.golden boy.

The typical reaction to my fascination with Alexei Yagudin is something along the lines of, 'Eh? A figure skater?'

Anyone who thinks of Alexei is just 'a figure skater' obviously has not seen this boy perform. He is a figure skater, yes, and proudly so. But the raw ability and resonance with which he attacks this role cannot be described using such a singlular term.

I think it's a requirement to be interested in figure skating during the Olympics. It's everywhere, it's a big deal - the jumps, the dance, the costumes. When all the medals are won, most people go back to their daily lives and forget that these skaters ever existed. This is what I expected would happen to me after the 2002 SLC Winter Olympics.

Instead, I came away with a new appreciation for skating, a new appreciation for sports in general, and an awed enthrallment with someone I could safely call my favourite figure skater.

I sat down after dinner on Tuesday, 12 February, to watch the men's short program. I didn't care who won. It was the Olympics. It was something to do.

Alexei skated to the middle of the ice. I had never heard of him, and I'll be perfectly honest - my first thought was, 'Damn. He's hot.' I mean, come on. To deny the fact that Alexei is gorgeous is as useless as saying that you're not sexually attracted to hide. It's stupid, and no one's going to believe you.

But then. Then he began to skate, and I'll be damned if I didn't forget what he looked like. He had me completely glued to the television. Not only was the entire program technically perfect - he landed a quad combo like it was a walk in the park - he presented himself as an actor, a dancer, a moving entity completely connected to the music. He used his skates like tap shoes. He blew kisses to the audience. He used the blade of his skate to dig up specks of ice from the rink, which he picked up and flung in every direction like snowflakes.

The program, I know now, was a masterpiece entitled 'Winter', considered by many to be the best men's short of all time. [That is, until Alexei recently debuted 'Formula One'.]

No other skater kept that level of my attention. I was overwhelmed. I suddenly had a favourite to win the gold.

And by the end of the men's free skate, for which he won the gold skating to 'Man in the Iron Mask', miming battle scenes and covering his face with his arms in fluid gestures, I could no longer deny the fact that I had developed a raging obsession with a figure skater.

Not just a figure skater, however. An artist, an athlete, a passionate soul whose personality leaps right off the ice and into your arms. Alexei is brilliant. He is - as one reviewer gushed - 'Breathtaking. Like watching Berishnikov on ice.' And although I noticed him as a skater, I've grown to love him as a person. He's completely candid, adorably emotional, and just an all-around likeable guy.

Watch something like 'Overcome'. Who else could pull it off? Skating a story, as Alexei always does - his own story of struggle and redemption.

In 1998, Alexei left his old coach, moved to America, and subsequently became the target of many bitter comments made by said coach. After owning the World Championships for three straight years, he began to lose to his old coach's favourite, Evgeny Plushenko, and Alexei developed performance anxiety, low self-confidence, and fell into a summer of obsessive weight loss and disordered eating. After being unable to land his jumps at the Goodwill Games 2001, he started to see a psychologist and came back to win everything in sight - the Grand Prixes, Europeans, Worlds, and Olympics.

He makes the story of 'Overcome' completely clear in his grace, performing triple jumps and setting down with the ease of a bird.

Why is Alexei a golden boy? Because he has won every major international title, multiple times over. When he's on, he's unbeatable, and everyone knows it. His track record stands. Olympic champion. Four-time World champion. Two-time Grand Prix champion. Three-time European champion. And the list goes on.

I have been moved to make this shrine because of sad news that has recently emerged regarding Alexei's physical health. After placing first in the short program at Skate America 2002, he was forced to withdraw due to a hip injury that, in his stubborn nature, he had been skating on since the beginning of the season. The injury is quite severe, and Alexei's entire skating future is uncertain.

I want to shout from the treetops that no matter what happens in the future, Alexei Yagudin is my favourite skater. He is part of a select group of people who have affected my life in significant ways. Simply put, I adore him. And I don't expect that will change.

Watching 'Overcome' is so reassuring. Alexei is physically, intellectually, and emotionally strong. He descended into anorexia and came back to win the Olympics, for gods' sake. It takes that kind of strength to get through a career-threatening injury. If Alexei can't do it, no one can.

He's the kind of person who can really do anything.

how you sparkle
how you shine
how you rise above the darkest skies
and you rise
from 'sparkle' by rubyhorse.

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