36 | JANUARY 27 • 2022
ERETZ
A
lot of hopes are riding on the
skates of Hailey Kops and Evgeni
Krasnopolski.
The figure-skating pair are among six
athletes expected to represent Israel at the
Beijing Olympics, Feb. 4–20. And Israel
has never medaled at the Winter Games.
“Yes, there’s a little pressure — but in the
best way possible,” Kops tells ISRAEL21c.
This will be the first Olympics for Kops,
19, and the third for Krasnopolski, 33.
They’ve already accomplished an aston-
ishing feat by securing one of just 19 slots
allotted to figure-skating pairs at Beijing.
They began skating together only last
June, and yet in September beat out top
contenders from countries including
China, Britain and Ukraine at a qualifying
tournament in Germany.
“It was insane that they had a little more
than three months to try and qualify for
the Olympics,” says Hailey’s father, Steven
Kops.
“Most teams have been skating for
years together to get the timing and con-
nection needed for pairs. They had three
months. The music they skated to was
‘The Impossible Dream’ and it truly was
impossible.”
Even more so because Kops had taken a
two-year break from competitive skating
at age 17 to finish high school and study
at a Jerusalem seminary for the 2020-21
academic year.
Kops grew up in northern New Jersey
and took on Israeli citizenship upon
joining Team Israel in middle school.
Krasnopolski has resided in northern
New Jersey for 13 years — Team Israel ice
skaters often train there, under head coach
Galit Chait Moracci, due to the shortage of
rinks in Israel.
Krasnopolski and Kops fell out of touch
after Kops went to Israel in the fall of
2020. He assumed her skating days were
over. That’s why he didn’t think of her the
following spring when he was seeking a
new partner for his third Olympic bid.
Chait Moracci’s parents — Israel Ice
Skating Federation President Boris Chait
and Team Leader Irene Chait — did think
of Kops but first pursued other options.
Finally, on June 8, they phoned her father.
When Steven Kops answered the phone,
Boris Chait said, “I have two words: Hailey
Evgeni.”
“You won’t believe this,” replied Kops.
“Hailey just returned this morning from
seminary.”
She quickly accepted the opportunity to
be Krasnopolski’s partner. “I have a huge
amount of respect for him as a two-time
Olympian,” she says.
Krosnopolski tells ISRAEL21c, “I knew
nothing about it until Galit called me
and said, ‘Tomorrow Hailey will be at the
rink.’”
He was pleased to find that they had
good chemistry and were both committed
to the Olympic goal.
“Hailey was just crazy enough to believe
that if we focused and put a year’s worth
of work into three months, we could do it,”
he says.
A CONNECTION TO ISRAEL
Evgeni Krasnopolski moved to Israel
from Ukraine with his family at age 3.
He started skating at 7, and as a preteen
began representing Israel internationally.
Having won many doubles competitions,
he qualified for the 2014 and 2018 Winter
Olympics.
He was drafted, like his peers, at 18
She’s from New Jersey, he’s from Ukraine,
and they trained together for just three months.
Israeli Figure Skating Duo Chase
‘Impossible Dream’ To Beijing
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN ISRAEL21C
KRPHOTOGS PHOTOGRAPHY VIA ISRAEL21C
Israeli figure skaters Hailey Kops and Evgeni Krasnopolski.