Skating: Kerrs come back home

Published on Thursday 29 January 2009 09:10

SINEAD and John Kerr hope their European Championship ice dance success can provide a springboard for greater glory and recognition.

The sister and brother act from Livingston claimed a bronze medal, the best result by a British skater for 15 years, in Helsinki last week. Earlier this month, they achieved their sixth straight victory in the British Ice Dance Championship, equalling the record set by legendary Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Britain's former European, World and Olympic champions.

Now they head for the World Championships in Los Angeles from March 22 to 29. The Scots were eighth 12 months ago and are aiming for the top five this time round. But, before jetting back to their base in Little Falls, New Jersey, they will put something back into grassroots ice skating by headlining the Murrayfield Ice Skating Club's Exhibition Show 2009 this Sunday.

Other guest skaters at the event, which begins at 9.30am, include talented ice dancers Mark Hanretty from Glasgow and Christina Chitwood, who are British team members. They made their European Championship debut in Helsinki and were 18th.

Noel Grimshaw, the show's co-ordinator, said: "Sinead and John are wonderful role models and their success has come through hard work and dedication.

"They are an inspiration to everyone interested in this great Olympic family sport."

The Kerrs once trained at the pre-Second World War rink in the shadow of Murrayfield stadium but now spend most of their time in America working with former world champions Evgeny Platov and Maia Usova.

They have already set their sights on a podium place at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in February 2010.

A top-ten finish in Los Angeles is likely to mean qualificationbut the Scots are on the right track having also earned bronze medals in two Grand Prix events, in Skate America in Washington and at The Trophe Eric Bompard in Paris. And they won the prestigious Finlandia Trophy, coming first in the compulsory, original and free dance which earned them 21 more points then their nearest rivals. It was their second senior international gold medal.

They are now recognised in countries throughout the world but, curiously, not in Britain.

Recently, they opened the Christmas festivities at the intimate ice rink in the world-famous Rockefeller Centre just off Fifth Avenue in New York and the ice pad in Central Park and they were mobbed by autograph hunters when in Tokyo recently.

During the recent Grand Prix in Paris, the pair met skating fans including those from a Russian Skating Forum entirely devoted to them. Next week, they will skate with world stars to a packed house in Davos, Switzerland, yet, when they go shopping at the Almondvale Centre in Livingston or walk around Edinburgh they are just faces in the crowd.

John, 28, who was born in Broxburn, West Lothian, said: "Sinead and I

are extremely proud of our two Grand Prix bronze medals and now the European bronze medal.

"Unless I'm mistaken, this is the 14th year of the Grand Prix series and it is the first time that anyone from Great Britain has medalled at a Grand Prix event. Our bronze medal was the best result by a British skater for 15 years.

"The medal is something tangible. It is a reward for the endless early mornings spent in zero temperatures in ice rinks working on routines. It also give you a real taste for further success. The presentation ceremony in Helsinki went like a whirlwind. Our names were called and then the national anthem of the winners played.

"You try to take it all in but it is so quick. The good thing is that we know we can compete at that level. What we have to do is to take things up a notch."

It's a conversation that the pair have already had with their coaches and John said: "We've talked about getting more power into our programme, more edge and quality.

"We have to make it obvious what we're trying to achieve. One of our coaches indicated that we have to make it obvious to Joe Bloggs sitting in row Z in a 10,000 seat auditorium what we're aiming for and that's what we'll be trying to do."

Of course, the competition at world level gets tougher with quality American and Canadian skaters entering the fray.

John added: "We're looking to make the top five and, yes, we have an outside chance of a podium place."

That would get the Scots even more recognition and Dundee-born Sinead, 30, added: "The invitations we get, and the way people respond to us abroad, is brilliant.

"We were looking to make the top four in Europe this year and the bronze is wonderful."

"We gave it everything we had and thankfully it was enough. Actually, it was almost enough for second place.

"To have earned the first European Championship medal for 15 years for team GB feels great but we must build on this."