WINTER OLYMPICS: Can Jenna end 26-year wait?

FOR more than a quarter of a century, Great Britain's figure skaters have been living off past glories but on the eve of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

It's now 26 years since 24 million UK viewers tuned in to watch Torvill and Dean clinch Olympic gold with their performance of Ravel's Bolero in Sarajevo, as they dazzled the judges to earn a full complement of perfect sixes.

That was the third Winter Olympics in a row Great Britain had tasted gold, as Robin Cousins, and before him John Curry, ensured figure skating took its primetime place in British living rooms alongside Match of the Day.

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Since then the British figure skating landscape has been barren but for the trip to Vancouver, the British Olympic Association has announced the strongest figure skating contingent since 1994 and there are reasons for optimism.

Sixteen years ago in Lillehammer, Torvill and Dean collected bronze - the last British figure skating Olympic medal to be won, but fast forward to the present and a European bronze medal last January suggests a new British duo have blossomed ahead of the Vancouver Games.

Scottish siblings Sinead and John Kerr developed a reputation for originality during their Olympic debut in Turin where they finished tenth, but have since added substance to their style and harbour hopes of reaching the podium later this month.

"I think the audiences have come to expect something different from us and we enjoy providing it," said Sinead.

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"And we've got a shot at a medal. There's a bunch of pairs, maybe eight, who can make the top three and I'd say we're among that."

The Kerrs are not the only figure skaters flying the British flag in Vancouver. Coleraine's Jenna McCorkell, a seven-time individual national champion, will be making her Olympic debut at the Pacific Coliseum.

A sell-out crowd of more than 16,000 is guaranteed for the showpiece event of the figure skating calendar, but McCorkell, 23, who collected bronze at the NRW Trophy in Dortmund this season, believes she can thrive under the pressure.

"I've beaten people that I've never beaten before so it's definitely built my confidence ahead of the Olympics," she said.

Lloyds TSB, proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to Vancouver 2010. Visit LloydsTSB.com/London2012

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