Basic Facts: Her Him Born on the 5th of May 1969 Birthplace : Dijon Born on the 20th of July 1968 Birthplace: à Thonon Trainer: Danielle Marotel Club: CPH Dijon

Their History together: Sophie Moniotte skated first with Emmanuel Col, at the Dijon Skating club, while Pascal Lavanchy was with Isabelle Marcellin, at Morzine. After a national training session in Morzine, during August 1985, they were teamed up and followed by Anne Corlay. In July 1988, they were picked by Danielle Marotel, national trainer and went with her to train in Paris. Their career together is a long lasting story of 12 years. With their two different temperaments, Sophie and Pascal were a magnificent couple on the ice. Her: thin, blond haired, light, fizzy and bright on the ice. Him: calm and steady, a lot perfectionist et rigorous. They started to emerge in the wake of the Duchesnays in the nineties, when these two began their "revolution" in the ice dance worldwide and went to conquer the podiums . More classical and less disturbing with their elegant style, their high technicality in steps, Sophie Moniotte and Pascal Lavanchy tried to develop their sportive and artistic qualities as well as their own personality with the help of Danielle Marotel and sometimes the help of *strangers*: Betty Callaway (the English tradition) and Tatiana Tarassova (Russian inspiration), and eventually with the collaboration of the Russian choreographer Natacha Dabbadie, to build up their free programs. They allied the strength of their technique with the charm and the fizzy personality of Sophie, trying all register possible of dance (modern, classical...) and claimed the seal of a French couple, image of seduction and estheticism, with their soft ice touch. Their 1994 Free Program for the 1994 Olympic Games (5th) on the theme "Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire" was their best ever. Second to the Duchesnays, they first had to learn patience and perseverance. Then, after the Duchesnays went pros in 1992, they had to fight to impose their style to the international judges, and also a school of courage because of Sophie's fragility, already badly injured in 1990. On October 19th 1995, she had to face a new injury: fracture of one bone in her foot while they were practicing in Colombes. Bad Luck, because they had finally stroke at the best places: silver medal in Chiba (Japon) in 1994 next to the Russians Olympic champions untouchable: Oksana Gritschuk-Evgeny Platov ; bronze medal in Birmingham in 1995, behind Oksana Gritschuk-Evgeny Platov and the Finnish Susanna Rahkamo-Petri Kokko. During a year and a half, Sophie Moniotte and Pascal Lavanchy were out of the international scene. They tried to make a come back during the 1996-97 winter, because of the Olympic Games in Nagano, and believing they had a chance at a medal. But their younger teammates Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat, was on an unstopping rise. This rivalry even deprived France of a world medal in 1997 because it was an opportunity for rival nations (Russia and Canada). Sophie Moniotte and Pascal Lavanchy, after their long absence had anyway won another European medal in Paris, 1997 and took the 4th place at Worlds, in Lausanne. But during the Olympic year, they fell down the rankings, a sad and unfortunate story. Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat already took their French title, because they had lost their usual sharpness and brightness due to Sophie's injuries. They had to settle for a 7th place finish in Milan Europeans in 1998. Completely unhelped after that by their own judges at the Olympics in Nagano, they fell at an undeserved 11th place. They decided to stop skating soon after the event, disgusted with their own sport. They haven't started a professional career together. Pascal Lavanchy helped Philippe Candeloro with the organization of his tour while Sophie Moniotte took her distances with the ice skating world. Both are still doing motor racing competitions and Pascal has even started a promising career as a stuntman in Rémy Julienne team, the best in the world of spate. Source:The French Federation

© Copyright 1999. Screendesign, Online-Editor&Webmaster: M. Michallet, Webhosting: Geocities.
Photos by J. Barry Mittan &, K. Rupp and use with their permission.
All rights reserved.

Please note that all information, videos, photographs and graphics are property of the authors
of this webpage and may not be reproduced, modified or reused without written permission.
Veuillez noter que les vidéos, photographies et graphiques sont la propriété des auteurs du site
et ne doivent pas être reproduit modifiés ou réutilisés.