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Emanuel Sandhu
| Biography |
After missing the 1998 Nagano Games because of a controversial decision (see below) and missing the 2002 Salt Lake Games because of injury, Emanuel Sandhu will make his Olympic debut at age 25 in Torino. He's had the best Grand Prix season of his career in 2005-06, winning at both Skate Canada (where he was sixth after the short program) and Cup of China (where he was fourth after the short). Considering the quality of his competition at those two events, those results bode well for Sandhu's chances in Torino. In China, Sandhu beat reigning world champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, and in Canada, he beat fellow Canadian Jeffrey Buttle , the world silver medalist Sandhu's impeccable posture and extension on the ice betray his classical dance training. He started ballet and jazz at age 3, and at 11 began studying at the renowned National Ballet School in Toronto. Only 100 dancers every year are accepted into that school, whose graduates usually end up joining a professional dance company. Sandhu, who first took to the ice at age 9 (his mother told him, "all Canadians must learn to skate") continued to skate while in ballet school. But by 11th grade he was only finding 15 minutes a day to skate, and was forced to make a choice. He chose figure skating, leaving school and eventually moving to Vancouver to train. Sandhu still dances several times a week, and he says that floor work enhances his skating |
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