Team GB skater Penny Coomes has revealed that she has been watching the Winter Olympics-based film Miracle for inspiration ahead of Sochi 2014.
The Ascot-born dancer, 24, and partner Nicholas Buckland have been encouraged by Russian coach and double Olympic champion Evgeny Platov to view the 2004 motion picture starring Kurt Russell.
It tells the tale of the 1980 Lack Placid Games, where the American ice hockey team defeated heavy favourites Russia to win gold. Coomes, who admits that she is not the most talented skater, resonates with the narrative because it shows what can be achieved through hard work.
"[The film] is so inspiring. I love hard work, I am one of those wired people where the more I do the better I feel," Coomes told the Bracknell News. "There's one part where they don't skate very well, so at the end of the match the coach asks them to do these sprints again, again and again.
"With me on the ice, he [Platov] always says to me again, again. With that hard work they defy all odds and that relates with me. I'm not naturally the best skater nor uber-talented, but I have got to where I am through hard work. I am very lucky to work with a coach like Evgeny.
"I have improved so much in the past five years. He has pushed me and that film really resonates with me."
Coomes and Buckland finished 20th in the ice dance at Vancouver 2010, but are hoping for a better display in Russia this time around after claiming bronze at the European Championships last month.
