Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman's 2002 Olympic freeskate to "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" was the crowning moment in their amateur skating careers. Though they finished off the podium in 5th place at those Salt Lake City games, their nearly flawless performance had energy, emotion, and excitement to spare. I felt they should have finished in at least 4th place, but given how wonderfully they skated, it was clearly a moment of personal triumph for Kyoko and John. You could tell by the elated looks on their faces that they were so thrilled and proud to have delivered the performance of their lives at the very moment that it counted the most: at the Olympics--and on home soil to boot-- and that is what was most important to them on that evening in mid-February 2002. It was a moment of pure satisfaction for the athletes, coach, and audience alike. There's nothing better than seeing a team put it together when it counts the most. Medals are irrelevant.
The 3-time U.S. National Champions were coached by the legendary Russian coach, Tamara Moskvina, and her creative and athletic influence was undeniable. Under her tutelage, Kyoko and John blossomed into an impressive American pair, who went on to win the bronze medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in Nagano, Japan, the month after the Games. (I don't believe another American pairs team has medaled at Worlds since).The two went on to have a long and successful career touring with Stars on Ice.
I was lucky enough to see them skate live several times. I always enjoyed them immensely. If I remember correctly, John and Kyko often skated first in the show to warm up the crowd and get the party started! Their innovative, high-flying, acrobatic lifts, speed and power, coupled with their popular, crowd-pleasing musical selections, such as Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi, U2 and Maroon 5, proved to be a winning combination for them. They were exciting, interesting, and fun to watch.
Kyoko and John are now unofficially retired from performing, and I really miss seeing them on Stars on Ice. Kyoko recently made a comeback to skating, after taking a couple years off. She skated on the popular Canadian reality show, Battle of the Blades, in which former professional hockey players are paired with figure skaters. John and his wife, the beautiful Silvia Fontana, a 5-time Italian national champion and two-time Olympian, now coach at a rink in Florida. Among their students, they coach reigning U.S. National pairs Champions, Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett.
A friend of mine, who is a reader of this blog, recently commented to me that she enjoys all the videos I post on this blog because the skaters and the music they skate to are wonderful combinations that are pleasing to the ear and eye (and soul, I might add). She said, "The skaters and the music deserve each other." This Olympic performance of Kyoko and John's is such a case, in my opinion. Incidentally, during the same conversation with my friend, she gushed over how much she loves Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini." Though I love it, too, I hadn't thought about this piece of music for some time. Her comment made me think of Kyoko and John's Olympic performance, which inspired me to share it with you all today. You can all thank Melissa for inspiring this post! And to Melissa: I hope you enjoy this performance to one of your favorite pieces of music. You'll have to let me know later if you think the skaters and the music "deserve each other"!
I find the choreography terrific, and the music seems to flow out of their movements. They are not skating to the music, they are one with the music. This is truly a dynamic and unique performance. Kudos to Moskvina and the phenomenal Artur Dimitriev, the only skater in history to win two Olympic pairs titles with two different partners ( Natalia Mishkutenok in 1992, and Oksana Kazakova in 1998. He also won an Olympic silver medal with Natalia in 1994), who helped choreograph this piece. Artur, always one known to skate with gusto and reckless abandon, seemed to have quite an influence on John's movements in this program. John, always a charismatic skater in his own right, thrived with this choreography. Kyoko, often known for her calm, cool and collected demeanor, exudes enthusiasm in this freeskate, which goes to show that with the right music and movement, a skater can become rejuvenated.
My final note is a comical one: last year, my sister and mom were talking about some skating. Somehow John Zimmerman's name came up. My mom asked, " Is he the one that skated with Yoko Ono?"
A little name confusion. It can happen to the best of us! (She was right though that both woman had a partner named John.)
Without further ado, enjoy Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman!
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