By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber
BEIJING (Reuters) – When the figure skating team event begins on Friday at the Beijing Olympics, Michal Brezina and Eliska Brezinova will fulfil their father’s dream of seeing his two children compete at the same time on the world’s most prestigious sports stage.
The Czech siblings will be representing their country in its first appearance in the Olympic team event, a showdown of 10 nations that was introduced at the 2014 Sochi Games.
For their father Rudolf Brezina, a figure skating coach who trains Eliska, his children’s Olympic appearance is a professional feat and a source of great pride.
“For him, it was his lifelong dream to have both of his kids at the Olympics at the same time,” Michal Brezina, who at 31 is competing in his fourth Olympics, told Reuters.
“We’re doing the team together. That makes it even better.”
Brezinova, 25, is competing at her first Olympics, earning a berth for the Czech Republic by finishing 22nd at last year’s world championships.
To enter the team event, a country has to have qualified one athlete in at least three of figure skating’s four disciplines: the men’s and women’s singles, pair skating and ice dance.
In Beijing, the siblings have strolled through the Olympic Village and shared meals when their practice schedule has allowed.
Growing up in the southern Czech city of Brno, Eliska Brezinova looked up to her older brother, who finished 10th at the 2010 and 2014 Games, and 16th at the 2018 Olympics.
“I think she did look up to me,” Brezina said. “I think the unspoken thing of going to the Olympics together was always there.”
Brezina said he did not want to overwhelm his sister with guidance and stories from his extensive Olympic experience. It was better for her to savour the experience on her own terms.
But as an older brother, he still had a few words of advice.
“He gave me a tip: Just to enjoy it,” Brezinova told Reuters. “There’s nothing to lose for us, at least for the team event. So we’re just enjoying the moment.”
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Ken Ferris)
