Romanian figure skaters go public at $10 an hour

Top flight figure skaters like U.S. men's medal hopeful Todd Eldredge have been training in seclusion until official practice for the Winter Olympics starts on Tuesday.

But lesser-known names who tried the private sessions at the Cottonwood Heights Ice Arena where Eldredge has been practising since last week found the cost somewhat prohibitive -- at $225 an hour.

The Bountiful Skating Club just north of Salt Lake City was even higher at $300 but Romanian coach Marius Negrea discovered it could be done for $10 an hour each if his skaters were prepared to share the ice with club members.

Problem solved as Gheorghe Chiper and Roxana Luca paid for their workout with the locals who remained undistracted by the Olympic presence.

"They didn't care about us," said Negrea as his young hopefuls went through their paces.

Two Bountiful police officers were on security detail throughout the day to ensure the skaters' safety and over at Cottonwood the rink is off-limits to spectators whenever Olympians from the U.S., Japan and Germany are training.

Meanwhile, Russia's gold medal contenders Evgeni Plushenko and pair skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze are working out until Thursday in nearby Logan, Utah.

Plushenko's countryman and arch-rival Alexei Yagudin is in Calgary with Canadian ice dance medal contenders Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz.

Also in Calgary and slated to arrive Wednesday are Canada's gold medal pairs contenders Jamie Sale and David Pelletier and twice Olympic silver medallist Elvis Stojko.

The women's gold medal co-favourites -- Russia's Irina Slutskaya and American Michelle Kwan -- are not expected in Salt Lake until later this week.

Slutskaya is at home in Moscow, while Kwan is training at altitude in California.

The Olympic figure skating starts on Saturday with the pairs short programme.