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Jamie Silverstein and her
ice skating partner
are taking on all corners.

MIKE ROSENBAUM
Special to the Jewish News

fter 10 years of competitive figure skating, Jamie Silverstein
is at the pinnacle of her sport.
Beginning Sunday, March 26, she and her ice dancing
partner, Justin Pekarek (who's not Jewish), will compete in
the World Figure Skating Championships in Nice, France.
"I'm so thrilled," says Silverstein, a Bloomfield Hills resident who
is formerly from Pittsburgh. "I don't quite believe it. This is what I
always watch on TV every year."
The past two years Silverstein, 16, and Pekarek, 19, competed in
the World Junior Championships. They finished 10th in 1998 but
surprised many, including themselves, by winning the title last year.
"Oh my gosh, it was crazy, it was surreal," Silverstein recalls. "I
don't think it's ever quite hit me. Maybe when I'm older and I'm
telling my grandkids."
Silverstein says they won because "we worked real hard, and
because our strength'in our partnership grew quite a bit. We grew
up personally. So there's a lot more avenues we could explore, emo-
tionally, in our skating."
The duo followed up their Junior World title by winning the
U.S. Junior championship.
"We worked so hard for something and then we ulti-
mately achieved it," Silverstein explains. And then
there's just something more, something
bigger and better." Their 1999
triumphs are a steppingstone
toward the Olympics. The pair,
after consulting with coaches Igor
Shpilband and Elizabeth Coates,
moved up to the senior level this
season.
"We have to try to tell ourselves
(the senior level) is the same, to not get
intimidated," Silverstein says. "Everyone has
an even greater passion for what they do, and that's really inspiring.
It is a bit more intense."

A

Jamie Silverstein
and Justin
Pekarek prepare
for the World
Championships.

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