Ravel's Bolero is now seen by many as Torvill and Dean's Bolero
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What makes a great partnership? In conjunction with Samsung Mobile, ESPN picks its Greatest Pairs in the history of sport.
Torvill and Dean:
It is little wonder people of a certain age vividly remember Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's masterful performance on the ice in 1984.
A mind-boggling viewing figure in excess of 24 million tuned in to watch the Nottingham pair wow the judges with a flawless display. Whenever the opening strains of Ravel's Bolero is played to this day, the mind instantly switches back to Sarajevo and Olympic gold for Great Britain.
Everybody back home was thrilled for Torvill and Dean, two names that will forever go together in the British psyche. Even the Queen sent a telegram offering her heartfelt congratulations.
This was no instant success for the two hard-working sporting stars - they had been favourites to come out on top in the former Yugoslavia after proving their worth for several years prior to the Winter Olympics.
The routine was so personal and intimate yet the two insisted they were never a couple away from the ice. "We were so engrossed in the sport and so single-minded," Dean explained much later. "The relationship we had is something we created. It's quite unique.
"We're not brother and sister. We're not husband and wife. But we formed our own friendship that required much more trust than any relationship. We've been together longer than both my marriages lasted."
Yet it felt like they meant every move, caress and stare during the four minutes and 28 seconds of graceful dance. At one point, they even simulate a kiss.
"When we knelt down on the ice, we looked into each other's eyes and saw total commitment," recalled Dean. "It was almost as if we were looking into each other's soul."
Torvill also acknowledged the chemistry between the pair after they first skated together back in 1975, the many hours of sacrifice and practice ending in glory four years after a fourth place at Lake Placid.
"I was really happy to have somebody of the same mind as me and had the same work ethic as me," she explained. Together, they were the perfect sporting partnership.
Steven Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent:
One image of Sir Steven Redgrave forever sticks in the mind. Filmed training for one of his Olympic engagements, he collapses on the floor after an exhausting routine, gasping for air. His body clearly aches from the torturous work-out and it's some time before he recovers with his muscles throbbing in pain.
This ultimate sportsman must've been an exacting example for others to follow and yet Sir Matthew Pinsent would raise his own game to earn the right to be mentioned in the same breath as his fellow Knight.
Steven Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent are two of the greatest Olympians
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It couldn't have been easy for the old Etonian. He was still a teenager when meeting up with somebody who the Observer's Eddie Butler describes as "the world's most driven, irascible oarsman".
Pinsent later admitted to obvious doubts: "I thought it might be the poisoned chalice. If we won, it would be because of Steve. If we lost, it would be down to me."
In Barcelona, Pinsent was still only 21 and graduated that same year from Oxford University. He had plenty to live up to in terms of his perfectionist partner, already crowned the world's best.
"From the outside, it may have looked as if I was the one in charge when we rowed together but actually Matthew always had an equal say," insists Redgrave. Yet there was no doubt he was the senior partner.
Pinsent managed to earn enough respect to be treated as an equal by Redgrave after 1992, according to Butler, and the pair remained unbeaten for the next four years. Pinsent explained: "It was the combination. It took me a long time to realise that he needed me as much as I needed him. He needed a strong partner."
The coxless pair victories in 1992 and 1996, as well as the coxless four achieved in Sydney, with Pinsent emerging as the driving force, alongside Tim Foster and James Cracknell, cemented a place in Olympic history for the driven duo. The home of British rowing is now called Redgrave-Pinsent Lake. That's some legacy.
Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal:
Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal were quite the double act. Oft-lauded as the greatest Ryder Cup partnership of all time, they lost only two of 15 matches (11-2-2).
Making his debut as a 21-year-old in 1987, Olazabal was taken under the wing of his senior colleague. Betraying his nerves with a jittery opening, the youngster needed the advice of his colleague ("You just play your game and I'll take care of the rest."). Olly hit his stride in time to help clinch a memorable one-hole win as the Americans were ultimately defeated on home soil for the first time.
Ballesteros, described by Sam Torrance as the "best Ryder Cup player there's ever been - inside and outside the ropes", was always of great help to his younger partner. "In a way, he was like a big brother to me," stated Olazabal. "He has given me a lot of belief. He was so strong and never gave up. Absolutely never gave up."
Seve clearly relished the competition and camaraderie that the tournament always guarantees, proving to be an inspirational leader of men and a master tactician in the heat of combat. He played to win, by his own admission, even if his gamesmanship sometimes upset the Americans. "Seve was there to prove to everybody that he was the best," recalled Olazabal.
The man from Fuenterrabia fought to earn the respect of his elder compatriot, with Ballesteros enthusing: "He is a 100 per cent person for the team and a tremendous competitor and fighter. He's a great player with tremendous dedication and his personal record speaks for itself." All those qualities were displayed to overcome crippling injuries including rheumatoid polyarthiritis.
Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal were never afraid to lean on each other
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The pair won their final match together in 1993 after remaining unbeaten in 1989 and 1991 and, before Ballesteros' sad death, Olazabal had a moving message for his great friend: "I was never a genius like you, Seve, but I did the best I could. And as my mentor, all I can hope for is that you're proud of me." It's fair to say the whole of Europe will be forever proud of the two super Spaniards.
Jerry Rice and Joe Montana:
It's long been argued that Jerry Rice and Joe Montana had a telepathic understanding
on the field. Their irresistible partnership for San Francisco 49ers was based on a simple premise - an accurate thrower and a safe catcher.
"What Montana and Rice did was like a clinic," was former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula's way of describing their classic interplay.
Montana was a legendary quarterback and already a big name when Rice arrived in 1985. 'Joe Cool' won three MVPs out of four Super Bowl appearances and was always on the same page as his receiver while Rice's statistics speak for themselves as he is rightly regarded as one of the best to ever grace the game - holding 38 NFL records when he retired.
Attention to detail is everything in American Football and Rice was almost obsessive about it, using his speed, stamina, agility and shovel-like hands to maximum effect by ensuring he was always on the same wavelength as his quarterback.
Both men were big-game players with a terrific work ethic and, when the spotlight was shining brighter than ever with 500 million people watching, their concentration and focus never wavered.
Together, they notched up 55 regular-season touchdowns and another 13 in the post-season. "Jerry has the knack of knowing when to break, when to use his speed," acknowledged Montana. Rice, for his part, wanted to hand over his Super Bowl XXIII MVP to his team-mate: "I've got the trophy but it belongs to Joe."
Much of the co-ordination and teamwork between the colleagues was probably imperceptible to the casual observer. The 49ers' offensive co-ordinator, Mike Holmgren, revealed: "Joe and Jerry do things in a game they don't do in practice. Joe will nod his head or Jerry will flick his hand. They've hooked up so much, it's a tremendous confidence factor. Joe also has the ability to work people with his eyes."
A glance or a nod may have been all it took to trigger the right pass and the matching run - this was a level of instinctive teamwork that could not have been taught.
Mark Woodford and Todd Woodbridge:
Doubles in tennis clearly requires extraordinary levels of teamwork and the ability to understand each other's games inside out. Nobody perfected this as well as Mark Woodford and Todd Woodbridge, who shared far more than just similar surnames.
"The greatest doubles pairing in the history of the game," enthused Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard. "They are national icons who redefined the art of playing doubles."
Australia has a history of producing fine doubles players and Woodbridge was acclaimed by Sports Illustrated as the best of all time, forging a successful partnership with Jonas Bjorkman after Woodford's retirement.
But his name will always be mentioned in connection with his fellow Aussie after 11 grand slam titles and 61 doubles titles, not to mention an Olympic gold along the way, after 'the Woodies' teamed up in 1991.
"It's like a marriage," said Woodforde. "You learn how to co-exist on and off the court. I think we got the best out of each other."
Woodbridge has a similar theory about the relationship. "It's one word," he explained. "Communication. Anytime Mark and I held something in and didn't let each other know how we felt, we never played well together. We knew what we were doing was like a business and we had to be professional. We had our moments when we hacked each other off and would have liked to have gone another way. But we realised we had something that was too good."
Woodbridge pointed to other factors that contributed to making the Antipodean combination peerless when it came to doubles. Always 'finding a way' to win a match, the sign of champions in any sport, was a trait and, tactically, they were spot-on. Furthermore, their best form often came in the biggest matches - peaking at just the right time in tournaments.
"I figured if I could team up with Mark we'd do well together," said Woodbridge. "We did better than well, we did bloody great." That is frank and brutally succinct but it's impossible to sum it up any better.
ESPN's series on the greatest teams in sport is in partnership with Samsung Mobile Project Team Work.
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