Page 123 of The Favorites
At first I saw nothing through the haze. Then I looked closer. A scatter of tiny dots glinted under the arena lights, barely distinguishable from the ice surface. I pressed my finger to one, and it stuck to my skin.
A sequin.
Ellis Dean:Ah, yes: GlitterGate.
During the short dance at the 2013 Russian Grand Prix competition in Moscow, Heath Rocha takes a hard fall in the midst of a stationary footwork sequence.
Ellis Dean:I came up with that name. The hashtag was trending on Twitter for days.
Veronika Volkova:“GlitterGate.” What does this word even mean?
Ellis Dean:The whole GlitterGate saga was my top-performing post of the season. Until…well, you know.
Medical personnel rush onto the rink to examine Heath. Bella Lin motions Katarina over to the boards, and Katarina holds up her hand, showing Bella something.
Veronika Volkova:Shaw and Rocha did not stand a chance competing against my skaters. So what did they do?
As the medics work on Heath, Bella and Katarina speak with the officials. Veronika Volkova stands off to the side, arms folded over her fur coat, looking exasperated.
Veronika Volkova:They caused a scene. Over asequin.
Kirk Lockwood:I know it might not seem like a big deal, but even the smallest object on the ice can be dangerous. Your blade can’t glide over it, so you juststop.
Jane Currer:The rules regarding point deductions for program interruptions differ based on whether the skaters stop because of a problem with their own equipment, or due to an issue that was no fault of their own.
The conversation with the officials begins to devolve into a heated argument.
Jane Currer:In either case, the team has a maximum of three minutes to resume their skate, or they are automatically withdrawn from the competition.
Veronika Volkova:The sequins were from Katarina’s dress.
Ellis Dean:Those sequins were there before Shaw and Rocha skated out.
Following their short dance a few moments earlier, young Russian skater Ilya Alekhin lags behind his partner Galina Levitskaya. He bends at the waist and brushes his right hand on the surface of the ice.
Ellis Dean:He touched theexactspot where Heath tripped. The same spot where every team had to perform the stationary footwork in the Finnstep. You think that’s a coincidence?
Veronika Volkova:It was unfortunate that her partner tripped, but they had no one to blame but themselves—or perhaps their tacky Hollywood costume designer.
Ellis Dean:Levitskaya and Alekhin were a brand-new team, and they’d only recently started training in Moscow. Wanna make a wild guess who their coach was?
Veronika Volkova:Galina and Ilya were so excited to compete in their first senior Grand Prix event. It saddens me that their experience was tarnished by this shameless attempt to cast aspersions and create a scandal.
The crowd around Katarina and Bella has grown, with camera operators pushing in to get better angles. Katarina looks directly into the lens and glares. The camera pushes even closer. “Get out of my face,” she snaps.
Veronika Volkova:The whole thing was a pathetic ploy for sympathy, straight out of the Lin playbook.
Ellis Dean:It was flagrant sabotage. Typical Veronika Volkova.
Bella continues trying to reason with the Russian referee. He shakes his head.
Veronika Volkova:The rules are clear, no matter how loud a tantrum you throw: three minutes, and you are out.
“Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha of the United States have withdrawn,” comes the official announcement, which is repeated in Russian.
The medics help Heath off the ice. He refuses the stretcher, instead looping his arms around Katarina’s and Bella’s shoulders. The three of them hobble backstage together.
Chapter 70
