Torvill and Dean recreate Olympic routine in Sarajevo Published duration 14 February 2014

media caption Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean said recreating their famous Bolero routine after 30 years was ''exhilarating''

British figure skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have returned to Sarajevo to recreate their gold medal-winning performance 30 years after winning the 1984 Winter Olympics.

The pair re-enacted their memorable Bolero routine on the same rink to mark the anniversary.

Their 1984 performance saw them earn full marks for artistic impression, a feat never achieved before or since.

The duo were invited back by the mayors of Sarajevo and East Sarajevo.

'Hallowed ground'

The event was being held to launch a campaign to build a permanent ice rink in the Bosnian capital ahead of the 2017 European Youth Winter Olympic Festival.

media caption Their 1984 Bolero routine wowed audiences around the world

With the 2014 Winter Olympics under way in Sochi, the pair said they were honoured to be invited back to perform in an arena that for them represents "hallowed ground".

"You don't realise how a certain day in your life can impact on the rest of your life," said Dean, 55.

"That day changed our lives forever and will always be in our hearts and our memories, not just for that day but for the life it gave us."

He added: "It was special for us at the time and it was great for the city of Sarajevo to have the Games here and we hope today will bring that feeling back."

The stadium, originally called the Olympic Hall Zetra, was destroyed in the 1992-95 Bosnian war which killed about 100,000 people.

The venue was rebuilt in 1999 and renamed Olympic Hall Juan Antonio Samaranch, after the former President of the International Olympic Committee.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Torvill and Dean's memorable dance in 1984 gave them the highest score of all time for a single programme...

image copyright Reuters image caption Thirty years on, the skaters returned to Sarajevo to recreate their famous Bolero routine

image copyright Reuters image caption They may now be in their mid-50s, but Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean still masterfully executed the trickier moves

image copyright Reuters image caption They said afterwards it was "exhilarating" to be back on the ice in Sarajevo.

Dean spoke of an "emotional moment" when the pair met again the woman who, as a six-year-old girl, collected the flowers on the rink and gave them to the two Britons after their 1984 performance.

That generation, he said, "has gone through some difficult, tragic times.

"And yet now they are so hopeful and join us here today - that really brought it home for us today."

Torvill and Dean's performance on Valentine's Day 1984 made them the highest-scoring figure skaters of all time for a single programme, receiving 12 perfect 6.0s and six 5.9s, which included artistic impression scores of 6.0 from every judge.

The visit is part of a number of events to mark three decades since the Sarajevo Winter Olympics.

The war and siege of Sarajevo that followed saw many of the city's Olympic venues reduced to rubble.

Although the Olympic Hall Zetra was rebuilt, Sarajevo remains without a year-round ice rink.