Word: skaters
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...purpose is to see how much control a skater has, how well he or she executes the fundamental techniques of the sport. In competition, three figures are used (they are often the counter, paragraph bracket and paragraph loop-see diagram). Each skater performs alone on the ice. Each may have some reference point in the rink-a pillar or sign-to help line up the dimensions of the figure, but the only reliable road maps are images programmed into sinew and synapses through years of etching the pattern in outlines of frost...
...surprisingly, the drill before a panel of judges can be excruciatingly tense. Take the demands of the paragraph loop, for instance. The maneuver begins with the competitor pushing off, moving backward on the outside edge of the right skate. In that position, moving slowly, the skater traces half a circle leading into a loop, gliding out to complete a full circle. He then changes to the inside blade edge and carves a second circle and loop...
Both circles must be the same size (about 5 or 6 ft. in diameter), they must be lined up together, and the loops must be on the same axis. And with all that, the job has only begun. Back at the beginning, the skater shifts to the left skate and goes over the same pattern (still skating backward), this time starting on the inside and changing to the outside edge. The exercise is repeated three times on each foot. The ultimate goal-a single, thin track left...
...sprinting speed on the racing oval, Soviet Woman Skater Tatiana Averina is a worthy successor to the now retired world champion, Ard Schenk of The Netherlands. A college student from the central Russian city of Gorky, Averina, 25, holds the world records in the 500, 1,000 and 1,500-meter events. Other medal possibilities at Innsbruck: Teammates Lubov Sadchikova and Galina Stepanskaya, American Sheila Young and Japan's Makiko Nagaya. Averina has no equivalent among the men, but Soviets hold four of five world marks. Impressive, but somewhat deceptive. The records were all set at high altitude...
SPEED SKATING Five events for men ranging from 500 to 10,000 meters. Four events for women ranging from 500 to 3,000 meters. Competitors race in pairs counterclockwise around a 400-meter rink, switching lanes in the backstretch. Skater in outside lane has right of way. Pairings are drawn...