Gold-medal winning skaters glide past scandal into show

The world will probably always know them as the gracious Canadian pairs figure skaters who finally got what they deserved -- an Olympic gold medal -- after a big upset and an even bigger judging scandal in Salt Lake City just over a year ago.

All the world loves a couple of winners, especially when those winners are Canadian skaters David Pelletier amd Jamie Sale, who won Olympic gold honors in the wake of a major judging scandal in Salt Lake City.

In case you've forgotten the controversy: Jamie Sale and David Pelletier skated a perfect program, but the gold instead went to a couple that had clearly made mistakes, Russian stars Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. After a French judge admitted she'd thrown her vote, the International Olympic Committee awarded a second set of golds to Sale and Pelletier.

That's behind all four skaters now. They've gone pro, and they're performing together in the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour that visits Houston tonight.

"The four of us have always been friends," Sale says. "We were excited about doing something together, showing that we're all just human beings trying to be our best."

The piece they skate together is Power Play, set to the swing-dance classic Sing Sing Sing. "Todd Eldredge is on the ice with us, reciting a poem. It's about being true to yourself and loving what you do and having people accept you for that," Sale says.

Sale doesn't miss competing. "I'm really in my element now," she says. "You always dream about making it to the top so that one day you can be on a professional tour. And we feel this is the best one because it's a full production, not just a bunch of skating exhibitions."

Pelletier concurs. "I've accomplished more than I thought I would in my career. I'm in a very comfortable place right now, and I never look back," he says.

Now their challenges come from knowing they have to please big audiences every night. And anything goes -- since professional skaters don't have to conform to rules about choreography or music.

"We spent a lot of time last summer making up new tricks," Sale says. "We do one right now where Dave has only one arm out at a 90-degree level, bent, and I do a handstand on it. You can't do that in eligible skating. The audience is going crazy for it."

The trick shows up in their solo, Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin', to Journey's song of the same name. They also have the ice to themselves in Come Fly With Me, sung by Michael Buble.

"We're always experimenting. Just because you're a professional doesn't mean you stop making goals for yourself," Sale says.

It took Sale and Pelletier a while to find each other and their groove. She made her Olympic debut at Lillehammer in 1994 with another partner, placing 12th. She then pursued a singles career until meeting Pelletier in 1998. They were sidelined often by injuries in their first two years, but perseverance paid off. They won the first of three Canadian championships in 2000 and the world championship in 2001.

Pelletier says the key to their success is their good relationship both on the ice and off. (They're a real-life couple, too.)

"When we met, we were at the same place in our careers and needed fast success. We had the same goals and vision, as well as respect and good communication," he says.

Olympic men's champion Alexei Yagudin, the highest-scoring singles skater in Olympic history, is also making his professional debut on this tour. He has three solos -- Born to Be Wild, Over Come and Racing. Three-time U.S. national pair champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman are in the cast for the first time, too.

Seasoned stars Katarina Witt, Kurt Browning and Eldredge return for solos and group numbers, as do pairs champions Jenni Meno and Todd Sand and dance champions Renie Roca and Gorsha Sur.

"We love the group numbers," Sale says. "You feel like a family, being part of an amazing cast that develops a great show."