Torvill and Dean, the British duo who helped revolutionise ice-skating when they won Olympic gold in Sarajevo 40 years ago on Wednesday, do not celebrate Valentine’s Day. “For us, it is Boléro Day,” said Christopher Dean referring to the Maurice Ravel composition that became synonymous with his and Jayne Torvill’s triumphant 1984 routine. “If we are not together, we call each other to say: ‘Happy Boléro day.’”
The routine, which began with the two swaying together on their knees in purple outfits, cemented their status as household names in Britain. Now, a year from planned retirement, they are back in the city to perform with local children, many of whom are just starting out on the ice.
“To be able to come back to Sarajevo 40 years after such a momentous event of winning the Olympics is such a wonderful feeling,” Dean said at the Zetra stadium – the same location where they skated in 1984. “It gives us chills to think about it.”
Bosnia was part of Yugoslavia in 1984, the Berlin Wall was still up, and the iron curtain divided Europe, but the games are seen by Sarajevans as one of the happiest moments in the troubled city’s history. Hopes that it would become a recognised winter sports venue vanished during war in the 1990s. Thousands of Bosnians were killed during a 43-month siege of the city, and the Olympic facilities were destroyed.
“I was very saddened by the war and sad to learn that Zetra stadium had been attacked, bombed and demolished,” Torvill, 66, said. Zetra, which was the Olympic venue for ice skating competitions, was rebuilt in 1999 but Sarajevo has no year-round ice rink.
Torvill and Dean plan to retire next year after 50 years. They have performed thousands of their dances to Ravel’s Boléro. But their love for the ice remains. On Tuesday, they trained with young athletes from Sarajevo ice-skating clubs and a kindergarten.
“It’s a beautiful movement, you know when you skate and glide, you’re on that white ice – you feel like you are flying,” Dean said. “It gives you a sense of freedom,” Torvill added.