"Pressure is just what we put on each other. We drive each other on every day," explains Maxim Trankov, one half of this couple, along with Tatiana Volosozhar, challenging for victory in all the big competitions. It is the power and elegance of their sporting performance which captivates attention. They electrify the ice. When they enter the rink, spectators hold their breath. That is precisely what happened in February at the Sochi Winter Olympics. The Iceberg Skating Palace melted when the couple won both the figure skating teams event for Russia, and the individual figure skating gold medal.

Formed after the 2010 Vancouver games, this skating couple immediately came up with a winning formula. After just five months, they won the Russian championships. They burst into the spotlight during the ISU World Championships in March 2011 in Moscow, where they took second place. Silver medallists at the 2012 ISU World Championships in Nice, and then 2013 World Champions in London (Canada), they also won two European titles (2012, 2013) and the final of the 2013 ISU Grand Prix in Sochi, before coming out on top of the world at the Winter Olympics in February 2014.

“We are very happy to have a deal with the Zenith watches brand,” Tatyana and Maxim said. “In figure skating, during the preparation and performance you should pay attention to the precision and elegance of performance elements, as well as to clear and well-coordinated teamwork. Every element has to work together perfectly, just as in Zenith watches. In this respect our values are the same, so we hope for a successful and long term cooperation.”

Zenith understands better than anyone all the effort required to attain such a demanding level. This is the daily mission of the people working for the brand: "Zenith's craftsmen have many points in common with Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov: relish for a challenge, adventure and outdoing themselves. Figure skating, a discipline of extreme demands, closely resembles the criteria of precision that the timepieces bearing the Zenith signature must meet on a daily basis. So we are particularly proud and happy to welcome them as new ambassadors."

The couple are joining, among others, Felix Baumgartner, Russell Westbrook, Martin Fuchs, and Spindrift Racing within the extended family of Zenith, which is set to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2015.