NEWSLINK: Russians ‘reveal their soul’ with love of figure skating

[“Russians ‘reveal their soul’ with love of figure skating” – USAToday.com – Kelly Whiteside – February 13, 2014 – usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/sochi/2014/02/12/winter-games-figure-skating-pairs-russians-love-gold-medal/5431649/]

USA Today covers figure skating at the Sochi Olympics, including the special significance the sport holds for people of the host country:

After a masterpiece of a free skate, love rained down on Russian pair skaters Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. With a performance that belonged in the Bolshoi, they restored Russia’s dynasty with a triumphant gold.
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No other event at these Olympics represents what Russia once was, and what it hopes to be, more than pairs figure skating. The love affair was in full bloom as the country’s passion for the sport pulsed through the Iceberg Skating Palace.

Figure skating combines athletic prowess with the graceful precision of ballet:

In a country known for its ballet and theater, figure skating combines both, along with power and grace.

“It’s a sport where Russians reveal their soul like ballet and theater,” Alisa Samarina from Rostov said through a translator. She had come to see just that.

Fifteen-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia also is challenging for a gold medal.

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