Jenni Meno, Todd Sand

Figure skating

The Winter Olympics have been personal as well as athletic signposts for American pairs skaters Jenni Meno and Todd Sand. They began dating at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France, and they became engaged at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

When asked if the couple, now married, intended to make any personal revelations at the 1998 Nagano Games, they looked at each other and laughed. “Not yet,” Meno replied.

Their most urgent concern is rehabilitating Meno’s sprained right ankle.

“They are always good in competition,” said Peter Krick, executive director of the German figure skating federation. “No one counts them in the beginning, but they win the medals.”

After a harrowing 1997 season, during which Meno fractured her wrist and Sand injured his back just before a fifth-place finish at the world championships, the couple decided to stay near home in Costa Mesa, Calif., and train instead of compete.

At this year’s nationals, they finished second in the short program to Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen, placing themselves in an encouraging position to regain their national title. But, 3 hours before the free program, Meno suffered a severe bone bruise on her right ankle during warmups.

It seemed certain that Meno, 27, and Sand, 34, would be named to the Olympic team, even if they withdrew from the nationals. The Americans had two pairs spots in the Nagano Games, and no other pair possessed their international credentials. Still, there was no guarantee, so Meno wanted to compete in the long program, even with the injury. But the couple’s longtime coach, John Nicks, disagreed, and the pair withdrew.

As expected, the U.S. Figure Skating Association named Meno and Sand to the Olympic team with approval by its international committee.

“When they put it all together and the confidence and the content are there, no one skates a better program artistically and to the music with the same elegance,” Nicks said.