Sporting Heroes: No. 48: Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky

Chait and Sakhnovsky were the first Israeli ice dance team to win a medal at a World Championships.

By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
chait and sakhnovsky 224 (photo credit: Courtesy)
chait and sakhnovsky 224
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Ice dancing may not be the most popular sport in the world. It isn't even figure skating, which includes dramatic leaps and jumps. However, the event, which is basically ballroom dancing on ice, gained prominence in Israel thanks to the efforts of Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky, who shone on the international stage on numerous occasions. Chait and Sakhnovsky. They were the first Israeli ice dance team to win a medal at a World Championships when they took the bronze. The pair also competed in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics with their highest finish in Salt Lake City in 2002 when they were placed sixth. Chait, who was born in Kfar Saba, is the older of the pair at 32, with the Moscow-born Sakhnovsky a year younger. They dominated the Israeli Championships for a decade, winning nine out of ten times from 1996 to 2005. Other achievements include consistent top six finishes in the European Championships from 2001 to 2005. On Sunday: A disabled rally driver who came back from the depths