Roman Zaretsky

Roman Zaretsky was born into a family from Minsk, Belarus, that immigrated to Israel following the fall of the Eastern bloc.[1][4] The family settled in Metulla, a small northern Israeli town that was then home to the country's only ice rink, and it was there that Roman and his sister Alexandra began skating.[1] The siblings won their first national title as novices in 1999, when Roman was 15, and later claimed two additional national titles at the junior level.[1]

Despite the demands of competitive skating, Zaretsky chose to fulfill his mandatory Israeli military service in full, serving three years in the army while continuing to train.[1] He arranged to be stationed near home so he could maintain his skating schedule. "I didn't want to avoid it like some others do," he said.[1] His military service therefore ran alongside the training demands of international competition.

As the Zaretskys' competitive ambitions grew, they relocated their training from Metulla to New Jersey, working out of the Ice House in Hackensack.[1] By 2010 they were training twice daily, six days a week, under coach Galit Chait.[1] Funding the operation required roughly $150,000 per year to cover rink time, travel, choreography, costumes, and related expenses; Israel's Ministry of Sport was expected to cover only about two-thirds of that sum even when all pledged funding was paid, with Boris Chait helping to bridge the gap.[5]

The pair made their Olympic debut at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, finishing 22nd among 24 ice-dance teams.[1] They also sought to demonstrate that their sport had a future in Israel.[6] The siblings described the Turin result as a first step toward their next Olympic appearance.[1]

In the years between the two Games, the pair built a stronger international résumé. They won the Winter Universiade in 2009.[7] At the 2010 European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, the Zaretskys finished seventh, a result that secured their qualification for Vancouver.[8] Roman expressed confidence that a top-ten Olympic finish was a realistic goal.[3]

At the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the pair achieved that goal. They stood tenth after the first stage, remained tenth after a clean performance in the second of the competition's three parts, and finished tenth overall.[2] Roman described their free-dance score as a personal best and said the team had been building toward that moment for three or four years.[3]

The Zaretskys' music choices at Vancouver carried personal and national meaning. For the original dance, held under a folk-dance theme, they selected the well-known Jewish folk song "Hava Nagila," which Roman described as a familiar and upbeat piece capable of energizing audiences.[3] For the free dance, they skated to music from Schindler's List.[4]

The free-dance program was conceived as a tribute to their family's history. A Jerusalem Post report stated that 27 members of the Zaretsky family died during World War II, and Roman said the siblings had grown up observing Yom Hashoah and that this history was important to them.[4] Their costumes and expressive movements were designed to convey both despair and hope. "We wanted to show despair and hope, and show that hope wins in the end," Roman said.[4]

Their intended message was explicit. "We chose to skate with the music of Hava Nagila and Schindler's List for a reason," Roman said. "We want to make Israel proud and show the world that we are here."[3] He also linked Olympic participation to representing Israel and promoting the sport: "It's not just about our personal goals. It's to represent the country in the best way and to promote the sport in our country the best way."[5]

The tenth-place finish at Vancouver was the pair's best achievement at that point.[2] During the presentation of Israel's Vancouver Olympic delegation, Roman used the phrase "We are genuine Israelis" about himself and his sister.[8]

By February 2011, the siblings had retired from competition. Ynet characterized the retirement as occurring "under non-professional circumstances" but gave no details about what that meant or when they stopped competing.[9] Their record included two Olympic appearances and a 10th-place finish, and their Vancouver programs connected athletic performance with Jewish memory and Israeli identity.