Olympic Gold Medalist Oksana Baiul Guest Stars on 'Strong Medicine' Sunday October 21, 2001
World Figure Skating Champion Randy Gardner Choreographs Original Skating Routines for Episode
PRNewswire
LOS ANGELES
10/17/2001
On Sunday, October 21, 8 PM (EST/PST), Olympic Gold Medalist Oksana Baiul guest stars on Lifetime Television's original drama "Strong Medicine."
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011017/LAW102 )
Demonstrating the skating ability that won her an Olympic Gold medal in 1994, Baiul plays a figure skater in the episode, joining former prestigious Strong Medicine guest stars Mary J. Blige, Holly Robinson Peete, Star Jones and Teri Garr.
Baiul stars as Irina Kostrova, who has set her sights on making the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating team, but is diagnosed by Dr. Dana Stowe (Janine Turner) with osteoporosis. Irina tries to keep her Olympic dreams alive despite her illness and the cutthroat competition of her teammates. The skating in the episode was choreographed by World Figure Skating Champion Randy Gardner.
"I jumped at the chance to play the role of Irina," said Baiul. "It combined my love for skating with a really good medical story filled with drama and intrigue. There is even a surprise ending!"
According to executive producer Tammy Ader, "Oksana is just an electrifying presence both on and off the ice and we knew that would come across like gangbusters on camera. And it did."
Oksana Baiul was born in the Ukraine and started skating at age four. She won her first competition when she was seven years old. She was Ukrainian National Champion and won gold at the National and silver at the European championships in l993, the year she won the gold medal at the World Championships. She won the 1994 Olympic Gold medal and turned professional that same year. She now skates with other Olympic champions in tours around the United States. She has also written two books, including her autobiography.
In its second season on Lifetime Television, the successful medical drama "Strong Medicine" follows the challenges, victories and disappointments that two very different women with polarized theories on the practice of medicine face when they team up to run a women's medical clinic. "Strong Medicine" is produced for Lifetime Television by Columbia TriStar Television Distribution.
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SOURCE: Columbia TriStar Television Distribution
Contact: Janet Daily, Unit Publicist, +1-323-935-0070; Chris Albert of
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Television, +1-310-556-7541