Figure Skating: Katarina Witt took her golden place

(3 of 3)

The newest of the Olympic skating events, ice dancing is still struggling to define itself. The exquisite artistry of Britain's Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who took the gold in 1984 with their creative Bolero routine, seemed to point the sport in a new direction. But this year's competitors cleaved to more traditional ballroom steps. The silver-winning Soviet pair of Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko were elegant, and Bronze Medalists Tracy Wilson and Robert McCall of Canada were charming -- but neither couple took the sport anywhere it had not gone before.

That achievement belonged to the pair that finished eighth, Isabelle Duchesnay and her brother Paul. Competing for France, though the two were % raised in Quebec, they skated -- quite literally -- to a different drummer. Shrugging out of classical ballroom-style routines, the Duchesnays performed a savage rite to the primitive rhythms of tribal drums. Like Torvill and Dean, the Duchesnays nudged the rigid rules of ice dancing, maintaining a single mood throughout their routine. (Not surprisingly, Dean was their choreographer.) The audience roared its approval, but the judges were unusually divided, their scores ranging from 5.0 to 5.8. Other skaters rallied to the Duchesnays' defense. "We're a little braver and ready to be innovative now because of the Duchesnays," said American Joseph Druar.

Other changes may be in store for the loveliest of the winter sports. In May the International Skating Union will meet to decide what, if anything, to do about compulsory figures. Some skaters and officials argue that figures are tedious to perform and consume practice time that could be better devoted to freestyle skating. Critics would like to see the figures count for less than 30% of the final mark, or perhaps even dropped. Others counter that trying to skate without mastering figures is like trying to write without learning the alphabet.

Speaking of alphabets, after the world championships next month, Witt and her string of S's will probably head for the silver screen, while Thomas, who suits Carmen to a P, will study to become a physician. "I'm still alive," Thomas said firmly as her disappointing scores flashed. "I can get on in my life, and I'll be fine." Amid all the hype and cheers and tears, those words rang brave and sincere.

ncG1vNJzZmibn6PBprrTZ6uipZVjsLC5jq2gpp1fqMKjv8KroJudomSus8DInKOeZ2BhgHR8j3Jjcm5mbn94eZJlZ2lmmKm6rQ%3D%3D