Russians ready to challenge Americans
Posted: Friday January 22, 1999 04:45 PM
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Maria Butyrskaya looks to repeat as the ladies' European champion AP |
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- With Olympic figure skating
champion Tara Lipinski's departure from eligible ranks, next week's
European Figure Skating Championships in Prague will offer the
first chance to single out who's likely to challenge American
Michelle Kwan to take her place.
Whoever she is, she'll be Russian.
Russia has dominated all figure skating disciplines this season
-- winning 15 of 24 events on the lucrative Grand Prix Circuit this
fall -- and is almost certain to sweep Europeans.
Only world champion Kwan has easily beaten the Russian women
this season. And while the Russian men have so far led their
fields, American Michael Weiss will be looking for an opening in
the troika of Russian men: World Champion Alexei Yagudin, Russian
champion Yvgeny Pluschenko and 1994 Olympic champion Alexei
Urmanov.
Neither American will take on the full Russian field until March
with the World Championships in Helsinki.
At Europeans, it appears only the French can prevent a total
Russian gathering of the medals -- and repeating their 1997 gold
sweep, the first in European skating history. Last year, the
Russians did one better, taking both first and second in all four
events.
Yagudin, the defending champion, won six straight competitions
in the fall before suffering two losses recently to Plushenko, who
took the Russian title from him.
In turn, Pluschenko's only loss this season Urmanov, making a
comeback after an injury at the 1997 world championships where he
was leading future Olymic gold medalist Ilya Kulik going into the
free program.
The Russian women's field is even deeper, as was shown at the
Russian nationals where two top skaters finished fourth and fifth,
failing to qualify for Europeans: two-time European champion Irina
Slutskaya and two-time Grand Prix winner Yelena Sokolova.
Maria Butyrskaya, the 1998 European winner, former junior world
champion Julia Soldatova and newcomer Victoria Volchkova will skate
for Russia, while French skaters Laetitia Hubert and Vanessa
Gusmeroli will try to break their monopoly.
World champion Russian couples are in the pairs and ice dance
events, too.
Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharudlidze look to defend their
title in the pairs event. Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov
look for their first European crown as heirs apparent to two-time
Olympic champions Pasha Grishuk and Yevgeny Platov, now split up
and gone pro.
Ironically a former Russian, Marina Anissina, stands to break up
the dance sweep. She now skates for France with partner Gwendal
Peizerat and pose the only challenge to a title against the
Russians, taking the Olympic bronze and world silver medals last
season.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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