MOSCOW, 21 January 2005 — Three-time European men’s champion Yevgeny Plushenko and five-time women’s champion Irina Slutskaya headline the Russian squad announced yesterday by national federation President Valentin Piseyev for next week’s European Figure Skating championships in Turin, Italy.
Plushenko will be bidding to regain the title he lost last year to France’s Brian Joubert during the Jan. 25-30 competition which takes place at the venue for next year’s Winter Olympics.
Olympic silver-medalist Slutskaya, who missed last year’s championshps for health reasons, returns to action and will be joined by teammate Elena Sokolova, last year’s bronze medalist.
Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin bid for a fourth successive pairs crown, while Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov defend their ice dancing title.
Pairs: Tatiana Totmianina Maxim Marinin, Maria Petrova Alexei Tikhonov, Yulia Obertas Sergei Slavnov
Men: Yevgeny Plushenko, Andrei Gryazev, Andrei Lezin
Women: Irina Slutskaya, Elena Sokolova
Dances: Tatiana Navka Roman Kostomarov, Oksana Domnina Maxim Shabalin, Svetlana Kulikova Vitaly Novikov
Czech Republic’s Top Figure Skaters End Their Career
In Prague, the Czech Republic’s top figure skating pair Katerina Berankova and Otto Dlabola announced their retirement for health reasons yesterday.
Berankova and Dlabola, who placed fifth in last year’s European Figure Skating Championships and eighth at the 2002 Winter Olympics, each suffered minor injuries on the ice last year and will not compete in next year’s Winter Olympics in Turin. The injuries had prevented the pair from practicing for the past three months, Berankova told the Idnes news agency. Dlabola, 31, hurt his thumb and suffered a head wound that required stitches. Berankova, 27, suffered a knee injury.
In addition to a string of national championships, the pair placed fifth at the European Championships in 2002 and 2004, and sixth in 2003.
