Roman Zaretsky (, , ; born December 4, 1983) is an Israeli retired ice dancer. With his sister, Alexandra Zaretsky, he is the 2009 Skate America bronze medalist, 2009 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion, a three-time Nebelhorn Trophy medalist, and a three-time Israeli national champion. They finished 6th at the World Championships and competed twice at the Winter Olympics, finishing 10th in 2010.

Biography

Roman Zaretsky was born on December 4, 1983, in Minsk, Belarus SSR, Soviet Union. The Zaretsky family was Jewish and made aliyah, settling in Metula, Israel, in 1990. Roman Zaretsky completed his army service just before the 2005–2006 season began. He speaks fluent Hebrew, Russian, and English.

Skating career Roman Zaretsky began learning to skate at the age of four in Minsk. He originally competed as a single skater, winning medals for his age group. When he wanted to switch to ice dancing, his sister was the only available girl at the rink, so their parents put them together. She was seven and he was 11 when they switched to ice dancing. They were coached by their mother until 2001, when they relocated for training to the United States.

The siblings debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in October 2001, placing 11th in The Hague, Netherlands. They placed 19th at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Hamar, Norway.

2002–2003 season In September 2002, the Zaretskys became the first Israeli figure skaters to medal on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, taking bronze in Belgrade, Serbia. After winning another bronze, at a JGP event in Chemnitz, Germany, they were named the first alternates for a spot at the JGP Final. In January 2003, the siblings became the first Israelis to medal at the European Youth Olympic Festival. They went on to finish eighth at the 2003 World Junior Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic. They were coached by Irina Romanova and Igor Yaroshenko in Wilmington, Delaware.

2003–2004 season Competing in their third JGP season, the Zaretskys won silver in Mexico City, Mexico, and then gold in Gdańsk, Poland. They qualified for the first time to the JGP Final, where they would finish sixth. They placed ninth at the 2004 World Junior Championships in The Hague, Netherlands.

2004–2005 season In their final JGP season, the Zaretskys took bronze in Chemnitz, Germany, and then silver in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. In December, they placed eighth at the JGP Final in Helsinki, Finland. They decided to change coaches, switching to Evgeni Platov in January 2005. In March, they competed at the 2005 World Junior Championships in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Ranked third in the compulsory dance, fourth in the original dance, and fifth in the free dance, they finished fourth overall.

2005–2006 season The Zaretskys debuted on the senior Grand Prix series, placing 9th at both of their assignments. They were required to finish at least 15th at the 2006 European Championships in order to be sent to the Olympics as Israel's second team. They accomplished this and were sent to Torino, where they placed 22nd.

2006–2007 season In the summer of 2006, the Zaretskys briefly trained in Moscow because Platov was taking part in a skating reality show and then returned to the U.S. with Platov. Following Galit Chait / Sergei Sakhnovski's retirement at the end of the previous season, the siblings became the top Israeli ice dancing team. They won the bronze medal at the 2006 Nebelhorn Trophy, a senior "B" international, and finished just off the podium at the 2006 Cup of China. They finished 11th at the 2007 Europeans and 14th at the 2007 World Championships. They were coached by Platov in Little Falls, New Jersey until the end of the season.

2007–2008 season

The Zaretskys began their season with a new coaching team, having joined Galit Chait, Nikolai Morozov and Mathew Gates in Hackensack, New Jersey.

They competed at two Grand Prix events, 2007 Skate America and 2007 Cup of China, repeating their 4th-place finish in China. They finished 8th at the 2008 Europeans and 9th at the 2008 World Championships, setting a new personal best score.

2008–2009 season

In October 2008, the Zaretskys and their coach Galit Chait filed a lawsuit against the Ice House training rink in Hackensack, New Jersey, alleging that rink officials discriminated against them on the basis of their Israeli nationality by denying them prime training time and threatening to ban them from the rink.

The siblings had an up and down season, winning their first international event, the 2009 Winter Universiade, but placing lower at both the 2009 Europeans and 2009 World Championships than they had the previous year.

2009–2010 season After a 5th-place finish at the 2009 Cup of China, the siblings won their first Grand Prix medal – bronze at the 2009 Skate America after placing fourth in the compulsory dance, third in the original dance, and second in the free dance. They were named third alternates for the Grand Prix Final. The Zaretskys won their next event, the 2009 Golden Spin of Zagreb, and skated to 7th place at the 2010 European Championships, their career-best result at that event.

Based on their top-ten finish at the Europeans, the Zaretskys met their national criterion for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. There, in February 2010 they performed to music from Schindler's List in the free dance, having chosen the music in part to honor 27 family members who died in Minsk during the Holocaust. They finished tenth, setting new personal best scores in the free dance and overall. They went on to finish 6th at 2010 Worlds, again setting personal bests in the free dance and overall.

The Zaretskys announced their retirement from competitive skating on June 20, 2010, citing a lack of support from their federation as the reason.

Post-competitive career The Zaretskys later performed in various ice shows, including Shall We Dance on Ice, and coached together for several years in Houston, Texas.

Programs (with Alexandra Zaretsky) Season Original dance Free dance 2001–2002 Granada Torero Quiero The Ukraine 2002–2003 Les Patineurs St. Petersburger Sleigh Ride Moulin Rouge! 2003–2004 Bad to the Bone Americano The House Evrious Angel Spybreak

The Matrix The Matrix Reloaded 2004–2005 Foxtrot Quickstep The Phantom of the Opera 2005–2006 Samba Rhumba Mambo Caravan 2006–2007 Assassin's Tango Carmina Burana 2007–2008 Shick, Shack, Shock Let my People Go Sing, Sing, Sing 2008–2009 Summertime

Are you hip to the jive Sing, Sing, Sing Jesus Christ Superstar 2009–2010 Hava Nagila Schindler's List

Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

with Alexandra Zaretsky International Event 01–02 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10 Olympics 22nd 10th Worlds 20th 14th 9th 13th 6th Europeans 15th 11th 8th 11th 7th Cup of China 9th 4th 4th 7th 5th Cup of Russia 5th NHK Trophy 9th Skate America 8th 7th 3rd Golden Spin 1st Nebelhorn 3rd 2nd 2nd Skate Israel 4th 4th Universiade 1st International: Junior Junior Worlds 19th 8th 9th 4th Final 6th 8th Germany 3rd 3rd Italy 8th Mexico 2nd Netherlands 11th Poland 1st Romania 2nd Serbia 3rd EYOF 3rd National Israeli Champ. 1st J 1st J 1st J 1st J 2nd 1st 1st 1st

See also Sport in Israel List of select Jewish figure skaters

References

External links