Russian sweep of Euros puts focus on Turin in 2006

TURIN, Italy – The Olympic countdown began at the European Figure Skating Championships.

Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya had their first tests in the figure skating arena for next year’s Turin Games. Both failed to deliver their best performances yet still came away with European titles, two of the four won in a Russian sweep.

Olympic figure skating begins Feb. 11, 2006 with the pairs short program.

“The Olympic Games will be here, and everyone is thinking we will be here again next year,” said Plushenko, who won his fourth title but looked lackluster on the ice. “Yes, it is difficult. It is a lot of pressure.”

Slutskaya thinks the new rink needs more spectators. With a capacity under 9,000, the Palavela is small for the Olympics.

“I think the Olympic ice rink should be bigger, maybe twice as big,” Slutskaya said.

The world championships are in Moscow in two months, but Slutskaya is looking toward the Olympics.

“It will be big pressure for all the Russian girls,” she said. “I hope to get three places for Russians.”

Slutskaya won the European title for the sixth time, equaling the records of Sonja Henie and Katarina Witt. But it was far from a sparkling performance. After a brilliant short program, she was disappointing in a final performance that had some questioning her victory under the new scoring system.

With just three triple jumps, she was only third best technically. But her artistry scores, lifted by strong spins, helped her win.

Slutskaya has experience with the new system and is scheduled to meet nine-time U.S. champion Michelle Kwan in Moscow, with the American competing for the first time under the new format.

It will be the first time the system – which adds the technical and artistry points over the whole competition – will be used at the world titles. The format will make its Olympic debut in Turin.

At the Europeans, Plushenko did a quad but made tiny mistakes throughout.

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin won the pairs, three months after a horrifying fall that threatened their Olympic hopes.

Ice dancers Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov also won to give Russia its fifth sweep of the titles.

“You look around, you really feel the Olympic atmosphere,” French ice dancer Isabelle Delobel said. “The security, the bus routes, everything.”

Italy’s Carolina Kostner said she was nervous skating for a home crowd but considered it a great rehearsal for the Olympics.

The arena was completed less than two weeks ago. Some skaters complained of the brittleness of the ice and the brightness. Nonetheless, all want to return.