Zen and the Art of Speedskating

Russian skater Daria sent me these cool pics from Chelyabinsk in the 2nd installment of the Speedskater International Photos (more installments later this week!).

This is the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the president of Kazakstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, hanging out with skaters at the opening day of the new oval in Chelyabinsk. Very Cool! The funny thing about this pic, is that I have met the skater in the yellow/black/red skinsuit, Lena Rudina. I am not surprised Putin is appreciative of small sports, did you know he has a 6th degree black belt in Judo? See if you can spot Daria’s smile in this photo….

Here is everyone gathering for the first laps on the new Oval. It looks like you have former Olympians/celebrities in old classic skates in their blue, then you have the “current practicing athletes” in the latest equipment in the middle, and one lady in figure skates in the very back!! Oh, and notice something else about this pic, that is markedly different from any long track in the USA, the STANDS ARE FULL!

This looks like the opening lap, wow, look at all the honorary skaters in blue in the front. Boris said to me that a lot of Russian rinks have solid ice in the center (like Roseville Minnesota does), or at least a place where you can do circle drills on your long track skates. It looks like this rink has one. Also a unique thing about all long tracks facilities are the interior roofs, it presents designers with a chance to do something cool, as they are so big. Every one is radically different.

Here is a photo of Sergey Kornilov going really fast during the Russian National Championship. An outstanding photo of a very fast friend. This photo even “feels” fast.

Again, skaters send me your pics!! Email to: spdsk88er (at) yahoo (dot) com

Filed under: from home