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Russian Figure Skaters Getting Close to Medals
Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin came in third on Tuesday, less than two points behind number one Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in the compulsory dance in ice dancing at the world figure skating championships in Tokyo. In pairs, Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov were fourth in the short program.
Fans were not expecting much from Russian skaters at this championship as several team members have recently had injuries or personal problems. However, results on Tuesday showed that there are still medals that the Russians will be fighting for.
In pair skating, Yuko Kawaguchi, the first non-Russian to represent the country, dismissed rumors of a serious injury, climbing to number three in the short program with her partner Alexander Smirnov on Tuesday. Meanwhile, two-time world champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo made an impressive comeback, soaring to number one in their short program. Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szlkowy are second and defending champions Pang Qing and Tong Jianare are in third place.
In ice dancing, Oksana Domnina, who has recently lost her father, and Maxim Shabalin also demonstrated fighting spirit. The duo made it to number three in their compulsory program. Canada’s Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon received top earned 38.96 points while reigning world champs Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria came in second.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 21, 2007
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