Famous in a Second

Sometimes it just takes a second to become famous, and this is exactly what happened to Russian ice dancers Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer at the 2009 European Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki.

During the Compulsory Dance, the strap on Rubleva's costume was torn and she desperately tried to hold it with one hand during the dance to cover her exposed breast. The 23-year-old was close to tears as she came off the ice.

The costume malfunction was captured by a photographer, and on the next day, the pretty skater's photograph was in newspapers and other media worldwide.

Although Rubleva was clearly upset and embarrassed at the time, she can now laugh about the incident.

"I'm a star now," she joked. "It was a good publicity move. Why should I be upset now? It would be useless. What happened, happened. I try to take it with humor."

"The photographers, of course, caught the right moment," her grinning partner added.

After the infamous incident, Rubleva, who already did some modeling work for calendars and clothing, soon got more offers.

Rubleva and Shefer, who have been skating together for 15 years now, began competing internationally in 2001.

Figure skating seems a logical choice for Rubleva, as her parents Svetlana Bakina and Boris Rublev used to compete in ice dance as well. However, her parents didn't push her to become a skater.

Full article.