“Each finger tip was in the correct position to match each note of the Don Quixote ballet music. “He gave a superb showing, possibly the most graceful any male skater has ever given in a skating event,” she wrote. In Innsbruck in 1976 she saw John Curry become Britain’s first men’s Olympic figure skating champion. She chronicled Britain’s glory years, when John Curry, Robin Cousins, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean were in their pomp, and spent many years as the Daily Telegraph’s ice skating correspondent. Sandra Stevenson, who has died aged 76, was the doyenne of ice skating writers, covering every major event from 1968 until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Sandra Stevenson covered every major international ice skating event from 1968 until 2014 Sandra Stevenson, ice skating writer – obituary It was with great sadness, but fond memories, that I learnt of Sandra Stevenson's passing recently.Īs this is a Premium article which you need to register to read, I have taken the liberty of copying it here to share more widely as I am already registered, and I know Skating fans of a certain vintage around the world would like to read it. Sandra was not impressed with the narrative of B&B's Carmen, or their portrayal. I also enjoyed reading Sandra's reports of the major championships, and special article updates on what Torvill & Dean were doing after turning professional, in Ice and Roller Skate Magazine, where she wrote under the name Sonja Springs, which, as the Editor explained, was because she was also Skating Correspondent of a National Newspaper at the time (the Guardian) so needed a pseudonym! I vividly remember Sandra's withering review of Bestemianova & Bukin's Carmen Free Dance, which won the 1985 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on the strange rink which had visible blue tracks from the freezing process.

She kindly sent me a signed copy of her wonderful BBC Book of Skating, which I had first borrowed from the Library in my early years of Torvill & Dean fandom.

She was a lovely lady and helped with an interview I did with Diane Towler-Green, four times World Ice Dance Champion with Bernard Ford, and who won the Gold Medal at 1968 Grenoble Olympics when it was a demonstration event, the first Winter Olympics Sandra reported. I was lucky enough to have communicated with Sandra via email for a while over a decade ago.

Ice skating game pomp