There’s been yet more skating success for Ruddington ice dancer Penny Coomes. Ruddington Village Newsletter’s Graham Wright caught up with her
RVN: Along with partner Nick Buckland, who hails from Wilford, you’ve recently won your third GB Ice Dancing title in a row in Sheffield. What was that like?
PENNY: Amazing! This season is so important with it being Olympic Season, so to win and earn our place at the Sochi Olympics is huge! We were very pleased and honoured to share the same trophy again as our idols Torvil and Dean.
RVN: Was it actually a bit of a relief following Nick’s heart operation?
PENNY: Nick is such a strong person, I knew that no matter what he would be back to training as soon as he could and we would be working hard and winning our 3rd title. If anything, the surgery has been a huge relief for us. He is cured and we can concentrate on our training now without the worry of his health.
RVN: You’re both still only 24 – hopefully the best is yet to come?
PENNY: Yes definitely. Nick and I plan to carry on to the next Games. We are hoping to prove ourselves this year as contenders for a medal in 2018.
RVN: I guess you’re both training hard now for Sochi?
PENNY: Yes, we have been working really hard!! But we have the European Championships in a couple of weeks before we are off to Sochi. We are really looking forward to the competition.
RVN: How well do you think you can do in the Winter Olympics? Can you get into the medals?
PENNY: Not this time, but we are hoping that we perform well, and who knows what will happen. We have surprised ourselves in the past with our results so I hope to continue to do that.
RVN: You still have family, friends and lots of fans here in Ruddington. How often do you manage to see them?
PENNY: We were actually just home for Christmas. We flew in on Christmas Eve and left Boxing Day, so it was quick, but we haven’t been home for Christmas for the past 3 years so we made sure we could just take 2 days to come home this year! We manage to get home a few times a year as we compete in England, and across Europe. We spend June at home while we take time off and create our new programmes.