Roman & Alexandra Zretski

Roman & Alexandra Zretski

Israeli figure skaters performing in the sports dance category
Country: Israel

Content:
  1. Biography of Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky
  2. Early Life and Immigration
  3. Legal Battle and Training
  4. International Success

Biography of Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky

Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky are Israeli figure skaters who compete in the ice dancing category. They are three-time champions of Israel and the winners of the 2009 Winter Universiade. The pair trains in New Jersey under the guidance of Galit Chait, with whom they previously worked alongside coach Evgeny Platov.

Early Life and Immigration

Alexandra, along with her parents and brother, immigrated from Belarus to Israel in 1992. They settled in Metula, where her parents worked as figure skating coaches at the Canada Centre rink. Alexandra is fluent in Hebrew, English, and Russian. Currently, she lives and trains in New Jersey, USA.

Legal Battle and Training

In October 2008, the Zaretskys and their coach Galit Chait filed a lawsuit against the owners of "The Ice House" skating rink in Bergen County, New Jersey, accusing them of discrimination based on nationality. The Hackensack Ice House offers an "Elite Program" that allows elite skaters to train there at a reduced fee in exchange for promoting the rink. However, the Zaretskys were denied this opportunity, and they alleged it was due to the rink's administration's reluctance to work with Israelis.

Initially, Alexandra and her brother trained under their parents. They later spent some time working with Irina Romanova and Igor Yaroshenko in Wilmington, Delaware. In January 2005, they switched to training with Evgeny Platov. Before the 2005-2006 season, the pair returned to Israel to be with their parents when Roman had to fulfill his military service. In the summer of 2006, they trained in Moscow because Platov was involved in the project "Dances on Ice" on the RTR channel. Nikolai Morozov became their next coach, but primarily worked with them alongside Galit Chait. When Galit decided to work independently, the Zaretskys followed her.

International Success

The Zaretskys' first significant international achievement came with their victory at the 2009 Winter Universiade. At the 2009 World Championships, they finished 13th and secured one ice dancing quota spot for Israel at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

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