A New Challenge
Federico: we have been thinking about
trying ice figure skating even before winning our fourth world
title. We had achieved everything in roller skating and we had
no motivation left to go on in that sport…
Marika: roller skating
is such a poor sport you go on only thanks to your passion.
Federico: just like any other athlete, our
dream is to compete in the Olympics. Unfortunately you can't
fulfill this dream in roller skating. Our hope is the attend the
Olympic Games at least once in our lives; that's why we started
this new adventure.
In December 2006, after
performing in a roller skating exhibition, Marika and Federico
meet Filippo Ferrari an Italian sports journalist, expert in
both roller and ice figure skating.
Federico:
we talked to him about our intention to try out on the ice.
Since the very beginning he supported us, guided us into this
new and unknown world. He's always believed in us.
Marika and Federico started
training on the ice in June 2007.
Marika: it was the basic skating we had
major difficulty with not the technical elements..
Federico: ...it's not easy to change your
technique after 20 years of roller skating!
And combining sport and a job is
even more difficult…
Federico: we had a lot of troubles trying
to reorganize our lives... to train together we were used to
travelling but it was just between our hometowns (Bologna and
Rovigo). Now to train on the ice we have to go to Milano.
Luckily I managed to get a part-time job so I work from Monday
to Wednesday...
Marika: …while I work
everyday and to train at weekends in Milano I need to take days
off... Things will get even more complicated during the summer:
the rink in Ferrara we can train at during the week, closes at
the beginning of March.
The first competition on the ice
Bolzano, October 2007.
With only 4 months of training on
the ice, Marika and Federico enter their first competition. In
Bolzano they perform to an adaption of the programs that lead
them to World Championship gold in 2006 and 2005 respectively: “Vivaldi's
Four Seasons” (adapted as short program) and
“Death and the Maiden” by Schubert.
Federico: before stepping on the ice for a
short while I asked myself what I was doing there after 20 years
of roller skating… I had very little confidence with the blades!
But then I told to myself it was worth trying.
A fall in the throw triple
salchow in their short program leaves Marika in not perfect physical shape. In the long program they decide to opt
for throw doubles instead of triples even if they can already
perform them in practice. At the end of the
competition their coach Maria Rita Zenobi is pretty satistifed:
there is a lot of work to do but the positive feedback they got
from the technical staff is encouraging.
Marika
e Federico in the history of Italian ice figure skating
Como, December 2007.
At their second competition on
the ice, Marika and Federico, for the first time in the history
of Italian figure skating, perform two throw triple jumps in the
same program: a triple salchow and a triple loop. The
improvement they show compared to the competition in Bolzano is
impressive. Other than the two triple throws, they execute an
excellent double lutz twist and two spectacular lifts, they were
specially reknown for in roller skating.
The Italian national
championships
Milano, December 2007.
The debut of Marika and Federico at
the national figure skating championships is not easy:
Federico arrives in Milano with the flu and skates the short
program with high temperature. Their performance is not good
with two falls in the throw and the side by side jump.
Federico: at nationals I skated the short
program with 38°C temperature and it was a disaster; we had
thought about withdrawing but then our performance in the long
program was good enough to convince the technical commitee to
send us to the european championships.
With great courage and
determination Marika and Federico face the long program; their
performance is definitely better than the previous day: the two
throw jumps (salchow and loop) are landed with ease and Marika
and Federico end the competition in second place. A few days
later the federation technical
committee makes the official announcement: the pair will compete at the European championships
in Zagreb.
The European championships
Zagreb, January 2008.
Marika and Federico arrive in
Zagreb for the 2008 European Figure Skating Championshis. It
couldn't have been a better debut at international level for
them: in the short program they execute a throw triple loop, a
very good double lutz twist and a double flip side by side but
what impresses the most is their group-5 reverse lift which is
rarely performed on the ice. Their performance is rewarded with
40.08 points (their personal best by far) and an excellent 10th
place.
In the long program Marika
and Federico show another impressive performance, expecially
considering they have been training on the ice for just about 7
months. Thanks to their experience as a pair, they can show in
competition all the technical elements they have mastered on the
ice so far: the two throw triples (salchow and loop) are cleanly
landend, the back-outside-edge spiral, the double lutz twist as
well as the lifts are excellent. The judges reward them with
72.03 points (the 9th score of the competition) and the 10th
place overall. Marika and Federico are really happy and
satisfied at the end of the competition.
Marika:
We're very happy, it was exciting to take part in these
European Championships expecially because it was kind of
unexpected. It was exciting to skate in front of so many
people because in roller skating, even at important
competitions, there has never been such big audience.
Everything went well, I think it couldn't have gone better
so we're very satisfied.
Federico:
We came here with no expectations, just
to see "how it looked like" but then the competition went
really well. We got very good marks and placement after
the short program already, so overall I think we couldn't
have hoped for a better result.
Marika and Federico's new adventure
has just begun...
