Galit Chait is a former Israeli
ice dancerIce dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....
with partner
Sergei SakhnovskiSergei Sakhnovski is an Israeli ice dancer with partner Galit Chait. They have been competing internationally for Israel since 1996. In 2002 they were the first Israeli ice dance team to win a medal at World Championships...
. They competed internationally for Israel from 1995 to 2006.
Personal life
Chait was born in Israel and moved to
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
as a child with her parents. When she was 8 years old, her parents took her to the skating rink at
Rockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for fun and she fell in love with skating.
Her father, Boris Chait, is president of the Israeli Ice Skating Federation since 2002.
On August 23, 2008, Chait married former Italian military policeman Francesco Moracci in
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and then on September 13, 2008 they had the second wedding in
FlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The two met at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, where Moracci was a member of the security detail assigned to protect the Israeli team. They have two daughters, Raffaella, born in 2010, and Gabriella, born in 2011.
Chait has been a resident of
Paramus, New JerseyParamus is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 26,342. A suburb of New York City, Paramus is located between 15–20 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan and approximately west of Upper Manhattan.Paramus is one of...
.
Career
In the early 1990s, she went to
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
with her father, who had organized a sports camp; while there, she was introduced to
ice dancingIce dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....
and found she enjoyed skating with a partner.
She initially competed with Max Sevostianov. They competed at the U.S. Nationals in 1992 and 1994. They were involved in a collision with
Renee RocaRenée Roca is an American ice dancer and choreographer. She is a three-time U.S. national champion with different partners. Competing with partner Donald Adair, she is the 1986 U.S. national champion. She later teamed up with Russian skater Gorsha Sur, with whom she is the 1993 and 1995 U.S...
at the
1994 U.S. ChampionshipsThe 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships was the United States Figure Skating Championships of the 2009-2010 figure skating season. They were the national championship to determine the national champions of the United States. They were held in Detroit Michigan. In addition to determining...
. Chait and Sevostianov finished 6th at the U.S. Nationals and 28th at the
World ChampionshipsThe World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion. This event is considered the most prestigious of the ISU Championships...
(representing Israel) in 1994.
While attending the
University of DelawareThe university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
in the mid-1990s, however, Chait met and teamed up with Sergei Sakhnovski. Chait and Sakhnovski debuted as a team in 1995 and steadily rose in the international rankings. The highlight of their career was winning the bronze medal at the
2002 World championshipsThe World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion. This event is considered the most prestigious of the ISU Championships. The 2002 Worlds were held in...
.
Sergei Sakhnovski suffered a foot injury that forced the pair to miss the entire 2006–2007 season, and they subsequently announced their retirement.
Chait was the
flag bearerThe Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics was held on February 10, 2006 beginning at 20:00 CET at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Italy....
for
Israel at the 2002Israel competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States.The Israeli delegation included 5 athletes. 2 pairs of ice dancers: Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski, who were ranked in 6th place, and Natalia Gudina and Alexei Beletski, who were 19th...
and
2006 Winter OlympicsIsrael competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.Five Israeli athletes participated in the Games, the same as in Salt Lake City in 2002. They included two ice dance couples: Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski, who made their third participation in the Olympics, and the brother-sister team...
.
Chait is an ISU Technical Specialist.
Coaching career
After her retirement as a competitive skater, Chait began coaching
ice dancingIce dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....
. She was the head coach of the Israeli brother-and-sister team Alexandra Zaretsky and Roman Zaretsky, as well as
Tamar KatzTamar Katz is an Israeli figure skater. She is the 2005, 2007, and 2008 Israeli national champion.- Career :...
. In October 2008, Chait and the Zaretskys filed a lawsuit against the Ice House training rink in
Hackensack, New JerseyHackensack is a city in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and the county seat of Bergen County. Although informally called Hackensack, it was officially named New Barbadoes Township until 1921. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 43,010....
, claiming that officials at the rink discriminated against them on the basis of their Israeli nationality, denying them prime skating time and threatening to ban them from the rink. Under her coaching, the Zaretskys, won the gold medal at the 24th Winter Universiade Games in Harbin China, the bronze medal at Skate America 2009 and they qualified for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver Canada.
Chait has also coached:
- Cathy Reed
Cathy Reed is a Japanese ice dancer who represents Japan. She competes with her younger brother Chris Reed. They are the 2008-2010 Japanese national champions.-Personal life:...
/ Chris ReedChris Reed is an American-Japanese ice dancer who currently represents Japan. He competes with his older sister Cathy Reed. They are the 2008-2010 Japanese national champions.-Personal life:...
- Siobhan Heekin-Canedy
Siobhan Heekin-Canedy is an American ice dancer who competes with Dmitri Dun for Ukraine.- Career :...
/ Alexander ShakalovAlexander Shakalov is a Ukrainian ice dancer.In his early career, he competed with Viktoria Polzykina and Julia Grigorenko for Ukraine. He also represented Uzbekistan with Olga Akimova from 2003 to 2007. The two were the 2004-2005 Uzbek national champions...
- Allison Reed
Allison Lynn Reed is an American ice dancer. She competed with Otar Japaridze for Georgia from 2009 to 2011.- Career :Reed started skating at the age of three...
/ Otar JaparidzeOtar Japaridze is a Georgian ice dancer. With former partner Allison Reed, he represented Georgia at the 2010 Winter Olympics.- Career :...
- Ekaterina Bugrov / Vasili Rogov
- Siobhan Heekin-Canedy
Siobhan Heekin-Canedy is an American ice dancer who competes with Dmitri Dun for Ukraine.- Career :...
/ Dmitri Dun-External links:*...
Competitive highlights
(with Sakhnovski)
| Event |
1995–96 |
1996–97 |
1997–98 |
1998–99 |
1999–00 |
2000–01 |
2001–02 |
2002–03 |
2003–04 |
2004–05 |
2005–06 |
Winter Olympic GamesThe Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
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14th |
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6th |
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8th |
| World Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
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23rd |
18th |
14th |
13th |
5th |
6th |
3rd |
6th |
7th |
6th |
6th |
| European Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...
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14th |
12th |
10th |
6th |
5th |
5th |
6th |
5th |
4th |
5th |
| Israeli Championships The Israeli Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of Israel. Winners are given the title National Champion. Over the years, the date of the competition has been moved for regional political reasons or for the lack of ice....
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1st |
1st |
1st |
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1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
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| Grand Prix Final |
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4th |
5th |
5th |
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4th |
4th |
| Cup of Russia The Cup of Russia is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. It was held as the Rostelecom Cup in 2009 after...
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7th |
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3rd |
2nd |
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3rd |
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2nd |
| Cup of China The Cup of China is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The location changes yearly. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.The Cup of China is...
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2nd |
2nd |
| Skate Canada The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: Ladies' singles, Men's...
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2nd |
2nd |
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4th |
3rd |
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| Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly...
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4th |
2nd |
4th |
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2nd |
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| Trophée Lalique |
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5th |
6th |
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| NHK Trophy The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....
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7th |
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5th |
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3rd |
3rd |
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| Bofrost Cup The Bofrost Cup on Ice was a figure skating competition held in Germany between 1986 and 2004. It was part of the Grand Prix series until 2003, when it was replaced by Cup of China. Following being booted out of the Grand Prix series, a new form of competition was introduced to the Bofrost Cup...
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7th |
5th |
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2nd |
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| Skate Israel Skate Israel is a senior-level international figure skating competition, held in Metulla, Israel. Skaters compete in four disciplines: ladies and men's singles, pairs and ice dancing...
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6th |
2nd |
1st |
1st |
1st |
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1st |
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1st |
| Vienna Cup The Karl Schäfer Memorial is an annual elite senior-level figure skating competition held in Vienna, Austria. Skaters compete in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The competition is named for figure skater Karl Schäfer. The competition is usually held in...
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3rd |
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| Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain....
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9th |
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Goodwill GamesThe Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
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2nd |
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External links