Drawing: Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean stunned the world with their steamy skating synchronicity at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in Yugoslavia to win the Gold medal for Great Britain in the ice dancing competition.

Performing the memorable ‘Boléro’ the pair became the highest scoring figure skaters of all time, receiving twelve perfect 6.0s and six 5.9s. They earned accross-the-board perfect scores for artistic impression in the free dance section – a feat that has never been matched.

In addition to their Olympic title, they have won 4 European and World Championships and 7 British.

They turned professional after the 1984 Olympics, winning the World Professional title on five occasions, but decided to return to the amateur arena for the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway due to a change in the eligibility rules.

Their routine had an assisted lift, which pushed the envelope of the rules, and despite winning the British and European Championships that year, the Olympic judges placed them third with a bronze medal.

Their 1984 gold medal winning performance has been rated as the eighth most memorable of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. They retired from competitive skating in 1998.

Jayne and Chris signed my sketch at the O2 Arena in Greenwich in April 2010, as part of their Dancing on Ice Tour.

Drawing: Jess Ennis

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Jess Ennis, or Mrs Jessica Ennis-Hill, as she likes to be called, since her nuptials in May this year, was one of the stars of London 2012 and the poster girl of British Athletics.

After the disappointment in 2008 when she was forced to miss the Olympics in Beijing due to a stress fracture in her right foot, Jess won the Heptathlon gold in London on what has been called “Super Saturday” (4 August) when three Team GB athletes became Olympic Champions in one night. Long jumper Greg Rutherford claimed gold only minutes after Jess destroyed the field in the 800m before Mo Farah powered to 10,000m glory.

It was Great Britain’s best day in the 104 year history of Olympic Competition, with six gold medals and a silver.

The ringmaster himself, Lord Coe said it was, “the greatest day of sport I have ever witnessed.”

Jess, a former European and World champion was awarded the CBE in the 2013 New Year honours and was named World Sportswoman of the Year at the Laureus World Sport Awards.

Unfortunately, she will not be able to regain the world title in Moscow this month due to an achilles injury but plans to compete at next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – a competition she has yet to win.

Jess signed my drawing in London while promoting her autobiography in November 2012.

Drawing: Sebastian Coe, Lord of the Olympic Rings

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

After heading the successful London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics Sebastian Coe became Chairman of the London Organising Committee and not only the head but the ‘face’ of the Games.

Along with fellow Brits Steve Cram and Steve Ovett, they dominated middle distance running during the 1980s. He won four Olympic medals, including successive golds in the 1500m at Moscow (1980) and Los Angeles (1984). The other medals were successive silvers in the 800m at the same Olympics.

Lord Coe is actually colour blind, so I guess they all look the same to him. He also held eight outdoor and three indoor world records and in 1979 he broke 3 world records in the space of 41 days.

After retiring from Athletics, Seb was elected to Parliament as the Tory MP for Falmouth from 1992-1977. In 2000 he was made a Life Peer for services to William Hague, the then Leader of the Opposition, as his Chief Of Staff.

I mailed this caricature to his Parliamentary office in 1994 and he returned it, signed.

Drawing: Danny Boyle

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

I like Danny Boyle’s style. The Lancashire born director is the most down to earth celebrity I know. In spite of a trophy cabinet including every major film gong and co-ordinating the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, he also turned down a Knighthood.

He returned to his theatrical roots in 2011 to direct Frankenstein at the National Theatre. On the opening night he signed for me. Actually there were two opening nights (World Premieres) as the two leads – Johnny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch – alternated the roles of ‘the creature’ and Dr Frankenstein.

He wore casual clothes and mingled with the minions in the Olivier Theatre foyer. I did this quick sketch and approached him. He smiled and said, “that’s great.” He was more than happy to sign it, confirming his humanity and humility. I asked him why he alternating the leads, he said, “you’ll see”.

I watched the show on the theatre monitor in the bar. Cumberbatch played the creature. If a ticket had been available I would have returned to see Miller in the same role, so I could see what Danny meant.