Crystal Skate

Figure skating, for all its complexity, is a sport where most athletes play it safe. That's why when two ice-dancers dressed in bright colours emerged from France and skated on a routine they had come up with themselves, the judges were skeptic. Their discipline was, after all, renowned for its renditions of Romeo and Juliet  or The Swan Lake . So what impact could Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat could possibly have in their hilarious costumes and goofy attitudes? If only they had known... Nathalie and Fabian started skating together in 2000. They didn't get along from the very start and initially thought they were a bad fit. However, their relationship gradually evolved from necessity into a beautiful friendship and they discovered that it was the very things that they didn't have in common that made them a great couple. Their first Olympic Games, Turin 2006 Photograph: Getty Images Sport Their rise to fame was slow. For many years, they were only known as Fr...

Saitama, Japan, December 2013: A beautiful lady in a flowery dress lands a Triple Lutz in the roar of the crowd. This is her home country and she is loved here, but she's about to be even more famous and become everyone's sweetheart. The Lutz is only the first jump out of a perfect series that will eventually bring her the prize she's been looking for, for the last 14 years: the National title. Skating on music by Bill Whelan. Photograph: Jasper Juinen /Getti Images North America Akiko Suzuki became known worldwide years before being crowned Japan's national champion. She made her debut on a major international stage at the 2009 Cup of China, which she won. Immediately striking us as artistically brilliant, she skated the short on Andalucia  and Fire Dance  by Bill Whelan. She then went on to showcase her versatility by telling the story of modern-day Romeo and Juliet with West Side Story . This was the programme that would show us just how good she was at expre...