UK skating greats Torvill and Dean reveal their secret to a long career
In Sydney teaching kids the art of figure skating, Olympic legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have revealed the secret to their enduring athleticism as they get ready to hang up their skates for the last time.
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They may be in their mid sixties but these Olympic skating greats have revealed their secret to their enduring athleticism.
UK greats Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean put ice-skating on the map when they took home gold at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games, but after 50 years they’re just about ready to hang up their skates.
In Sydney ahead of touring Australia for their final show next year, Dean said the key to being able to keep active well into their 60s was to keep a top of a good exercise regime.
“I guess (the secret is) because we’ve never stopped and we’ve always looked after ourselves as much as we can, we’ve obviously picked up injuries along the way … but I think we’ve been lucky that nothing has been so bad that we can’t skate anymore, we’ve always managed to overcome that,” he said.
“We’ve just discovered ice baths are a popular thing that we do now.”
Torvill also said you need to take more care of yourself in your twilight years.
“You have to look after yourself more, you have to go to the gym, you have to try harder on everything that you do,” he said,
As their bodies tell them they’re getting close, the pair made the consecutive decision to host one last show, and it’s in Australia, the country they started their professional career together.
“We were embraced by the public in Australia, and I think coming back 50 years later is like a full circle,” Dean said.
In June next year, they bring the Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance ice show to Australia, including two shows at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.
Despite decades of rumours, the pair are not in a relationship and are simply great friends that never lost their “spark” with skating.
“When we are on the ice, that is our happy place,” Torvill said.
“I think it’s a compliment to our performances because people believed in what and how we were skating. The relationship that we have on the ice they naturally carried it off the ice.”
While they haven’t yet felt the emotional weight of their final performance together, both look forward to enjoying overdue holidays and relaxation.
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