Russian figure skater Maksim Trankov fell in love with skating when he was 9-year-old. He left home at the age of 15 to live in St Petersburg to pursue his dream.
Since he couldn’t afford an apartment, he lived in the soldiers’ quarter underneath his training facility.
Trankov went from being given one free meal per day at the rink’s cafeteria and being fed by his partner or coach to finding his wife and becoming an Olympic medalist.
Both Tatiana Volosozhar and Trankov had experience with other partners in the Olympics, but the two of them began their partnership in the spring of 2010.
The two were undefeated during the 2012 and 2013 season where they got their first world championship title. They won two gold medals at the 2014 Olympic Games for pairs and the new team event.
They became the 2013 world champions and got married in 2015.
They returned for the 2015-2016 season and won gold at their Challenger Series. They also won their third Russian national title and won their fourth European title. They finished sixth at the 2016 World Championships, according to NBC Olympics.
They haven’t competed in the 2016-2017 season because they were expecting a child.
“We just want to be unforgotten figure skaters. We hope to be like one of the champions that stay in the history. People will say, ‘Do you remember Volosozhar-Trankov? They did “Masquerade,” and it was an amazing program.’ Like Torvill and Dean. We don’t want to be just one of the champions — we want to be special,” Trankov said.
Their performance at the 2013 Skate America of the season’s signature song was from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar.
A YouTube video of the performance received almost four million views. That song inspired fan admiration for Trankov’s bright yellow pants. There was even a Twitter account dedicated to it.
“Look at the dramatic point in the end of the performance at 5:23! The skaters place their arms in certain positions expressing a Calvary,” said a YouTube commenter. “Tatiana bowed her head symbolizing a crucifixion. It is so profound mise en scene!”
The way they move together is quite astonishing and has been perfected over many years of practice. You can watch their stunning signature performance that got almost 4 million views in the video below.
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