Twenty-five years ago the Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo. The world was a different place. The Soviet Union and East Germany, neither of which exist anymore, won 25 and 24 medals respectively. Finland came in third with 13.
Great Britain didn’t even make the top ten. However, two skaters from Nottingham, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, made Olympic history with the highest score of all time: 12 perfect sixes for their Bolero free dance.
But it wasn’t their Bolero routine that caught my eye in 1984, but rather their set pattern dance to Paso Doble in which Dean is a matador and Torvill his cape.
Torvill and Dean won gold in 1984 and their record of 12 perfect sixes remains unbroken. First clip is from the European Championships, the second from World Figure Skating Championships.
Artistry the world will never see again.
