Post by Admin on Jan 12, 2014 8:56:48 GMT -6
From the St. Petersburg Times:
February 15, 1994
HOME AS GOOD AS GOLD
by Stephen Hegarty
Frank Wruck and his wife, Monica, made a special point of watching Olympic figure skating Sunday.
It's the first time they ever saw their neighbors - Sergei Grinkov and Ekaterina Gordeeva, the Russian skaters favored to win the gold medal in figure skating.
The husband-and-wife skating team bought a home in the north Hillsborough community of Hunters Green in May, not long after they skated in a traveling ice show in St. Petersburg. Apparently, they wanted a home away from their home in Moscow.
But the Olympians - who are skating for a gold medal today in Lillehammer - spend so little time here, the neighbors have never seen them.
""I understand they spent one day here,'' said Joe Zelinski, the skaters' next-door neighbor.
""We're watching the Olympics more out of curiosity than anything. It's our best chance to see them.''
So how did a pair of Russian figure skaters end up here?
The warm weather and a ballet bar in the bedroom may have done the trick.
Len Jaffe was the sales manager for Hunters Green on Christmas Eve 1992, when he was asked to rush over to a model home because some Olympic gold medalists were house-hunting.
""I was thinking, "Yeah, right,' '' Jaffe said. ""But when they told me their names, I recognized them (from the gold medal-winning performance in 1988). I knew it was no joke.''
Jaffe spoke mostly with Gordeeva because she speaks English fairly well.
""She fell in love with the model. She liked the ballet bar in the bedroom because she could practice in front of the mirror.
""It was basically, "I want it.' And I said, "Okay.' ''
Jaffe explained that the model had been sold, but that an identical home could be built for them. They signed a contract that day.
Jaffe distinctly remembers filling out paperwork for the couple.
""They were a hell of a nice couple,'' Jaffe said. ""And, of course, she's beautiful.
""I remember when she was sitting there in the chair, I noticed her posture was perfect - I mean absolutely perfect. That's just the way she sits.''
Over the next few months, the model was recreated. Same trim color. Same wallpaper. Same ballet bar. In fact, the skaters bought the furniture out of the model.
The two-story, 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home cost them $176,900 in May 1993. In the back, there is a small pool and jacuzzi enclosed within a screen porch.
Jean Kohanyi-Dorazio, community sales director for Hunters Green, figures the Olympic skaters wanted a home in the subdivision for the same reason lots of other people do.
""Because of the weather and because of the community - it's gated and it's maintained,'' she said. ""They're away a lot and they wouldn't want to come home to find a lawn that's 8 feet high.''
She said she suspects the skaters will spend more time at Hunters Green after the Olympics.
""On television, they said they only spent one night here, but actually I think they spent two nights,'' Kohanyi-Dorazio said. ""I'm not sure, but I don't think they were consecutive nights. Let's not get carried away here.''
th
February 15, 1994
HOME AS GOOD AS GOLD
by Stephen Hegarty
Frank Wruck and his wife, Monica, made a special point of watching Olympic figure skating Sunday.
It's the first time they ever saw their neighbors - Sergei Grinkov and Ekaterina Gordeeva, the Russian skaters favored to win the gold medal in figure skating.
The husband-and-wife skating team bought a home in the north Hillsborough community of Hunters Green in May, not long after they skated in a traveling ice show in St. Petersburg. Apparently, they wanted a home away from their home in Moscow.
But the Olympians - who are skating for a gold medal today in Lillehammer - spend so little time here, the neighbors have never seen them.
""I understand they spent one day here,'' said Joe Zelinski, the skaters' next-door neighbor.
""We're watching the Olympics more out of curiosity than anything. It's our best chance to see them.''
So how did a pair of Russian figure skaters end up here?
The warm weather and a ballet bar in the bedroom may have done the trick.
Len Jaffe was the sales manager for Hunters Green on Christmas Eve 1992, when he was asked to rush over to a model home because some Olympic gold medalists were house-hunting.
""I was thinking, "Yeah, right,' '' Jaffe said. ""But when they told me their names, I recognized them (from the gold medal-winning performance in 1988). I knew it was no joke.''
Jaffe spoke mostly with Gordeeva because she speaks English fairly well.
""She fell in love with the model. She liked the ballet bar in the bedroom because she could practice in front of the mirror.
""It was basically, "I want it.' And I said, "Okay.' ''
Jaffe explained that the model had been sold, but that an identical home could be built for them. They signed a contract that day.
Jaffe distinctly remembers filling out paperwork for the couple.
""They were a hell of a nice couple,'' Jaffe said. ""And, of course, she's beautiful.
""I remember when she was sitting there in the chair, I noticed her posture was perfect - I mean absolutely perfect. That's just the way she sits.''
Over the next few months, the model was recreated. Same trim color. Same wallpaper. Same ballet bar. In fact, the skaters bought the furniture out of the model.
The two-story, 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home cost them $176,900 in May 1993. In the back, there is a small pool and jacuzzi enclosed within a screen porch.
Jean Kohanyi-Dorazio, community sales director for Hunters Green, figures the Olympic skaters wanted a home in the subdivision for the same reason lots of other people do.
""Because of the weather and because of the community - it's gated and it's maintained,'' she said. ""They're away a lot and they wouldn't want to come home to find a lawn that's 8 feet high.''
She said she suspects the skaters will spend more time at Hunters Green after the Olympics.
""On television, they said they only spent one night here, but actually I think they spent two nights,'' Kohanyi-Dorazio said. ""I'm not sure, but I don't think they were consecutive nights. Let's not get carried away here.''
th