If only everything in life was as reliable as Sinead and John Kerr.
The sibling duo have been carrying their country’s skating reputation on their shoulders for most of the past decade, and notched up another significant achievement when they surged to their seventh consecutive title at the British Championships in Sheffield yesterday.
Once again, the Kerrs were involved in their own private pursuit of excellence, as they warmed up for next week’s maiden appearance at the prestigious Grand Prix finals in Tokyo, yet there was no hiding their emotions after equalling the number of titles won by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean while they were at the height of their powers.
In the event, they didn’t simply win the competition, but reached new heights with an exhilarating free-dance routine which earned them a record score of 190.14. The Scots have been working on attaining the same level of radicalism and innovation which used to be the hallmark of the fabled Duchesnays and they have reduced the mistakes and zapped up the x-factor into a compelling spectacle. Understandably, their lesser-ranked British rivals couldn’t cope with this, and Penny Coomes and Nick Buckland trailed almost 32 points behind the Kerrs, finishing in second place with a score of 158.86, which should be enough to secure their Olympic qualification.
It was a world removed from the days when Sportscotland abruptly axed Sinead and John’s funding, leaving them in a quandary as to whether they could continue their quest for major prizes. Since then, the duo have relocated to the United States, joined forces with the former Olympic champion, Evgeny Platov and been signed up by IMG.
They have now moved into a different sphere from the lonely winter mornings devoted to searching for ice time at Murrayfield and struggling to get by, whether part-financing their sport through acting roles – John was Ally McCoist’s body double in the Robert Duvall movie “A Shot at Glory” – or modelling, with Sinead having completed a number of assignments for Alexander MacQueen, while their parents, Alastair and Maeve, carried out a multitude of diverse roles behind the scenes. At last, the family’s patience and perseverance are reaping tangible rewards.
Having secured bronze medals at last season’s European Championships, the Scots have climbed to sixth in the world rankings and will travel to Japan today, quietly confident they can challenge for further honours when the action commences on Friday, when they are up against the Canadians, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, and Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier, America’s Meryl Davis and Charlie White, France’s Nathalie Pechalat and Fabien Bourzat, and the Italians, Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte.
It’s true that the competition has been weakened by the withdrawal of several prominent duos, including Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, and Isabel Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder. Yet, for the Kerrs, this event is a terrific opportunity to lay down a marker for next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where they will aim to win Britain’s first skating medal for 16 years.
And Torvill has no doubt her younger compatriots can make their mark in the months ahead. “I genuinely think they have a medal chance at the Olympics and that this is going to be their big year,” said the Englishwoman. It is hardly surprising there is a new spring in the Kerrs’ step, as they move out of the shadows and enter centre stage.
