughs]. Oh, gawd. If you have a great product, don't mess with it. Skating was a great product. Now we've messed with it so completely and for so long that it's very disheartening. Remember, you're not a member of the rules committee if you're not making rules. If you're a rule maker, you have to be making rules or otherwise you're not a rule maker. AM: [laughs] They got a little over-zealous. All right. Your commentary is epic. People still talk about it, they miss hearing you, your catchphrases have inspired a drinking game and compilations on YouTube. And you have gotten some heat for your comments such as “refrigerator break”. DB: I'd like to address that. What the heck, would it have been better if I had said, it will give you an opportunity to make a toilet break? I don't think so. A refrigerator break — you know, I think I got over 1100 letters from people saying that I had only said that, I wouldn't have said that if this, that, and the other thing. And I wrote each one of them back and I said, look, Angela Nikodinov was a very talented skater, but she was skating against Michelle Kwan, and there is no problem coming in second behind Michelle Kwan, but she was coming in fifth, fourth, second, third, fourth, that sort of thing, floating around. But what she allowed you to do was to lose your sense of concentration on her. That's where performance level comes in. She was a gorgeous, lovely skater, with wonderful technique and very, very beautiful on the ice. But she allowed you to lose your sense of concentration. She allowed you to switch off and take a refrigerator break. And after I answered that, I never heard anything more about it. AM: But she did listen to you, though. Because she came back amazing the next year. She made you pay attention. DB: [laughs] Well, that's my gold medal. My gold medal is when I hear, when I make a criticism of somebody and then I see later that they have either improved it or changed it. One of the things I always said about Evgeni Plushenko was, way back in 2002, I said, he's a wonderful jumper but he's a lousy spinner. And the next year, or two years, I was at a championship, and he said, how are my spins? Are they better? So he was listening, and he made it good. And his spins were better. And that's a great compliment to me, when somebody does that. AM: So how many skaters would you say have come up to you and talked to you about your comments about their performance? DB: Well, I had a lot of skaters say, can you point it out to me. One of them was Jason Dungjen and his partner, Kyoko Ina. Kyoko Ina had exquisite posture and stretch and arching of the back, and Jason was like a nice all-American skater without that same stretch. So when they did a pair move, hers was extended beautifully and his was not parallel to it. As soon as I pointed that out to him, he understood exactly what I was talking about, and I think they worked hard on it. So that was a great honor to me. That is my gold medal, my reward, when a skater will do that. And look, you really only criticize, I say this in the book, you really only criticize a skater if they're talented. If they're not talented, it doesn't spark comment. AM: Would you say the refrigerator break comment was the largest reaction you've gotten over the years from fans, or was there another one? DB: It was one of them. Another one of them was when I commented one time about, I think it was crossing the street in New York, and everybody said, oh, you wouldn't have said that if the skater that I was referring to wasn't black. And come on, I encourage my kids to cross the street, I say, stop and look in both directions, otherwise you'll get run over and then you'll look like a pancake on that road. It's about an awareness of your surroundings, and you've got to be aware of the surrounding effect in an arena. How many times do you see — go back and look at programs. That's why some day I would like to see a great media museum of skating. Because if you go back and you look at these performances and you consider them, then you will never forget that. And it will apply itself, it will be another basis for another understanding of what it is that you're doing. Every position you take on the ice should be thought out. You cannot just do these positions where you see the skater come out and they take their position and the free leg toe is pointed behind and to the side of the skating leg — you know, the kind of position you take where one foot is flat on the ice and the other is on a point behind you. Look at the number of times you see, what is the position of that foot? Is it turned under, or is it not in an elegant position? If you want to see proper position, look at Oleg and Ludmila Protopopov, and John Curry, and Janet Lynn, and Peggy Fleming. And Dorothy Hamill, who became an infinitely better skater after she had won the Olympics. I was a better skater after I had finally learned, long after I had retired, and learned from — there's a whole chapter in this, it's called "Open Your Eyes, Dummy." And it was my opening my eyes which led me finally to understand what the heck skating was all about. AM: Well, I would love it if we finally had a media museum with all those performances. DB: There is the museum in Colorado Springs, but it doesn't have any money. US Figure Skating is not really going to support it because they want to support skating today. But sometimes the education, the media education is imperative. AM: Yes. Well, I am hopeful that one day will come to fruition, that there will be a central place where all that is housed, and it's not just Youtube [laughs]. So, all right, your book, I sort of felt like as I was reading it, and this is sort of getting heavy here, I really felt that it was a metaphor for living a balanced and fulfilling life. It talks about centering yourself, breaking the rules, having a solid foundation, fighting the good fight, not wilting under pressure, and having a whole lot of fun. Do you view skating that way? DB: Yep. You know, skating is no different than gardening, than painting, than anything else. You know, I hope you'll come some day and see my garden lecture [laughs]. Then you can do a conversation on that for a different sport. But all of these things intertwine. Why do you dress the way you do? Why do you speak the way you do? Why do you live in a house, if you have the opportunity to live in a house, why do you choose the style of house you do? All of these are inherent in skating, and they are inherent in everything else. It is called not only what the eye beholds, it's what the eye registers. One of my pet peeves is watching skaters take position in the center of the ice, when they skate down and they're on one foot, and the other knee is bent. Time after time, you look at that particular entrance move on one foot, and it's not a beautiful move, but yet there is every skater doing it. What is that move, what is that position supposed to be? If you ask the skater, what are you trying to express by that, are you expressing a welcoming moment to the crowd? You don't have to be on one foot to do that. Take a look at it yourself, and I urge all your listeners to take a look at that, and take a look at the number of times an arm flings above the shoulder. And question each and every one. Peggy Fleming, always, I would see her in front of a mirror at a rink, constantly checking out the way she finished a turn or a pirouette, or made a turn, and how the dress worked with it. She was constantly looking at that. And you will find that she does not make a move even today without knowing exactly what that position is, whether she's on skates or not. Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov, and I talk about this in the book, I went up to Lake Placid where they were getting a lifetime achievement award, and of course the Lake Placid club or whoever it was didn't have any money for publicizing it, and it was an almost empty arena. However, the Protopopovs skated in it as if they were skating for the King and Queen of England. And Oleg took an opening position with Ludmila, and you take one look — without them moving one inch, they took a position, and I said, that's it, that's their whole performance right there in that position.  They were stunningly beautiful in that position. And they're well into their 70s, and there was the story, right there. My problem is, I can't look at skating — that's one of the sickening things with having watched it for so long, is that I've seen extraordinary performances, Belita Jepson-Turner, Noffke and Schubach, pairs skaters who were champions of the US in the 40s, the movement, their parallelism of their moves was extraordinary. They couldn't do throw axels and they couldn't know what triple side-by-side jumps were and so forth, but their pair skating quality was without compare. I mean, it was just extraordinary. All I'm asking the skaters to do, and everybody else to do, is to look at it, and say, why are we doing this? Each step, what is it supposed to do, and is it? Does it interpret the music and does it interpret — John Curry, we did a thing with Ice Theatre of New York, Dance on Camera, at Lincoln Centre over the weekend, and it was all about, it was a great deal of comment and production in the John Curry film of what he was teaching skaters and the way he was making them look at film. Slavka Kohout used to do that. She would take all her dancers in to see the ballet, or any other production that had dance movement in it. It wasn't about seeing it, it was about registering it. And that's the important thing. If there's only one thing I hope for in this book, with a little bit of tomfoolery that you don't get stuck into something serious, and, number two, that it opens your eyes. AM: I love that. All right, I just have one more question for you, then, since we are just days away from the Olympics. I am curious what you think about the new team event. DB: Oh, I don't really think much about it at all one way or the other. I think if they want to do it, that's fine. It gives a secondary skater a secondary choice, and it gives somebody who may not win a medal another chance to win a medal, and I'm fine with that. I don't have any great problem with it. You know, God bless them, what they're doing is trying to get another set of television exposure, and that produces money and blah blah blah. The one thing, though, that I did understand was that when the rules were not quite set in Budapest, at the European championships, the newspaper people were asking Ottavio Cinquanta what was the rule about such and such, and he said he didn't know. He said, you have to ask the Russians about that. Well, hello! Are the Russians the ones that are controlling the sport? I mean, the Russians are a hell of a good skaters, and very efficient, and they've got a wonderful team going, but are they the arbiters of our sport? That's my complaint. “I am a speed skater, I know nothing about figure skating.” AM: I know, it's incredible. Well, I agree with you that it's wonderful that there's another opportunity for skaters to get medals, because there's just been the one chance all these decades. But I also don't think that it was done for any reason other than ratings and money. I'm cynical enough for that. But I'm glad to see the skaters get another opportunity. DB: Right. But you've also got to remember that that's why figures are no longer with us. They didn't bring in any money, nobody watched them, they took a lot of time, they were expensive, and they didn't add anything to the income. So this is another one that adds to the income, and it really doesn't change anything. I'm sure they'll all do their same programs that they will do again. They're not going to create a new program now. They might for another year. AM: Maybe for the next round. But we'll see. To be determined [laughs]. Well, I am going to take you up on your offer and invite myself to one of your garden lectures someday. DB: [laughs]. All right. I just finished one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and one at the Botanic Garden in Arizona, and I've done several in the New York area, in the New York and Connecticut area, and maybe there'll be one in the early spring or so in a nearby city to New York. So I'll let you know. AM: Please! And as we've discussed I'm hoping to come out and see you in a couple of weeks, and do another interview more about you. DB: Good. AM: And I hope that you'll let me come up and take a look at your fantastic art collection of skating art. DB: Oh, you're more than welcome. AM: I would love it. DB: You're more than welcome. You have a good one, my dear, and keep the faith. AM: You too. Enjoy the next couple of weeks of good television. DB: Thank you, ma'am.   AM: And there it is. I have finally had my dream of interviewing Dick Button. I can now die happy. I think. Although, as you heard, he did want to have another conversation later. So we will plan to do that. And until next time —May you be a pioneer with whatever you choose to do. May you be as opinionated and passionate about your life's work as Dick Button is about his life's work. And as he says in his new book Push Dick's Button, on page 46, and yes, I'm paraphrasing just a little bit: don't skate to Carmen. Bye-bye!

In 1988, the glamorous East German skater, Katarina Witt, and her American rival, Debbi Thomas, both chose to dance the role of Carmen in the final of the Olympics. For Sporting Witness, Witt recalls a contest that became known as the "Battle of the Carmens".PHOTO:

MAY 2012 With his partner Kyoka Ina, John Zimmerman was three time US National Champion, 2002 World Bronze Medalist, and 5th at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. He's been a Stars On Ice performer, a model, a coach, and is also (with wife Sylvia Fontana) the founder of Karisma Sportswear. He talks about starting skating in an Alabama mall, his role models in Pair skating, and how much fun he had shooting Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. 45 minutes, 22 seconds Win a pair of Women's Pants from Karisma Sportswear! One lucky winner can win a pair of women's pants from Karisma Sportswear. To enter, send me either through email, twitter or my Facebook page the answer to the following question: what music did Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman skate to during their Short Program at the 2002 Olympics? All entries received between May 13, 2012 and June 11, 2012 are eligible. The winners will be picked at random from all correct entries sent. Click here to learn more about how to enter. Thanks to Fiona Mcquarrie for transcribing these interview highlights: On his most embarrassing skating moment: I can clearly tell you right now. For me, it was 2001 Worlds. I was very excited, very hyper. Usually Kyoko and I went and did our own thing, just skated on our own, and I went — somehow I caught my heel on crossovers, fell and slid into the wall. On crossovers. Pretty humiliating. Just as we're starting to vie for a position at Worlds. Pretty stupid [laughs]. On how he began skating: I started in a mall rink in 1976 or 1977. My mom was a skater from Michigan. They ended up moving down to Montgomery [Alabama], and on the weekends she wanted to go skating, so she took me to the mall. I just took to it, I loved it. It kept me off the streets and gave me something to do [laughs]. And there was a game room in the mall so I'd go play games afterwards. It was just a fun-filled afternoon for me. By the time I was eight we moved up to Ohio, and I'd done ISI [Ice Skating Institute] competitions, and there I got into USFSA [US Figure Skating Association] competitions, so it got a little more competitive, and that's where it really took off. On starting as a pairs skater: I remember seeing little newspaper articles from when I was about eight, with a girl, but we didn't really skate pairs, we just stroked around a lot and probably argued [laughs]. I didn't start skating pairs until I was 17. Most of the time everyone's pursuing a singles career, and that's the mentality I'm trying to change a little bit. I was 17, I enjoyed it, and it was an attractive idea, wondering if I could compete internationally now, instead of waiting until I got this triple jump or whatever. On being coached by Peter Oppegard, while skating with Stephanie Stiegler: Peter was intense and he had a vision for his teams. I loved it then, but I appreciate it even now. He still has a reputation for being an intense coach, and I think it's great. Peter has a very good way of being able to draw your potential out with his ideas and his intensity, and as long as everyone's on the page, these things work. On working with Tamara Moskvina: She was a master of trying to make the most of things for the team, and she took responsibility for it. A lot of coaches just say, I'm trying to do this, I'm trying to do that, but if the team's not up to par, she feels that she hasn't done something. She hasn't been creative enough, or she hasn't figured out a way to get it to where we believe in it, or figured it out. I remember a couple of times at competitions, she took the blame for it, like, I have not done my job as a coach to get him to understand, or get her to understand. And I'm like, whew, the pressure's off me [laughs]. But as a coach now, I mention that to my teams, but I don't think I'm at the level yet to take full responsibility. I don't know if I can handle that yet [laughs]. On pairs skaters changing partners: It's kind of a delicate situation because you have to stay on the ethical side of things. Usually, like in everything, face to face dialogue and honesty is best. Having a clear game plan with the students, getting clear goals from them, getting them to understand your goals, and if something's not being met, having that be addressed. And everyone needs to know that if it's not being addressed, then there needs to be a meeting, and everyone has to decide which way to go, and everything needs to be clear. When you address another coach, you just go straight up to them and talk to them about it, maybe get US Figure Skating involved, but never to the student. If the student wants to talk to another student, to their friends, then that's one thing to do, but I still think the best way to do it is from coach to coach. On working with Tamara Moskvina, Igor Moskvin, and Artur Dmitriev during his partnership with Kyoko Ina: They harnessed me down a lot in my thoughts and my emotions, which for 90% of the part was great. Sometimes it's good to let a little bit out, a little wildness in a skating program or in how a person goes about their practice or their competition. But they definitely taught me structure of thought, structure of competition and practice, and how to know my body, know myself and what to expect. And at high-level competition, to learn from each mistake and to know your body. Peter brought out a great artistic flair in me. Tamara got it to where I controlled it a bit more, and Kyoko is a technician. She was the go-to person on the jumps, she had extremely efficient skating. I had to work on that a bit more, I was a little bit of a bull in a china shop that way, but I offered a side of it that she didn't have and that she could grow from. Artur was my hero growing up, it was the reckless abandonment of skating, and he had the cool hair and he was big and strong [laughs]. The confidence in his face, and the care for the woman, their cultural way on the stage, in the presence of the audience, of handling the woman — it's more than just skating pairs, it's the whole look. And I aspired to be like him, I wanted to move like him and skate like him. On being a cute boy and then a handsome adult in skating: Well, coming from Alabama, you know, you certainly weren't regarded as a good looking guy, because I was wearing spandex outfits, and if I ever had any friends come to see me, they would make fun of me and think it's silly, I'm lifting up my leg and moving my hand in a balletic way or whatever. I was humbled big time. And then I had a ballet teacher I worked with in Alabama, she was cute and I responded to what she wanted me to do. She was telling me I was looking good, and I was feeling the confidence [laughs]. It gave me confidence in a way I'd never experienced before. But I don't think about looks or anything, I just enjoy doing what I'm doing. And if that portrays a certain look or whatever, that's great. On competing at the 2002 Olympics: We wanted to know what kind of emotions we were going to have walking into it. We had a four-year plan with Tamara, and we worked out the placements we wanted to get. We had good performances and we had moments where we looked like we had two left feet, but the second year we placed seventh [at Worlds]. The third year, we placed seventh again, so we were duplicating that, which was devastating, because we needed to be fifth. So we hit a couple of Grand Prix finals, we did okay, we were there, which was the most important thing. But replicating the seventh place was so bad that we had to go back home and work that much harder. So that last year, in my mind, we worked hard, US Figure Skating gave us great support financially and with anything we needed to be the best. But also, the way we went into that last year, it was like, this is it. This might be the only Olympics I get to go to, and I really dedicated myself. It was intense, but it was so long, it was like ten months. I wanted to be a vegetable on the couch at the end of the day, knowing that I could not have done any more. I was sick of going to competitions and being nervous. So I wanted to go and enjoy myself. And when I was at the Olympics walking around, one of the first days, I was thinking, I'm healthy, I've never been in better shape, and here I am at the Olympics representing my country. [The judging scandal] I don't know if it affected our results that much, but it really comes down to feeling you've done the best you could. A month later, we got the bronze medal at Worlds, but we didn't skate that well, and I don't even hardly remember that performance. The crowning moment of my career was the Olympics, what it meant, and the way we skated. You have a four year plan, and you go four years later and you know exactly where you are. That was cool. But what really irritated me about the whole judging scandal is that there are people who have their own political purposes, and they're using all of us for pawn pieces, you know, from chess, and it does make me sick to think — I come from Alabama, I skated in a mall rink, my dream was to be in the Olympics, and these people don't know that if that little boy had that dream, he could have had the misfortune from someone else's decisions and their political games, and that's kind of unfortunate. Even if it's 13th or 14th place, with the sacred Games that it is or it's touted to be, it's a placement and it should hold a lot more sanctity, I think. On skating in Stars on Ice: It was phenomenal. All of us who were on it, it was our dream to be on these tours. The camaraderie and the ensemble work, it's just cool. It was the best, great lights, great music, intimate setting on the smaller ice. That first year, it was with Katarina Witt, Tara Lipinski, Gorsha Sur and Renee Roca, Jenni [Meno] and Todd [Sand}, Kurt Browning, Scott Hamilton, all these great skaters. Your jaw is dropping, thinking, I can't believe I'm with this group of people, I'm from Alabama, this doesn't make any sense [laughs]. But you feel intimidated, so the thing you'd better do is keep working, and I loved it and wanted to keep on that job. And what cooler job can you have than ice skating and making money doing it? So we always would work really hard to be more capable and to figure out the direction that would keep us unique. On working with his wife, Silvia Fontana: We're together 95% of the time. The only time we're apart is if she's off doing a show in Italy or something or I'm off doing a show. We love it. We coach every day together. We respect each other as athletes and as people, and we learn from each other every day, and make each other laugh. There's no other place I'd rather be than by her side, anywhere. On being on the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy TV show: When I got the call, they called my agent, I wasn't sure, I was like, isn't this the show where they cut the guy's hair off all the time? No, thank you. I wrote that in the contract, can you believe that? Yeah, you can do the show but you're not going to cut my hair [laughs]. I didn't know what to expect with those guys, it was a four-day taping , and it was like a hurricane. They come in, and you're supposed to only interact with them on camera, because everything has to be spontaneous. So we could be in different rooms for two hours, setting up the scene, and then meeting and being spontaneous [laughs]. Oh, wait, can you make that reaction again? Burst in the door and be surprised [laughs]. But we enjoyed the show, we got a ton of things out of it, great exposure, and we loved the guys. We still see Carson [Kressley] every once in a while. On being on the Skating with Celebrities TV show: It was cool, but it was intense. Since I had already been on one reality show, I figured it was going to be staged. It wasn't, and it was a lot more competitive than you'd imagine. Especially Lloyd [Eisler] and I, coming down to the wire in the end, we were doing a lot of these crazy moves that we shouldn't have been doing with people who hadn't really skated [laughed]. I did the same kind of show two years ago in Russia, Night on Ice. I got to skate with Leo Tolstoy's great-granddaughter, which was kind of cool, but it was four and a half months long, 15 episodes, which was like forever [laughs]. On running the Karisma sportswear line: It's been a lot of fun, and it's certainly a direction I never thought I would go, women's sportswear [laughs], but . . . Silvia started it a few years ago. She was teaching in Italy when I was teaching there as well, and she gave a present to a skating mother over there, it was a little skating dress, and they talked about starting their own company over there, which they did [laughs]. They wanted a nice, upscale, very beautiful Italian representation for figure skating, something that looked classy and elegant, and cute, and something made with the best materials in the world. So we have a very good line that has some great interesting textured fabrics, and every kid will ooh and aah once they touch it, and the colors really pop. And it's been three years and we are selling all over Russia and Japan and Europe. It's a lot of work but it's a lot of fun. On the state of pairs skating in the US: There's some classical-looking teams there that look unique. I think another year or so and we're going to have some depth to it. It's important to me. I'd like to have good access for all the kids in this country looking for teams and looking for partnerships, and getting more boys. If we're going to be competitive with the world, we need to get more guys around 14 or 15 thinking of pairs right away. That's going to be the hard part, because it's a commodity, in a way, it's rare to find a good guy.

Gas Station Whores...they're much younger than they used to be.  Speaking of retro, Katarina Witt's bush seemed to be a major topic of conversation.  We have inauguration burnout. Sit by your mailbox for your invitation to the Bad T-Shirt Party.  That airline pilot hero should be pulling a lot of gas station whores.Music:Spider - Midnight On The NileThe Franco Proietti Morph-Tet - BushidoJune Rising - Brother BewareLa Revolucion De Emiliano Zapata - Shit CityPearls Of Joy - Gloria

Sales Coaching, Marketing Outsourcing and Radio Syndication are the topics included in this extended version of The Persuaders Marketing Podcast. Show notes and timeline: 1'25" Interview with Frank Dick MBE. Coaching has been Frank's passion for decades, inspiring world-beating performances from some of the top names in sport - Daley Thompson, Boris Becker, Gerhard Berger and Katarina Witt. He is currently involved with Denise Lewis, Ronnie Irani, Justin Rose, Marat Safin, Ipswich Town Football Club and Jean Todt (Ferrari Formula One Manager). In business, he has helped develop a coaching culture in British Telecom, Unilever, Shell, Abbey National and Rolls Royce. In this interview, conducted at the Sales Institute of Ireland annual conference, I discuss with Frank the distinction between leadership and coaching in the context of effective selling. 12'45" Interview on the topic of outsourcing in marketing with John Fareed of Fareed and Zapala hospitality marketing consultants and Nora Duggan of outsourcing specialists Alternatives. 34'50" A Brief Word on Branding with Gerard Tannam 37'56" An Interview with Dusty Rhodes from Digital Audio Productions who has just secured the contract to broadcast an Alice Cooper radio show every Saturday night on Irish radio. In the interview we discuss the impact of podcasting and digital radio generally on existing broadcast formats.