By Sandra Stevenson in Helsinki at the Hartwall Areena

Reports are posted as received, in order, Ladies, Men, Pairs and Dance -- most recent segment on top.

Ladies - Free Skate

The first Finnish European Ladies champion in the history of the event, and their three Ladies all in the top five, brought great joy to the host nation. The whole country immediately seemed to start talking about it. Lepistö’s face, overcome with joy, seemed to be constantly on television and huge photos appeared all over the main newspapers, instantly making her the most recognized person in the country. "I’m sure I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life," she said. From then on, she seemed never to be alone but always accompanied by crowds of people. It seems a little curmudgeonly to rain on her parade, but, although it was a lovely program to watch, it was technically lacking. There were no triple flips or Lutzes. Still, she was second on the FS Total Element Score, 0.45 behind Alena Leonova of Russia.

The event’s organizers said they had already started plans to get the world championships back in their capital city (which hosted the 1999 worlds). The only other Finnish gold in Europeans was earned by Susanna Rakhamo and Petri Kokko in 1995 in the ice dance in Dortmund and the original they did then was the CD here. The now married couple had previously earned bronze, in 1993, when Europeans were also in Helsinki. Since Rakhamo is the President of the Finnish Association, she was highly visible here. Rakhamo said, "Initially, we had thought about putting curtains around the top ring (of the Arena) because it is such a large arena, but that wasn’t necessary. We didn’t sell out but we had a record attendance for Europeans." The total attendance, including the gala was 51,940. That was a record, in part, because most European championships have taken place in smaller facilities.

The winning margin was 1.90. Carolina Kostner would have won her third straight title had she not lost all marks for her eighth element. Instead of being called as the intended change foot sit spin, the spin turned into a change foot combination spin which she had already done. You can’t repeat moves so this was classed as an "invalid" element. A change foot sit spin at Level 3 has a base value of 2.60 so silver and gold might so easily have been reversed. She said, "Perhaps, I have done too many revolutions in the final upright position coming out of the spin, and that meant it was no longer a sit spin, but a combination spin and did not count."

Next year’s European championships, for the first time, will take place in Tallinn, the capital of the small country (smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined) of Estonia, pop. 1,307,605. The ancient city lies not far south from Helsinki, on other side of the Gulf of Finland. It is the most northern of the three Baltic countries. (The others are Latvia and Lithuania.) Estonia’s champion, Elena Glebova, finished 12^th (SP 13; FS 9), both here and in the 2007 championships.

1. Overall 167.32; 1 SP, 2 FS; FS 110.70 (TES 52.14 + PCS 58.56) Laura Lepistö skated 22^nd of the 24 who qualified for the FS, immediately after Kostner, the defending champion and the Finn’s main rival. As Lepistö took the ice, she was greeted by an explosion of noise. Obviously, this was the star they’d paid a high price to see. She performed to the soundtrack of Don Juan de Marco by Michael Kamen. "I would say my performance was about the level that I do in practice," Lepistö explained. "I simplified the (planned triple-triple which she had executed so brilliantly in the SP) combination (to triple-double) in the beginning and singled the Lutz but I tried to keep my thoughts together and focus on the next elements. Winning is an indescribable feeling. I can’t even start to tell what all is going through my mind now. I could never have expected this to happen. I had said my goal is to medal (she won a bronze last year) but, for it to be gold, I still can’t believe it."

Lepistö opened with a lovely double Axel which earned +1.0. In addition to applause, the audience seemed to relax. With so many successful synchronized skaters watching, maybe they were all too well aware of what pressure can do to skaters. But with this opening jump, they seemed to realize Lepistö was on form. The following triple toe-double toe was awarded +0.80. However, there was a collective intake of breath when she singled the Lutz. The flying sit was Level 4 and +0.50 but her loop got -0.60 GoE. (Four judges thought the move was fine but the other five punched in -1.0.) Her Level 4 spirals got +0.60 and the second triple loop to double toe, set when the bonus marks click in, earned +0.20 over the base value plus 10%. Her second double Axel was given +0.40. Her Level 3 layback spin received +0.80. The following triple Salchow to double toe gained the base value. She concluded with Level 3 steps (+050) and Level 4 +0.80 change foot combination spin.

During her final spin, the crowd went bonkers, sensing she had done enough to win. "I have never experienced a feeling like that," Lepistö said. "The audience exploded and I, myself, had this feeling, too. Everything erupted at that moment. It was unbelievable. I had kind of overheard Carolina’s scores with one ear, but I wouldn’t ever have believed this. The Finnish Federation had set two medals as a goal, one of them gold, but it didn’t seem possible to me. It still feels crazy!" Of course, at that point, there were still two competitors to go, but the crowd just knew they had seen the victor. The Finnish people seem a very orderly lot. The crowds were incredibly polite and one could not imagine them getting nasty if a Finn had not won, but they certainly would have been extremely disappointed.

2. 165.42; 3.1.; FS 114.06 (53.50+60.56) Carolina Kostner began this season with a FS to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake but went back to last season’s routine to Dvorak’s Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor ("Dumky") Op. 90, played by the Eroica Trio. Kostner, who was possibly the fastest skater in the event began with a triple flip to double toe, and the most knowledgeable of those in the audience gave an internal groan. She is well-known for her amazingly high triple-triple combination and it was that move which earned her the silver medal in the 2008 Worlds. Both that and the three-jump combo of triple Lutz to double toe to double loop, which followed, earned +0.40 over the base value. She was definitely not on her top form, doubling her flip and the triple loop which followed gained a slight negative GoE (-0.20). Again, it is interesting to note the disparity between the judges. Five punched in 0 which means they felt all aspects of the move were perfectly adequate, (the approach, the take-off, the position in the air, the landing and the flow out). One judge even thought it worthy of +1. But three judges punched in -1 believing there was something wrong with the move. Was the +1 judge Italian? Gloria Morandi, an extremely experienced judge who, I believe, has been judging since the 1976 European championships, was on the Free Skating judging panel. But, with all the anonymity, she can not prove this was not her, if that was the case. It’s a situation which fuels unfair speculation.

Then Kostner presented her first spin, a Level 4 change foot combination, and a double Axel to double toe (not triple as planned), which both received +0.40 GoE. Her triple Salchow soared and was rewarded with +1.0. Then came the disallowed spin. Her Level 3 straight line spins earned +0.80 and the Level 4 spirals a huge +1.60. The final jump a double Axel seemed a little tense and was -0.48 but the final move, a flying sit was a base value Level 3. Kostner received the top component score, a full two points ahead of Lepistö, who was second in this category.

Kostner, whose mother Patrizia, was a national level ice skater coached by her grandmother, and whose father, Erwin, played ice hockey on the National Italian team at world championships and Olympic Games, said, "I was very pleased. At the flip (doubled) my concentration slipped for a moment. Afterwards, it was going better. I can’t say that this was my best program of this season. I made different errors each time. But, overall, it is good to see that I’m improving. Each athlete comes here to win, but I couldn’t do it this time. I’m happy for Laura that she could win in front of her home crowd. It must be an amazing feeling. Next year, the World Championships are in my hometown, so I hope I can do the same."

3. 156.31; 2.3.; FS 100.25 (45.37+54.88) Susanna Pöykiö became the first Finn ever to medal in an ISU singles championship when she took silver in the 2001 World Junior Championships. Her silver in the 2005 Europeans was the first medal ever for Finland in the Ladies championship. She won her first Finnish championship in 1999 but hasn’t been on the top nationally since 2007. She has taken bronze nationally for the past two year but, at 26, she seems to be making a comeback.

Pöykiö, who performed to three pieces by Rachmaninov choreographed by Lori Nichol, Scherzando from Cello Sonata in G Minor; Melody on a Theme; and Allegro Scherzando from Piano Concerto No.2, said, "I am really pleased about winning the bronze medal but I could have skated better. I’m disappointed about doing only a double Lutz to double toe combination and the double flip. The levels on spins and spirals, which had low levels yesterday, were good today. Of course, getting a season’s best is good. I can improve on that at upcoming competitions. It wasn’t easy skating right after Laura’s great performance. I felt a little nervous. I tried to focus on my own things and not pay attention to what was going on the ice but, of course, I noticed some of it. Laura’s gold is really great for the Finnish team. I congratulate her and her coach, Virpi Horttanen." Pöykiö is trained by her sister, Heidi.

Pöykiö’s component score was third best, but still 3.68 behind Lepistö, who was second to Kostner in this category. She began well with a +0.20 triple flip to double toe to double loop and a base level triple Lutz to double toe. Her first pin was a Level 3 +0.40 flying sit. But then she doubled her second triple flip. The following double Axel got base value and the Level 4 flying camel +0.40. At the point where the bonus marks click in, she executed a +0.60 triple Salchow which was followed by her Level 4 spiral which earned the same GoE. Then came her only negative. She under-rotated and messed up the landing of a triple toe (-1.43). However, she sprung back with a base value triple toe to double toe. Her straight line steps were only Level 2 and +0.10 but her final spin, a Level 3 change foot combo, was given +0.40.

4. 143.99; 11.4.; FS 98.91 (53.95+44.96) Alena Leonova skated to La Leyenda del Beso by Raul di Blasio and was ecstatic that her fourth place in this section pulled her up to fourth overall. "I’m in shock," she exclaimed. "This was my best performance so far. When the audience supports you, it is easier to skate. After the short program, in which she finished 11^th, Valentin Piseev (President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation) told me to skate for my own pleasure, and so I did. I would like to go to the World Championships, but the Federation will decide who will go."

Leonova earned the top Element Score of 53.95, but it was only 0.45 ahead of Kostner, who was second in this category, and 1.81 ahead of Lepistö, whose technical score was third best. This was despite Leonova getting only Level 1 and -0.18 GoE on her layback spin and Level 2 for both her base value flying sit and +0.20 straight lines steps. Her triple flip to double toe earned +0.40 but her triple Lutz got an exclamation mark and -0.60 GoE. Her triple loop was +0.60. The spiral were base value Level 4 and her first double Axel +0.40 but her second triple flip was -0.40. As the bonus marks clicked in, she received +0.60 for her triple Salchow to double toe to double loop. However, her final jumping pass, triple toe sequenced to double Axel had -1.60 taken off the base value. She wound the program up with a Level 4 change foot combination spin which earned an extra 0.10.

5. 139.01; 7.6.; FS 91.41 (44.41+50.00-3.0) Skating 15^th, Kiira Korpi performed to two pieces by Kerkko Koskinen, Crooked Room and Passenger to Copenhagen from the soundtrack of Agatha. Just seconds into her routine, skating backwards gathering speed as she went round a corner, she slipped off her edge and crashed hard into the boards. For a moment it looked as is she had seriously hurt her back. She got up, looking very shaken and went over to the referee, who gave her time to gather herself and recommence the program from the point where she stopped. In a case like this, a skater is penalized, not only by the point deduction for the fall, but also two points for "an interruption".

Korpi was philosophical about the situation. "I guess this is figure skating drama at its best, or, in my case, at its worst. I honestly can’t say what happened. The blades must have clashed. Maybe I went too deep while doing the crossovers. Suddenly, I was hitting the barrier. I had totally confused emotions. It was a total shock. I didn’t know what to do. Luckily, I was able to continue but the rhythm was lost and I had to fight to regain that. Of course, I was annoyed about the Lutz. I had to fight to focus and I can’t be disappointed after such a bad beginning."

Not surprisingly after such an unanticipated incident, Korpi popped her opening triple Lutz but, somehow, then managed to pull herself together, executing a triple Salchow to double toe which earned +0.60 over the base value, a +0.80 triple loop and a +0.30 Level 4 combination Upright spin. Her second triple Salchow was given +0.40 and her Level 4 spirals +1.0. As the bonus marks clicked in, she tried a second triple loop but underrotated it. She received -0.48 on her sequence of two double Axels. Her last two spins were Level 4. The flying sit gained the base value and the change foot combination +0.10. Her straight line steps were Level 3 and +0.20 but her final double Axel was -0.16.

The three point deduction did not make a difference to her final placing and, even if that had not happened, AND she had landed the opening triple Lutz and gained its base value of 6, her final placing would only have been fourth. She had just lost too much ground in the Short Program.

6. 137.05; 5.8.; FS 88.43 (43.55+46.88-2.0) Katarina Gerboldt was still wearing the sinus drainage package on her nose, which made the Russian’s final pose when the television cameras zoomed in, look very strange. She skated last, in a black dress with white polka dots and a red attachment in her hair, to the music used by the skater she is named after, Katarina Witt, in the famous Battle of the Carmens. But it was an unwise choice. There was no comparison to Gerboldt’s showing and Witt’s famed performance which brought her her second Olympic gold in 1988. Gerboldt said, "I couldn’t do everything that was planned, but I did what I could and I will continue to work. I didn’t have enough strength. It was hard to skate after the top skaters and all that noise for the Finns. It’s a little upsetting that I lost to Alena Leonova (her Russian teammate), but I was sick and she could prepare better. Now I have to go to the hospital for further health checks. I think I got valuable experience. My coach told me that I have to learn how to compete with the top skaters and I think sixth place at the Europeans is not bad. The Russian girls fulfilled the goal to secure three spots next year while the men didn’t. Everyone was counting on them and writing off the girls. We proved it’s too early to do that."

Gerboldt began with a +0.60 double Axel which was well-timed to the music but then got an "e" for wrong edge takeoff on her triple Lutz to double toe which saddled her with a -1.20 GoE. Her following triple toe also got a negative (-0.60) and then she fell on her downgraded triple flip. She recovered to perform a Level 3 +0.40 flying camel spin but then fell again on her second triple Lutz. This one didn’t get an "e", just a warning exclamation mark. (The "e" means the judges can not go above -1 for their GoEs. The warning means the wrong edge was just a short one and it doesn’t automatically limit the judges’ awards.) She received -0.20 on her triple loop to double toe, and the Level 3 spirals were awarded -0.28. Her triple Salchow to double Axel sequence received -1.0 and her Level 2 layback got -0.06. Her Level 2 circular steps earned the base value. Six judges thought Gerboldt’s final Level 4 change foot combination spin was worthy of base value, but two punched in -2 and one -1. What did they see that their fellow panelists didn’t?

7. 136.98; 12.5.; FS 92.92 (47.48+45.44) Annette Dytrt, who has won the German championship four times, skated to The Swan by Saens-Saint. Her previous best place in this event was 10^th in 2006. She had only one negative GoE (-1.20) which was for her third element, the triple loop. "It was good," she said about her performance. "I’m very happy." She began with a triple flip which earned the base value. "The flip was difficult," she confessed. "I had to hang on to the landing. My goal was to make the top six, which I couldn’t do because of the Short Program, but I was pleased with today. As the program went on, I began to feel better and better." She doubled her second jump, the triple toe but her triple Salchow to double toe earned the base value and her sequence of two double Axels was good (+0.80). That same GoE was given for her Level 4 spirals. A second triple Salchow earned +0.60 and her final double Axel +0.80. However, although her first spin, a change foot combination, gained the base value for Level 4, her two other spins and the circular steps were only Level 2. The flying sit got base value and the layback, with which she concluded her performance, +0.50. The steps got only +0.10 GoE.

8. 134.47; 14.7.; FS 91.15 (45.35+46.80-1.0) Julia Sebestyen skated to a selection by Hungarian violinist Edvin Marton. Sebestyen, who became Hungary’s only European Ladies champion in 2004, was obviously extremely upset about her Short Program performance the previous day which left her with no hope of a medal. "It was difficult to skate today. I was disappointed with my short program and the marks I got for it. I wanted to be among the top five. I didn’t want to skate today. I skated this free program for my family and friends. It’s not the same to fight when you’re in the middle, compared to fighting for medals. But it was OK. I did what I could. I was here in Helsinki for worlds in 1999. Of course, I was much younger then. It was my second Worlds and I was here to gain experience. (She finished 19^th.) Now, I came to get good results. I’ve been in good shape. It was very nice here. The audience was clapping when I stepped onto the ice. I thank the Finnish audience for their support."

Sebestyen began with a huge triple Lutz to double toe to double toe which earned +0.80 for a total of 9.60. But then she fell on her triple flip which was deemed under-rotated and given an exclamation mark. The second triple Lutz earned +1.0 GoE. Her first spin, a flying camel, was a base value Level 4. Her spirals were Level 3 and +0.30. But then she did a double Axel to single Salchow sequence. A triple toe earned the base value but a Salchow was doubled. Her final jump, a double Axel, earned the base value. Her layback (base value) and change foot combination (+0.10) spins were only Level 2 but her circular steps earned Level 3 and +0.50.

9. 131.42; 4.12.; FS 81.42 (38.46+42.96) Jenna McCorkell, performing 20^th, second in the last warm-up group of six, in a black cat suit with gold stripes, to music from Cirque du Soleil, began with a great +1.0 double Axel followed by a good +0.60 triple Lutz. Three judges gave her a -1 for her triple flip, which the other six thought was fine, but the computer selected the negatives and she was given -0.40 GoE. Then she singled her loop. Her change foot combo spin was Level 4 and +0.10 GoE. Her triple toe to double toe combo received the base value. The spirals were Level 3 and +0.10. But then she doubled her flip. The layback spin earned Level 3 and her straight line steps Level 2. Both were given the base value. The next move, planned as a sequence of two double Axels, went wrong. She aborted the first take-off and came down forward on two feet forward with only one revolution. Even though she managed the double Axel, all points were wiped out for this entire move. She finished up with a Level 3 flying sit spin which earned the base value.

McCorkell admitted her performance "wasn’t so good. I’m disappointed. I could have done a lot better, but it’s one of those things that just happen. I wish I could go out there again. I was tired. The air was dry. I could feel it in my throat." In May 2008, she married Belgian champion Kevin van der Perren. McCorkell commutes between their home in Ninove and Coventry in England where she trains with Yuri Bureiko

10. 130.85; 9.10.; FS 84.59 (43.59+42.00-1.0) Tugba Karademir, who represents Turkey, the land of her birth, but lives in Canada, skated to the soundtrack of Ratatoullie. She has a pleasant style and the program was enjoyable to watch, although she fell on her triple flip and there were other mistakes.

11. 130.20; 6.11.; FS 82.20 (42.04+40.16) Ivana Reitmayerova, from Bratislaval, skating to Nostalgia by Yanni, couldn’t match her SP showing.

12. 128.36; 13.9.; FS 84.68 (41.12+44.56-1.0) Elena Glebova, skating 11^th to Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, said, "Of course, it’s easier to perform a short program, where there are only eight elements, while in the free skating you have to perform seven jump elements. Therefore, I was thinking that there may be some mistakes. But I did 85% of the program so, I think, this is a good result. I’m looking forward to Europeans being in my home country, my home town next year. The support from the public was very good here but I think it will be even stronger in Estonia. That raises the adrenalin level for sure. From one side, it’s going to be more difficult because of the pressure. But to feel the support from you audience is more important."

Irina Movchan, representing Ukraine, dropped from 8^th after the SP to 19^th overall.

Karla Robertson, a 17 year old from Dundee, who has been runner-up for the British title for the past two years, has a pleasant style and gave a very respectable showing in her first international event ever, placing 21^st in both sections and overall. Her FS was to Leeloo’s Tune by Maxim Mrvica. Her Association adopted a very elitist outlook and didn’t even enter any lady for last season’s Junior Grand Prix in Sheffield, a very short-sighted approach to developing talent, which has led to much bad feeling and dissension in the ranks.

Elena Gedevanishvilli finished 25^th the SP and did not make it into the top 24 who get to Free Skate.

Ladies - Short Program

Jenna Syken, who represents Israel, withdrew, due to an acute hip injury.

The Technical Specialist Katerina Kamberska and her assistant, 1980 Olympic champion Anett Pötzsch-Rauschenbach were VERY tough. In one of the ISU’s video, Tugba Karademir, who is Turkish but has lived and trained in Canada for many years, is shown doing what is called "a perfect" Level 4 spin. But when she did it today, she was given a Level 2! Karademir lay ninth of the 40 ladies from 32 countries after the short program. For what ever reason, they weren’t as tough in the FS.

1. 56.62 (30.30+26.32) Dressed in purple, skating 33^rd of the 40 Ladies from 32 countries, to Imagined Oceans by Karl Jenkins, Laura Lepistö, home country competitor, soared through her opening move, a combination of two triple toe loops, earning +1.60 GoE over the base value and banking 9.60. She set a standard the others could not match technically. The 20 year old from Espoo, who was only second in her recent national championships, followed that with a base level triple loop and a +0.50 Level 4 flying sit. Her layback spin, which came next, was only Level 2 with +0.60. Then, shock, she singled her Axel. Her spirals were +0.40 but only Level 1. The straight line steps were Level 2 and +0.60 and her final change foot combination spin Level 4 and +0.80.

As she left the ice, she slapped her hand against her head, obviously thinking her chance of a medal had slipped away but she was smiling because the rest of the program had been so smooth. She had to wait over an hour, until the final skater, Carolina Kostner, performed to discover she was in the lead. No Finnish woman has ever won this title although Finns have claimed three medals in the past four years. Susanna Pökyiö won Finland’s first medal ever in the Ladies event, when she claimed silver behind Irina Slutskaya in 2005. Kiira Korpi won bronze in 2007 and Lepistö took bronze last year.

Lepistö, who is trained by Virpi Horttana, said, "I feel good and relieved. I was pretty nervous this morning but after the practice I got into my normal competition mood. I am disappointed about the single Axel. It just slipped somehow. Nailing the triple-triple combination was amazing with the audience cheering. I had to gather my thoughts after it." She said that competing in her home country "was a different situation. I hadn’t been used to being cheered on during the warm-up. I tried not to think about the audience too much. But at the end, it was just amazing. I feel good going for the Free Skate. I left out the biggest emotions today. Instead of single elements, the key thing is to stay focused. That’s been challenging for me this season. Now, I’ll do a cool down, eat and try to sleep well." Her choreography is done by ex-British champion, Maria McLean, who makes her home in Copenhagen, and Miia Nirhamo. Although her technical score was the highest, her components were only fourth best, behind Kostner, Pökyiö and Korpi.

2. 56.06 (29.30+26.76) Susanna Pökyiö, who is trained by her sister, Heidi, in Oulu, skated in midnight blue with silver sparkles. Her routine was performed to Leeloos’ Tune by Maksim Mrvica, choreographed by O. Martikainen. She began with a triple flip. Then came a triple Lutz to double toe and a double Axel. She finished only 0.62 points behind her team mate, and beat her slightly on the components score. "It was great, seeing all the Finnish flags and hearing people cheering for me. At first, I felt just amazing. But now that I look at my scores, I’ve got something negative to say, as well. For some of my elements, I received only Level 1 (the layback and change foot combination spins and her spirals) and the other two level moves (circular steps and flying sit) were only 2. I made some strange mistakes. In addition to jumps, I’ll have to pay attention to spins and spirals, holding them longer. Without them, I could’ve gotten a higher score. A close second is a good place to be. I wouldn’t want to be leading because that puts extra pressure on you." She has been in this event since 2002 when she placed 6^th in her debut. The following year she went down to ninth but then bounced back up to sixth. After her silver in 2005, she was only seventh in 2006. She was fourth in 2007 but didn’t compete in the championship last year.

3. 51.36 (24.40+27.96-1.0) Carolina Kostner, looking for her third successive title, drew to skate last. Skating to Mujer Sola (Lonely Woman) and Canaro en Paris, played by the current Kansas City group, Tango Lorca, she tore into her opening move, positively soaring in a long, high triple flip but had problems with the second jump which she doubled and fell on. "Something threw me off on the entry (to the triple-triple). Maybe a baby cried, but this is no excuse. I have to be more focused. The flips and Lutzes have been going really well all week."

Then after a fast, long preparation for her planned triple Lutz, her digging-in toe rake appeared to lose track of where the ice was. Both blades collided and she fell, completely missing the element which has a base value of 6.0. "I don’t know what happened there," Kostner said. "I’ll have to study the tape." The rest of the routine was fine though she received only Level 1 for her spirals and +0.60, Level 2 for both her +0.30 layback and +0.50 straight line steps, and Level 3 for the other two spins, one of which got only the base value while the flying sit received +0.30 GoE. "I can’t be pleased today. I have to fight. It’s great motivation that the Italian team is doing so well. It is nice to see how others (silver medalists Samuel Contesti and ice dancers Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali) are now helping me to fulfill my goal to make figure skating more popular in Italy.

4. 50.00 (28.44+21.56) Last year Jenna McCorkell, the six-time British champion, got the highest technical score in the SP of this event, but finished eighth overall. This time she was fourth technically but eighth on the components. She is competing for the sixth time in this event. Skating to Harem by Sarah Brightman, she presented a well-rounded program which was marred only by a hand-down on her triple Lutz. She began with a great +0.80 double Axel.

"I’m happy. It’s as good as I can hope for. You always want to do better. I had an odd, stressed warm-up. I had been doing good practices all week and then this morning’s practice was shaky and I began doubting myself. Then, in the warm-up, I couldn’t even land my flip. I don’t mind skating first (after the warm-up) because you’ve got no time to think. But then everything went well. I was so delighted with Kevin (van der Perren, her husband) winning the bronze. He’s been through injuries, surgery and illness. It’s been difficult for him. I was so excited, I couldn’t get to sleep. I had to tell myself I’ve skated consistent this whole season, so why should it be different here?" McCorkell received a Level 4 for her base value change foot combination spin and Level 3 for the layback which had a minimal -0.06 GoE which means most of the judges didn’t think there was anything wrong with the move. She was awarded only Level 2 for both the spirals and the flying sit and only 1 for the steps.

5. 48.62 (27.70+20.92) Katarina Gerboldt, who finished third in the recent Russian championships behind two age-ineligible girls, is named after two-time Olympic champion Katarina Witt. She is making her European championship debut in this event. In 2006, Gerboldt appeared promising enough to be sent to the world (senior) championships only to finish a disappointing 26^th. She will turn 20 on March 28. This time, there was no disappointment. Skating to the John Williams soundtrack for the movie Seven Years in Tibet, Gerboldt, who is trained by Alexei Mishin in St. Petersburg, appeared with very noticeable bandaging on her nose. "I was suffering from sinutis and it became worse, therefore I got a drainage put on my nose. I’m better now, and is only bothering me in the spins. I’m a little nervous because this is my first time at this event but nobody has set me any goals placement-wise and I just should do what I can do and, so far, I did." She received base value or better for all but her triple Lutz which was given -1.0 and an exclamation mark, which is a warning for a short wrong edge take-off. Her combination was triple flip to double toe. Three of her Levels were 1 but her spirals and flying camel spin received Level 3.

6. 48.00 (28.60+19.40) Ivana Reitmayerova is the Slovak Republic champion. Last season, she was only third nationally but was sent to the world championships (where she finished 26^th) because the then Slovak champion, Jacqueline Belenyesiova, finished only 29^th in the Europeans. Skating to Love is War, the 16 year old from Bratislava presented "only" a triple toe loop to double toe loop for her combination and a triple Salchow, but all of her elements received the base value or higher. The combination spin was Level 4, the spirals and flying camel Level 3, and the straight line steps and layback Level 2.

7. 47.06 (22.16+26.44-1.0) Skating to Astor Piazzolla’s Triunfal, Kiira Korpi, the current Finnish champion, a 20 year old from Tampere who won the bronze last year, said, "It was an OK performance, not perfect, though. I have mixed feelings." She fell on her first move, a triple Lutz, "It was a pity about the Lutz. My weight was too forward on the landing, but I stayed upright for the rest of the program." The following triple loop was downgraded. "That surprised me and it also surprised me that my spins weren’t Level 4. It will be interesting to see them in slow motion. I wasn’t more nervous than usual. I felt quite relaxed and calm. Tomorrow, I want to show the judges that I can do clean triple jumps." Her double Axel earned only the base value. Both spirals and change foot combination spin were awarded Level 3 and both received +0.50 GoE. Her layback (+0.50); flying sit (+0.10) and straight line step sequence (+0.50) were Level 2. However, her component scores were the third highest.

8. 46.48 (27.68+18.80) Ukrainian champion, Irina Movchan, an 18 year old who was born in Dnepropetrovsk, where Oksana Baiul grew up, and is now from Kiev. She took part in Europeans two years ago and was 24^th. She was also sent to worlds that season and was 28^th. Another Ukrainian competed in Europeans last year but Movchan went to worlds again and was 35^th. So, how come she was able to skate her way into the top 8 here in the SP? Movchan performed to Tango by Gotan Project. Her combination was a +0.40 triple Lutz to double toe. Her solo jump was a triple Salchow. That and her double Axel earned +0.20 over base. Her spirals but her three other moves were Level 1 with only 0.20 added for the layback spin, nothing added for the straight line steps and -0.12 taken off for the change foot combination spin.

9. 46.26 (27.10+19.18) Tugba Karademir, the Turkish champion who lives in Canada, has spear-headed interest in figure skating in her country. This is her eighth consecutive appearance in the European championships. Last year she finished 11^th and the year before 10^th. Her music was from the soundtrack of Ocean’s Thirteen. She is trained by Rob Tebby and will turn 24 on March 17. Her combination of triple Salchow to double toe received the base value, as did her double Axel, but her triple flip got an "e" for wrong edge. Everything else got either +0.30 or +0.40 GoEs. Her change foot combination spin was Level 4 but the flying camel was only Level 2. Her spirals were Level 3 but her straight line steps only Level 1.

10. 45.24 (27.04+18.20) Nella Simaova, who skated to music from the show Chicago, is the twice champion of the Czech Republic who finished 15^th last year in this event. She was born on July 21, 1988, is from Brno, and is trained by Stanislav Zidek. Her solo jump was a triple toe. Both that and the double Axel earned the base value, as did her combination of triple Salchow to double toe. Her spirals were Level 4 and were awarded +1.00. Her straight line steps (+0.20) and layback spin (base value) were only Level 1 but the other two spins were Level 3 although the flying sit got a slight minus (-0.06). The change foot combination received +0.30.

11. 45.08 (24.44+20.64) Alena Leonova, who was fifth in the recent championships, is making her EC debut. Leonova, who finished sixth in the last world junior championship, turned 18 on November 23. She was chosen for this event over the Russian fourth placed finisher (16 year old Nina Petushkova, who was 17^th in the 2008 Europeans), on the basis of Leonova’s showings in her two Senior Grand Prix events this season. Leonova was seventh in the Cup of China and fifth in the Cup of Russia. She is trained by Alla Piatova in St. Petersburg and was in tears after this showing. Skating to Al Andaluz by Manolo Carrasco, she began well with a triple flip to double toe but she almost fell on her triple Lutz which was downgraded. Her final combination spin was a Level 4 with +0.20. She said, "I don’t understand what went wrong with the Lutz. It seemed alright on the take-off."

12. 44.06 (23.54+20.52) Annette Dytrt is taking part in her sixth European championship. She is the current and 2003-2006 German champion and was also Czech champion in 1999 before her parents emigrated from that country to Germany. Her older sister, Veronika, represented the Czech Republic in the 1999 European championships. Dytrt, who turned 25 on September 7, is taught by Michael Huth. She did not compete in singles in the 2007 season, taking time to briefly try out pair skating.

Skating to The Feeling Begins from the soundtrack of The Last Temptation of Christ by Peter Gabriel, Dytrt began well with a lovely +1.20 triple flip to double toe but she messed up her triple Salchow and, later, the double Axel. She said, "There was an error on the Salchow but I’m more upset about the Axel. I got stuck with my toepick." She had three Level 1s and the rest Level 2.

13. 43.68 (20.52+23.16) This is Elena Glebova’s fourth appearance in this event. In 2007, she finished 12^th. She missed the 2008 season because of a knee injury. Glebova won the Estonian national title in seasons 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009 and was second in 2006. Last year’s Estonian competitor for Europeans, Olga Ikonnikova, finished 24^th. Glebov, who turned 19 on June 16, is taught by Anna Kondrasheva Levanti, who won bronze medals in the European championships in 1984, and 1986-88 for the Soviet Union. She moved to Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, when she married an Estonian.

The 2010 Europeans will be held in Tallinn. Glebova skated to Dvorak’s Songs My Mother Taught Me. Her triple Lutz and the second triple toe in her combination of two of these jumps were downgraded, and, at one point her leg was not high enough in the flying sit and she lost all her marks for this element. She said, "I have to look at the tape. I did the best work I could but two jumps were downgraded. I started to do the Lutz again in December. I think my marks are not fair. I feel that my technical score should be much higher. This was my best short program of the season. My goal was to make the top ten."

14. 43.32 (19.36+23.96) What a shock to see past holder of this title (2004), who was 4^th last year, Julia Sebestyen, so low. But the Technical Specialist saddled her with an "e" for wrong edge on her first jump, the triple flip, and then downgraded both jumps in her combination of triple Lutz to double toe. Then she singled her Axel. Her spirals and layback spin were both only Level 1 and +0.20. The circular steps were Level 2 and +0.40 but the combination spin was Level 3 with +0.10 and the flying sit Level 4 and +0.20. Trained by Gurgen Vardanyan, she performed to Song from a Secret Garden and Astor Piazzola’s Libertango.

15. 43.23 (27.40+15.88) This is Teodora Postic’s fourth European championship. Postic, who trains in Ljubliana, had a best placing of 20^th in 2006 but last year she was only 35^th. She is the three-time Slovanian champion.

16. 42.84 (23.80+19.04) Last year, Candice Didier’s older sister, Gwendoline, was 25^th in the SP in this event, a very frustrating position since she just missed the cut of the 24 who progress to the Free Skate. This year Candice, who turned 20 on January 15, dethroned Gwendoline in the French championship, and won back a title she had previous held in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Skating to Blues for Klook by Eddie Louis, she messed up her triple Lutz which was to have been her combination. It was also given an exclamation point, meaning a warning for a wrong edge. "I felt stressed out today and didn’t feel good at all. Considering that, it could have been worse. I did several clean short programs this season. Even with the confidence I got from that, I still didn’t do well! You ask yourself, ‘Why?’"

17. 42.24 (25.60+17.64-1.0) Francesca Rio, who was 33^rd in world juniors last season, is now Italy’s second ranked senior. Rio fell on her triple Lutz. Rio skated to Harbinger by M. Oldfield. She said, "I didn’t do everything today. I can skate better. I was nervous."

18. 41.94 (20.70+22.24-1.0) Stefania Berton was 13^th in this event last year. She was runner-up for the Italian title in the past two seasons but, although she was second in the Short Program, newcomer, Francesco Rio, eclipsed her in the Free Skate and pushed her down to third. Both Berton and Rio are 18. Berton’s birthday is July 19; Rio’s is December 16. Berton did such a good job of interpreting Jealousy by J. Gade, that she earned the eighth best component score, despite completely messing up her three jump elements. She had three Level 4s, for her spirals (+0.80), and the combination (+0.50) and flying camel (+0.50) spins. Her layback spin was Level 3 and (+0.70).

Pairs - Free Skate

The event was marred by the bloody accident to Ekaterina Sokolova and Fedor Sokolov, the married pair formerly from Russia, now skating for Israel. She fell during their free and the back of one of her left blade spiked her right leg just above the knee and blood came shooting out. They had been lying 20^th. Their coach, Nikolai Valikov, said, "It was bleeding a lot. But she will live and she will skate."

1. Overall 199.07; 2 SP; 1 FS 132.43 (67.71+64.72) Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy won their third straight European title with a masterful though not flawless interpretation of their Schindler’s List routine, which concluded with half-a-minute of what they term "more up-beat" music, Tomaso Albinoni’s Adagio.

Szolkowy said, "Our free program was much better than our short (in which he fell on their solo jump and put them second). That wasn’t great. But, of course, we have to be able to deal with it and, more or less, push it aside and be relaxed about it. I mean, we have been skating together for a long time (since 2003) and before that we skated with other partners. Before that we were kids skating as singles. You don’t start at the top in first place. You slowly push forward and you learn how to deal with defeats and setbacks. That’s what I did, because, yesterday, I was the one who made a mistake. But I said immediately that I was not going to let it have an impact on me. Now, when we get back home to Chemnitz, we will completely analyze and scrutinize everything and study all the levels we got. Where there might be questions, we will maybe make changes. We will try to make sure everything is at maximum for Los Angeles (where they will defend their world title)."

Savchenko said, "We noticed that the audience was silent (enthralled) and I got goosebumps." Her partner added, "They were especially quiet after our circular step sequence. I thought, ‘OK. Either everyone is asleep or they are enjoying our skating.’" In fact the audience was definitely mesmerized.

He was in grey and she in rose. They began with a planned sequence of two triple toes executed perfectly as was their throw triple flip which followed. Both earned +1.40 Grade of Execution. Five of their elements received the maximum level of 4. Only the top four presented a triple rather than a double twist. Savchenko and Szolkowy were one of the two who received a Level 2 for the twist; the two others got Level 1. Szolkowy then doubled the side by side Salchow while she stumbled on a triple, but that was their only error. Their back outside death spiral and circular steps were Level 3, but the remaining moves were all Level 4. Their final move, a marvelous throw triple Salchow gained +0.16 GoE.

2. 182.77; 3 SP 2; FS 117.39 (58.59+58.80) Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov, performed to music from the opera I Pagliacci by Leoncavallo. She was attired in a tutu like dress, which certainly emphasizes the rotation in the twist. They began with a sequence of two triple toes but Kawaguchi had a problem with the second jump, landing forward and so it was downgraded. Their Level 1 triple twist received -0.42 because he didn’t catch her cleanly. Then they tried a throw quad Salchow. It was landed on messily on two feet and so got a GoE of -1.60 with all the judges punching in either -1 or -2. But they got credit for the rotation, earning 6.40. The throw triple Salchow, executed before the 10% bonus marks click in, has a base value of 4.5 while the quad’s value is 8.0. So, for this couple, that risk really paid off. It made the difference between earning silver and bronze. (There was only 0.70 difference between the scores of the second and third pairs.)

All of their other nine elements received the base value or better. All their remaining moves which receive Levels earned 4 except for their last two, their straight line steps which was given a 3 and +0.50, and their pair combo spin, which was a Level 2 with +0.30. Kawaguchi said, "We are very happy with tonight’s results. There were some mistakes, but we got one step up since last time (earning the bronze last year in this event), so we are satisfied. Smirnov said, "We think we have a lot of work to do. Our coach (Tamara Moskvina) will make some adjustments and we hope to adapt by Worlds."

3. 182.07; 1 SP 4; FS: 112.45 (54+58.96-1.0) As they had in Skate America, Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov, presented a superb SP but then had a melt down in their very ambitious FS, finishing fourth in this section but still winning a medal, the bronze. This was not quite the disaster of their performance in Everett, WA, but their three major mistakes thoroughly marred their fine interpretation of their music, The Lady and the Hooligan by Dmitri Shostakovich.

They began with a solid +0.70 Level 1 triple twist, but Mukhortova singled her second jump in their intended combination of triple toe to double toe. She also put her hand on the ice landing the following solo triple Salchow. All went well for the next three moves, a throw triple loop (+0.56), back outside Level 2 death spiral (0.28) and Level 4 Axel lasso lift (+1.00) but then she fell on their throw triple Salchow.

Mukhortova said, "In general we think that this performance was good. We fought for every element. We were thrilled that we have now beaten the world champions in the short program twice now. I haven’t fallen on the throw jumps for a long time. When I did, I found it hard to concentrate and go on."

Trankov said, "Maybe after some time we can skate the Free program clean, too. It was a big pressure because we were lying first. We skated (this routine) better at our first competition of the season (in Oberstdorf). We lost one position from our placing last year and we are sad about that. (They won silver in the 2008 Europeans.) We have another competition now, the Final of the Russian Cup. We will skate there and then go to Chicago to prepare for Worlds, getting used to the time change and also the smaller ice surfaces in North America."

4. 171.34; 4 SP; 3 FS 115.14 (57.30+57.84) Tatiana Volosozhar and Stanislav Morozov skated to music from the sound track for the movie Pearl Harbor by Hans Zimmer. Coming into the event, Morozov explained, "There wasn’t enough time for us to prepare for these championships. I fell in practice (in Chemnitz where they now train alongside his ex-partner Savchenko) and missed a week of training. Maybe we just needed three or four more run-throughs. We came here not fully prepared. When we finished skating today, I became aware my leg still hurts a lot. We are mostly sorry about our short program (in which they were fourth)."

Both throws were huge and earned excellent GoEs, +1.24 for the throw triple loop and +1.26 for the throw triple Salchow. Volosozhar said, "In general we are satisfied with our performance. I’m a bit sorry for (the two mistakes though not falls on) the jumps. Usually I never do that mistake. I fell in the warm-up. It was just an accident. I got too rushed. Training with the strongest pair in the world, the world champions, they stimulates us a lot." They moved to Chemnitz this past summer. They received better than base value for all except their first two moves. In their planned sequence of two triple toes, they got credit for only a double on the second jump with a -2.0 GoE. They also were given a negative GoE (-0.48) for double Salchow, instead of the planned triple. They gained four Level 4s.

5. 147.84; 5 SP; 5 FS 95.42 (49.46+46.96-1.0) Lubov Iliushechkina and Nodari Maisuradze performed to a selection of music played by the famed Hungarian violinist, Edvin Marton. Maisuadze was not pleased with his partner not completing the fully rotation on double Axel. "It’s just crazy to miss elements like that. But these mistakes were only on Liuba’s jumps. Otherwise we did all the elements more or less cleanly. We have to fight for higher levels." She fell on their throw triple Lutz .

They are very ambitious for newcomers with some interesting moves, including their cantilever into their double twist which helped them earn a Level 3. They also received four Level 4s and two other 3s.

6. 135.33; 8 SP; 6 FS 89.83 (46.95+42.88) Nicole Della Monica and Yannick Kocon, the new Italian champions, who were 14^th in the last world junior championships, made an impressive debut. Their free, to music from the movie, The Mission, received only two small negative GoEs (a -0.12 for their Level 1 double twist and -0.20 on their side by side triple Salchows). It was an impressive placement especially since, apart from their throw triple Salchow, all their jumps were doubles and they received four Level 1’s!

7. 129.78; 10 SP; 7 FS 85.50 (45.26+40.24) Erica Risseeuw and Robert Paxton, the new pair representing Britain made an excellent debut. Despite, their short time together (six months, and she hadn’t done high level pairs before), they look very polished. They won out in what was really a tie with only 0.72 separating 7-9^th place. Performing to the number, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina from Evita, their best element was a Level 4 Axel lasso which received +1.0 GoE. Their throw triple Salchow earned the base value. However, their triple toes were downgraded.

8. 129.67; 9 SP; 8 FS 84.47 (45.39+40.08-1.0) Maylin Hausch and Daniel Wende from Germany performed to music from the movie Alexander played by Vangelis. He said, "Overall, we feel comfortable with our skating. It was only our second competition and first Europeans. We are hoping to get the chance to skate in Worlds." He said, "I’m disappointed with the fall on the throw double Axel. We will keep working hard and try to get selected for worlds."

9. 129.06; 7 SP; 10 FS 83.16 (41.96+41.20) Adeline Canac, who is learning to cope after dealing with a growth spurt, and Maximin Coia skated to The Cotton Club by J. Barry. Canac said, "Our training is going really well in Canada. We love everything there, our coach, the life, friends and everything. But we skated with a lot of pressure here because France can send only one couple to Worlds." Coia, who looked so pleased at the end of the performance, said, "It was hard to skate today because we didn’t do as well as we had hoped yesterday, and now we find out our side by side triple Salchow got downgraded."

10. 127.71; 12 SP; 9 FS 83.83 (44.79+39.04) Vanessa James and Yannick Bonheur are another couple making an excellent debut, interpreting Romeo & Juliet, although their opening triple Salchow was downgraded. They accomplished a throw triple Salchow and got Level 4 for their final move, a Group 4 lift, although it had a slight -0.20 GoE. James, who was born in Canada, was an American resident who became British singles champion (in Jenna McCorkell’s absence due to injury) and then moved to France. This is her first season competing in pairs. She said, "This is the best we’ve ever skated. Both throws were perfect and we got a new personal best. I moved from Britain to France because I found the perfect partner. I couldn’t turn that opportunity down."

11. 127.47; 6 SP; 11 FS 79.49 (43.57+37.92-2.0) Stacey Kemp and David King started well skating to Requiem for a Tower with a Level 3 base value double twist and double flips but then things went down hill. She fell on the throw triple loop and then later came an even worse heavy, flat-out fall on her side on the throw triple toe loop. King stumbled out of a double flip on a planned sequence of double jumps. As usual their strongpoint was their lifts. All three were Level 4 and the pair spin and their final forward inside death spiral earned Level 3 with base value or greater. Their overall score was only 2.31 marks behind their teammates who finished seventh.

Ice Dance - Free Dance

WONKY KNEE GROUNDS DOM/SHAB. COULD THIS BE THE END FOR THEM?

Domnina and Shabalin have withdrawn from the European championships but they did not do so until after Wednesday's practice. He had fallen during the Finnstep onto his left knee, but they drew for the Original, taking to skate 26th of the 28 competitors, the middle of the last five, right after Hoffmann and Zavozin. 

The first official word that they had withdrawn did not come until Wednesday evening when the revised order of skating was issued, stamped 21.1.2009 at 22:33:05, when the top pairs were completing their championships. Shabalin has had meniscus surgery three times in the past, on his right knee in May 2007 and then twice on the left knee, in December 2007 right after winning the Grand Prix Final and then in March 2008 which kept them out of the World championships. One doctor told him at that point, he could not skate for a year, which, obviously, he ignored.
 
The Finnstep was an unfortunate draw for this couple. All the toe steps put a great strain on the knees. It will not be in the draw for Worlds but we await further news on whether this talented duo will be at Worlds. 

Ice Dancing - Original Dance

1980 Olympic champion, Natalia Linichuk, who is in Helsinki coaching several couples, spoke about the withdrawal of her pupils, the defending champions, Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin. "Maxim fell in the compulsory dance (on Tuesday) on his left knee, the one that was injured before and where he had two surgeries. The knee is sore and swollen and we decided not to risk further injury and they withdrew last night. They both were very upset, because they wanted to compete here. This morning they left for Moscow. Maxim will see his doctor there and undergo therapy on his knee. The world championships are too close to risk anything."

Overall 1. 99.60 OD 1. 62.17 Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, Russia, consolidated their lead with a polished routine set to Sam’s Blues by Sam Taylor and the well-known Puttin’ On the Ritz. They now have a substantial lead of 4.54. They began with their spin during which she showed her extreme flexibility with a high-kick split on one foot and a head by the ankle on the other.

Khokhlova said, "We did all elements clean and got a high component score, so we are very pleased. We were in a special mood today. The audience was so supportive and when we were announced, we were so well received." They received all Level 4 except for their non-touching step sequence which was a 3 but it earned +1.60, which was their highest GoE. Their lowest GoE was 0.60 for their twizzles.

Novitski said, "We changed our first lift after the Russian Nationals. Although it was quite an interesting lift, we somehow never got the maximum points for it. Apparently, we did the right thing because we had a high technical score (+1.0 over the Level 4 base value).

Asked about Domnina and Shabalin’s withdrawal, Novitski said, "Someone told me, ‘Don’t get complacent. The first place hasn’t been reserved for you.’ And I agree. We’ll have to fight for it. There are no weak skaters here." Asked about injuries and the new system, Novitski disagreed with the opinions of the other top two couples, saying, "Injuries are part of the sport. There were injuries before and after. Not much has changed because of the system." Maybe, since they are in the lead, they were just trying to be politically correct.

2. 95.06 (OD 2. 59.03) Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali, Italy, look solidly in line for silver. They performed to music from the 1936 smash musical Follow the Fleet, It’s Too Darn Hot, Let’s Face the Music and Dance, which is a Foxtrot, and Let Yourself Go. Scali said, "We were really into the dance today. It was like going back to the 30s." They received Level 4 for their first three elements, and Level 3 for their last two, the twizzles and diagonal steps. Scali said, "Federica was a little bit out of balance and the twizzle wasn’t sliding."

He also said, "I think the hardest part of this competition overall is the Finnstep. It was stressful because we had so little time to work on it and we’d never competed at an international in it before. After that was over, everyone has got a bit more relaxed. Today we felt confident. I agree with John (Kerr) that injuries are partly because of the system, because skating has changed a lot during the past four years. Of course, injuries were always a part of the sport. Skaters fall. However, we have to do a lot more difficult stuff nowadays and we fall more in practice."

Scali was a buoyant tap dancing Fred Astaire in a sailor outfit. She was emulating Ginger Rogers in pants (which, at that time, was quite a revolutionary fashion move). "I love this music," Scali enthused. "The costumes are authentic," said Faiella. "We studied the movie."

3. 92.60 (OD 57.71)Sinead and John Kerr, from Scotland, performed the Lindy Hop to The Boogie Bumper by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy with a West Coast Swing in the middle to Minnie the Moocher by Cab Calloway and Irving Mills. They worked with a Swing ballroom champion for Robert Royston and he showed them lots of videos of that era. Sinead said, "It was amazing how fast they danced. They had enormous energy. Today, the routine went well. We had good energy. We were nervous at the beginning, but once we got going it was good. The only way to get a medal is to skate our best. We hope it’ll be enough. The most important thing for us was to really dance the Swing. We consider the judges to be a part of the audience. We want to entertain. We skate well when we’re enjoying ourselves and we did that today." They received three Level 4s but only 3s on both step sequences. The twizzles, though Level 4, had a -0.40.

Her brother said, "I was more nervous today than I’ve been this whole season. But, as the music started and the audience began enjoying it, it really helped a lot. After 50 seconds, I was enjoying it. I think the new system puts a lot more strain on the joints. But it is a good thing because it’s making ice dancing more of a sport. Top teams in any sport have to deal with injury."

4. 91.94 (OD 57.56) Nathalie Pechalat and Fabien Bourzat, from France performed to It Don’t Mean a Thing by the Puppini Sisters from the Hellzapoppin soundtrack. Pechalat said, "We were very pleased, although there was pressure because we skated last." Only nine instead of ten couples were included in the draw for the prestigious final two warm-up groups. (Fraser and Lukanin would have been included in this draw had Domnina and Shabalin pulled out at the time the draw was made, but they had not made their decision at that point.) Bourzat said, "We got a good technical score (three Level 4s and two Level 3s) Both Level 3 moves got +1.0 GoE, the circular and non-touching steps. Their lowest GoE was _+0.50 for their twizzles. We feel our free is the strongest part of our competition so we’re looking forward to tomorrow night. After French nationals we did shows with the free to polish it, and we saw our choreographers again." Pechalat said, "We beat our personal best by three points. We have a chance to medal because we are so close. (They are only 0.66 points behind the Kerrs.) We have a nice free and we are confident.

5. 89.39 Pernelle Carron and Mathieu Jost, from France, improved a position because of the withdrawal of the world champions, who had been lying fifth. They performed both a slow and fast swing with him in a white suit and she in a Charleston-y black fringe dress. Their music was Basin Street Blues sung by the incomparable Louis Armstrong.

He explained, "Yes, we changed our costume. At the beginning of the season, I had a white suit but we changed it to black because it was difficult to keep it clean with all the make-up. Olivier (Schoenfelder) is one of my best friends. Usually I am with him on every competition, so this time it is almost the same. He talks to us, makes some jokes and makes us believe in ourselves. I am so sorry he can’t compete here (because of his partner Isabelle Delobel’s injury)." They received three Level 4s. Both the non-touching steps and the diagonal steps were Level 3. They received +1.0 GoE for the Level 3 moves. The other GoEs ranged from +0.20 for their Level 4 twizzles up to 0.70 for their Level 4 curve lift.

6. 86.96 Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte, from Italy, skated to Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen by Sholom Secunda. She said, "We felt pretty good today but we don’t understand why we got a Level 3 on the rotational lift (instead of the maximum 4). We didn’t expect our music to be so popular with the other competitors. I am very picky about out music and, for me, it took a long time to find this piece. I want to really like the music that I skate to." They also got Level 3 for their diagonal and non-touching steps. The non-touching received their highest GoE of 1.0. Their Level 4 twizzles got their lowest GoE of 0.20.

7. 81.81 Alexandra and Roman Zaretski, from Israel, moved up three spots, performing to Summertime sung by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. They received three Level 4s and two 3s. But their Level 4 twizzles had a -0.40 GoE.

8. 80.52 Anna Zadorozhniuk and Sergei Verbillo, from Ukraine, did a Charleston to All That Jazz from the soundtrack of Chicago, with was wrapped around a central Foxtrot to Razzle Dazzle from the same show. They were ninth in both the Finnstep and today’s Original. She said, "It wasn’t our best performance but it wasn’t bad." She used a feather boa to get the feeling of the dance and the era. "It didn’t take us long to get used to it." Her partner said they watched the musical to help them get the real feeling of the music. Only their lift got Level 4. They had two Level 3s and two 2s.

9. 79.59 Kristin Fraser/Igor Lukanin, representing Azerbaijan, do a fun performance of Blues and Swing to St. Louis Blues. She was in a blond wig with a blue head band and frump-y, old-fashioned spectacles. Obviously, they have decided they are going to have put some lightness in this sometimes too serious, still some-what subjectively judged sport and they did. She explained, "We are two old people in a nightclub setting, first having dinner and then, when the music gets fast, that’s when we go to the dance floor, dance together and reminisce about our youth. Tomorrow, we won’t be old people any more. We are going to wash the gray out of our hair and be back to our normal selves." Their opening move is their spin, after which her dress seems to have grown in length. Then, when the music changed from Blues to Swing, her dress completely changed shape and went from gold, to royal blue. Great entertainment!! They were actually 11^th in both segments but benefited from the up-and-down swings.

She said, "At the Eric Bompard Grand Prix, we used a cane, as a prop, but it was suggested to us that we’d better not use it again. Our choreography was made by Peter Tchernyshev. He suggested the music. It’s actually only one piece but it’s OK because it has a change of rhythm. They received three Level 4s but one of them, the twizzles came with a -0.30 GoE. Their non-touching steps were Level 3 and the circular steps Level 2.

10. 79.01 Ekaterina Rubleva, who graced tabloids in several countries after a shoulder strap broke fully exposing one breast during her Finnstep, and Ivan Shefer, from Russia, climbed two places performing performed to St. Louis Blues and Sing, Sing, Sing. She said, "(Their music) wasn’t our first idea but we chose it with the cooperation of our coaches." He said, "The coaches are satisfied. There were no errors." They received two Level 4s (for their +0.60 straight line lift, and +0.40 for their twizzles); two Level 3s (+0.20 for their circular steps and +0.60 for their non-touching steps) and Level 2 for their +0.30 spin.)

11. 77.96 Hoffmann and Zavozin, representing Hungary, dropped three places with a Blues and Swing routine. He was the only competitor to fall. He explained, "It wasn’t our best, but I’ve been really sick for the past few days. I’ve no idea what happened on the fall. I caught my toepick. I have to see the team doctor. We aren’t in a too-good placement now."

12. 77. 41 Katherine Copely and Deividas Stagniunas, representing Lithuania, performed to Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen by the Swing Kids so well, they received eighth place in this section and climbed up seven places after being 15^th in the Finnstep.

13. 74.85 Alla Beknazarova and Vladimir Zuev from Ukraine, skated to music from the musical Chicago.

14. 74.15 Carolina and Daniel Hermann, from Germany, executed a Slow Foxtrot to You’re the Cream in my Coffee by Gordon MacRay, and a Charleston to Happy Feet. She said, "We have to find out what was wrong with the spin to make adjustment before the next competition. In all our previous competitions, we got a Level 4 for it. We’ll check the video and I guess, then it’ll be clear to us. The twizzles were a Level 2, as well."

15. 72.12 Barbara Silna and Dmitri Matsjuk, from Austria, skated to Sing, Sing, Sing, Swing by Louis Prima.

16. 70.66 Kamila Hajkova and David Vincour, from the Czech Republic, skated to Mack, the Knife, by Kurt Weill from his famed The Beggars’ Opera sung by Louis Armstrong. They then went into a Charleston.

17. 70.00 Isabella Pajardi and Stefano Caruso, from Italy, skated swing to Baxiami Piccina by Ray Gelato at the beginning and end with New Orleans Blues sung by Ella Fitzgerald. They beat the Czechs in this section but weren’t able to overtake them.

18. 69.92 Caitlin Mallory and Kristian Rand, representing Estonia, performed to Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby by Walter Donaldson played with two rhythms, one, the slower Foxtrot, and the other the faster Charleston, which they seemed to enjoy greatly.

19. 68.31 Christine Chitwood and Mark Hanretty, representing Britain, performed to Bei Mir Bist Du Schön from The Swing Kids - Composer James Horner. One of the fun moments was when she dragged him by his tie. "I’ve gone through a few ties," the Glaswegian said with a smile.

20. 66.93 Terra Findlay and Beniot Richaud, France, skated to Sing, Sing, Sing, Swing by Louis Prima. She was a pairs skater internationally until turning to dance in 2005. Findlay said, "We haven’t done many competitions together, so compared to our first international, this was a lot better, but I was a little shaky on the twizzles but technically we were very happy. The music was the first idea that came into our heads. Asked about being a Canadian, skating for France, she said, "It was definitely a great move for me. I value it." Asked about turning to dance, she said, "I went to dance because I grew up very tall for pairs. I wasn’t able to do the jumps and throws. But I loved performing so I turned to dance. I can’t say dance is easy – definitely not, but I’m really enjoying it."

21. 62.17Joanna Budner and Jan Mosciki, Poland, skated a Blues to Minnie the Moocher from the Blues Brothers soundtrack and a Quickstep to Shout and Feel It by James Homer.

22. 60.78 Leonie Krail and Oscar Peter, Switzerland, skated to a jazz number, In the Mood, and Swing to Sing You Sinners by The Manhattan Transfer

23. 60.72 Oksana Klimova/Sasha Palomäki, from Finland, skated to a Foxtrot, Cheek to Cheek, followed by a Quickstep to I Want to Dance. They got a great response from the audience and, in this section, gained more marks than the two couples above them. However, it was not enough to overtake them.

24. 55.29 Ksenia Shmirina and Yahor Maistrov, Belarus, performed to Stormy Weather by Max Raabe and All God’s Children Got Rhythm by Bunny Berigan

25. 48.46 Ina Demireva and Juri Kurakin, Bulgaria, skated to Louis Armstrong singing a Slow Foxtrot and a Quickstep.

26. 45.28 Christa-Elizabeth Goulakos and Bradley Yaeger, Greece, skated to a 1930s Blues called Lover Lies and a Sweet Pussycat Swing, both performed by the Atomic Fireballs

27. 42.08 Nadine Ahmed and Bruce Porter, Azerbaijan, skated to a Blues from the 1940s by Duke Ellington. They had a deduction for an extended lift.

Ice Dancing - Compulsory Dance

1. 37.43 (19.08+18.35) In the lead are Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, last year’s bronze medalists, who skated 23^rd, last in their warm-up group. They are the two-time Russian champions (titles earned in the absence of Domnina and Shabalin). Novitski said, "We like this dance. It is fun for us. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to prepare it. Our goal is always to achieve the maximum, and so we want to win. We didn’t know anything about Max’s fall. Our officials didn’t tell us anything on purpose and kept us away from the marks."

Khokhlova said, "We started to work on the Finnstep immediately we came back from the Grand Prix Final where this dance was drawn (and where they had to withdraw because of his food poisoning). We even did two practices per day because there was so little time to master it."

2. 36.03 (36.03+18.08) Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali, who train with Pasquale Camerlengo and Anjelika Kryova at the Detroit SC, drew to skate in the "star" spot, last. After placing fourth last year, they were hoping to medal and they look pretty assured to do that.

Faiella said, "We worked with Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio, who did a demonstration of the Finnstep in Italy, which was very helpful for us. This is the first compulsory where the man has to twizzle." Scali admitted he had a little wobble. "There was a little stumble but I saved the twizzle. This is a difficult part of the dance. We arrive from the Choctaw and we have to do a double twizzle. Maybe our position was too open and I wasn’t ready to twizzle. It is one of two or three critical parts of the dance, especially in the second pattern when you are tired."

3. 34.89 (14.32+17.57) Sinead and John Kerr, Scottish siblings, who now train with Evgeny Platov in Princeton, NJ, explained they enjoyed doing this dance. Their two-time Olympic gold medalist coach Platov said it was done "medium well, but with something as new as this there is always a risk so the performance is perhaps a little more holding back than what they do in practice."

Sinead holds the dubious honor of being the oldest woman in these championships. "When John and I first started skating together, I never thought I’d still be competing at this age, but we’re still improving. I think our best days are ahead. We’ve equaled Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s record of six consecutive British titles, and we’d like to match their overall total of seven." Sinead turned 30 on August 30. John was 28 on June 2.

She continued, "It felt fantastic to do the Finnstep here where it was invented. It’s such a happy dance. We tried to relax and get that feeling across to the judges and audience." Her brother said, "We felt pretty good about it. I was a bit cautious because I heard about Max’s fall. It’s very fast dance with very tricky steps so I wasn’t surprised at all by his fall. I’ve done the exact same in practice. The cross-behind Choctaw is very difficult."

4. 34.38 (17.32+17.06) Nathalie Péchalat and Fabian Bourzat, who took the French title in the absence of Delobel/Schoenfelder because of her shoulder injury (for more details see this site’s preview of Europeans), were obviously not enamored with the Finnstep. She said, "We practiced it for only a few weeks and we are happy to be done with it. We are looking forward to the original and free."

Place 5. Score 33.53 (TES 16.28 + PCS 18.25-1.0) In a shocking development, defending champion Maxim Shabalin fell, the only competitor to do so in the field of 28 couples from 19 countries. He crashed down towards the end of their Finnstep on the cross-behind Choctaw. Both his blades clashed and he was helpless to stop the loss of control. Their presentation had begun brilliantly, with him miming opening a champagne bottle and Oksana Domnina pretending to raise a glass.

He had been apprehensive as soon as this dance had been picked in mid-December. Yesterday, representatives from each of the four disciplines were asked to attend the Opening Press conference. Domnina and Shabalin were the invited ice dance couple and were asked, naturally, about the Finnstep. Domnina looked over at the President of the Finnish Association, Susanna Rahkomo, who devised this new compulsory as a Quickstep for their original dance which helped her, and her partner and husband Petri Kokko, win the 1995 European championship.

Domnina said she hoped that maybe they could get some advice from Rahkomo. Max burst out laughing and said, "It’s a bit late for advice, now!" He also said he didn’t feel they were defending the title. "Each competition is different. You do your best and hope to win. But each time you are starting from scratch."

They had not drawn well, performing 20^th, which was second of the penultimate group, before any of the other main contenders. The top ten ISU ranked couples draw for the last two groups so this was not a preferred spot. They have never fallen before in a compulsory.

Shabalin explained, with a shrug, "It was just a mistake. I can’t say what happened. It is still a mystery." His partner said, "Of course, we are disappointed."

6. 33.21 (16.74+16.47) Pernelle Carron and Matthieu Jost, who were runners-up for the French championship for the past two years, showed a distinct benefit from demonstrating this dance in September in a seminar run by one of their coaches, Romain Haguenauer. They lie three places up from last season’s ninth place finish in the European championships. They train with Muriel Zazoui in Lyon. She turned 22 on August 20; he was 28 on January 8.

7. 32.58 (16.66+15.92) Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte, who teamed up in the spring of 2005, are the three times runners-up for the Italian title. They were not pleased with their performance or their placement. Although they finished seventh last year, since Delobel/Schoenfelder are out, they were hoping to advance at least one place. Cappellini said, "The performance was OK. The dance is difficult. This is definitely not an improvement." She will be 22 on February 19 while he turned 23 on July 30. They are trained by Roberto Pelizzola and Barbara Riboldi.

8. 31.13 (16.22+14.91) Nora Hoffmann and Maxim Zavozin have waited a long time to make their international debut representing Hungary. They might never have teamed up had not her partner, Attila Elek not broken his ankle in practice at the 2007 European championships. Meanwhile, Zavozin’s partnership in the United States had dissolved following a disappointing fifth place finish at the 2007 US Championships. The USFSA were not prepared to release Matthews or Zavozin. "It took a long time for that to come through," said Zavozin. "It’s a relief that that period is over. We are just very happy to be here. Our goal is just to show ourselves. This is only our second competition. The other was the Hungarian nationals. When we first learned this dance, we thought it was very Awkwar and weird. But once we got used to it, we began to enjoy it."

Zavozin was born in Russia but his parents emigrated to the United States and he became a U.S. citizen during the extraordinary legal processes that were put in place for Canadian Tanith Belbin to become a U.S. and therefore represent that country in the 2006 Olympic Games, in which they won silver.

Hoffmann has now been Hungarian senior champion five times with her previous partner, Attila Elek, and once with Zavozin. Hoffmann explained, "There was so much paperwork. Thank goodness, the Hungarian Olympic Association was so supportive." Zavozin, who is a month older than Hoffmann, having been born on March 2, 1985, knew of Hoffmann’s skills. In 2004, Hoffmann won a world junior silver medal for Hungary with Elek, while Matthews and Zavozin claimed the bronze for the US that year and gold the next.

Hoffmann and Zavozin are trained by Nikolai Morozov and Zavozin’s mother, Elena Garonina. When they are in Hungary, they are under the guidance of a Hungarian coach, Sandor Nagy. They had hoped to compete in two lesser internationals before this but, "I had to wait 30 days after my clearance from the USFSA," said Zavozin. "My clearance didn’t come through in time for the first one." Hoffmann added, "And then I had a fall on my hip and had to have therapy. But now everything is alright and we are looking forwards to Worlds. If the Viennese Waltz is picked (from that and the Paso Doble, a draw which will be made at Junior Worlds), I may even wear this same dress (a beautiful white concoction with black feathers).

9. 30.45 (15.68+14.77) Anna Zadorozhniuk and Sergei Verbillo represent Ukraine but train with Nikolai Morozov in Hackensack. Both are 24. Her birthday is September 25; his July 21. This is their third European championship. They were 10^th in 2007 and 11^th last year.

10. 30.16 (15.62+14.52) Alexandra "Sacha" and Roman Zaretski, who are now in their tenth season of skating together, were born in Minsk but now live in and represent Israel. The brother and sister are trained by Galit Chait. She was 21 on December 23; he was 25 on December 4. He said, "The Finnstep is a strange dance. It has a stop in the middle and very few edges." This is their fourth Europeans. Previously they finished 15^th, 11^th and 8^th.

11. 29.94 (15.32+14.62) Kristin Fraser and Igor Lukanin have competed in Europeans for many years, representing Azerbajian although they live in New Jersey, where they train with Nikolai Morosov at the Hackensack rink. They have placed in the top ten in this event for the past four years with a best place finish of seventh in 2007. She will be 29 on the non-existent February 29, 2009 as she was born in a leap year. He will be 32 on February 3.

12. 29.04 (15.24+13.80) Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer have skated together since 1994. They switched to coach Alexander Svinin in 2006. She turned 23 on October 10 and he will be 26 on February 19. She has a problem with her costume but didn’t get a deduction. She said, "I don’t know how it happened. It just ripped off. It was on the second pattern, so I can’t say much about out skating because all I was thinking of was my dress. I don’t remember anything, because all I was doing was struggling to hold the slipping part of the costume. I heard some people in the crowd whistle at me." Her partner said, "I didn’t remember the second pattern either. I did all the steps automatically." The couple was 12 in their debut in this event in 2007 and 13^th last year.

13. 28.77 (15.42+13.35) Alla Beknazarova and Vladimir Zuez skated 17^th. During a resurface after the 18^th couple had skated, Rakhomo and Kokko did a press interview with Finnish reporters. She said that she felt too many of the skaters up to this point (which was before the top ten had performed) had treated the Finnstep as if it were a folk routine, not a Quickstep, but this Ukrainian couple was an exception. She also said that there was much too much up-and-down motion of the leg and the body should be kept more upright and flow over ice. Beknazarova, who is 24, and Zuez, who is 23, are the twice Ukrainian champions who lost their title recently to //. They have competed in this event twice before placing 13^th and 14^th.

14. 28.40 (15.36+13.04) Carolina and Daniel Hermann, who are making their debut in this event, are the new German champions who drew to skate 18th. They are brother and sister. She was 21 on January 3; he turned 22 on October 12. The past champions, Christine and William Beier, stopped skating together after her injury at the 2008 world championship forced them to withdraw. She has now teamed up with Tim Giesen but they were fourth in the German championship. Daniel said, "I felt a little nervous. It is something special to be here. We tried to stay calm but it’s so strange to hear the EuroSport commentators talking about us."

15. 27.24 (14.16+13.08) Katherine Copely and Deividas Stagniunas are the Lithuanian champions, who finished 18^th and 12^th in the past two European championships. They train with Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva in Canton, Michigan. She was born in Cinncinnati on January 9, 1988. He was born in Kaunas in Lithuania on April 28, 1985. They made their debut together in 2006 placing sixth in the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf Germany. Both had previous partners in their home countries. Copley was eighth in US Juniors with Patrick Connelly.

16. 26.66 (14.34 + 12.32) Kamila Hajkova and David Vincour are the four time Senior champions of the Czech Republic, who have finished 19^th and twice 17^th in the last three European championships. She turned 21 on September 9 and he will be 25 on March 14.

17. 26.10 (14.16+11.94) Barbora Silna and Dimitri Matsjuk are the 4-time Austrian champions. Matsjuk, who was born in Ukraine, turned 27 on October 4. He had previously been Austrian champion several times with his Barbara Herzog. Silna, who was originally from the Czech Republic, turned 20 on January 8.

18. 24.52 (13.46+11.06) Isabella Pajardi and Stefano Caruso are the third ranked Italians who were 9^th in the last world junior championships. Their choreography was done by Shae-Lynn Bourne. Pajardi will turn 20 on January 24; Caruso was 21 on April 19.

19. 24.22 (13.32+10.90) Caitlin Mallory and Kristian Rand, who train in Canton, Michigan, with Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva, had the honor of starting of these championships, drawing to skate first in the opening competition. They are very excited about the prospect of having the Europeans next year in Tallinn, the capital of the country they represent, Estonia. They formed their partnership in 2008. Rand was the three-time national champion and the 2007 world junior silver medalist with Grethe Grünberg and they placed 15^th in Europeans and 19^th in the world seniors last year. When she retired, Rand, who turned 21 on June 12, came to the United States to search for a new partner and found Mallory through Shpilband. Mallory was born in Oakland, CA, June 2, 1987, and had previously partnered Brent Holdburg. In the 2007 season, they were 7^th in the US championships and 4^th in the Karl Schäfer international in Vienna. But they broke up. In their first international together this past fall, Mallory and Rand were 4^th in the Finlandia Trophy (won by the Kerrs) and 6^th in the Karl Schäfer event.

Mallory looked stunning in a very Ginger Rodgers type aqua sleeveless outfit with a mass of feathers on the hemline just past the knee, said, "I felt it was a nice start. It could have been better. We were very worried with all the feathers that one might fall off and we’d get a costume deduction, but all went well." Shpilband had been totally opposed to the selection of this dance when it was drawn in December. However, Mallory said, "I think he warmed up to it as we worked on it, but it is a shame if we don’t get to skate it ever again."

20. 23.75 (12.80+10.95) Christina Chitwood, who is from Colorado Springs, and Mark Hanretty, from Glasgow in Scotland, are a highly promising but very inexperienced couple who are making their debut in this event under very controversial conditions. Because the British championships were held the week before this event, the Association decided to pick the team beforehand. The top couples took part in a round-robin competition with the highest scorer getting the place as the second Britons to the Kerrs.

Initially, it looked as if the then 3-times, now 4-times runners-up for the title, Phillipa Towler-Green and Philip Poole, who finished 18^th in this event last year, would win the second spot to the Kerrs on the British team for this event. They beat Chitwood and Hanretty in Oberstdorf at the Nebelhorn Trophy. But then, Chitwood/Hanretty got more marks in the Pavel Roman Trophy in Olomouc in the Czech Republic, where there was a small entry, than Towler-Green and Poole received in Zagreb at the Golden Spin where there was a high level entry. Marks, particularly for components, are not absolute and, undoubtedly, this selection process was flawed.

In last week’s British championship, Towler-Green and Poole overall finished 14.31 points above Chitwood and Hanretty, who were only fourth. However, today, Chitwood and Hanretty gained more points for their Finnstep than Towler-Green and Poole did in Nottingham. Both couples were upset at the unpleasant situation, which was none of their own making. Jimmy Young, who coaches them in Sheffield, said, "They’ve had to put that behind them. Except for a bobble on the Choctaw, which is uncharacteristic for them (in the end part of the second sequence), they were pretty good. They made it look fun."

21. 23.56 (13.10+10.46) Terra Findlay, who was born in Sault Ste. Marie in Canada, and Benoit Richaud were third in the French championship and replaced the Delobel and Schoenfelder on the French team. She is 18 and he turned 20 on January 16. He said, "We were very surprised when the French Association told us we would be skating here." She said, "We did well considering that we had a mishap in our first practice here. Benoit’s blade went into my leg. It was cut open and I had to have 10 stitches but it feels OK now. It is a bit sore but skatable."

22. 22.99 (12.62+10.37) Joanna Budner and Jan Moscicki are the twice Polish champions who are competing in this event for the third year. They previously placed 21^st and 19^th. Budner is 20. Moscicki will turn 21 on February 6.

23. 22.88 (12.88+10.00) Leonie Krail and Oscar Peter, who are the twice Swiss champions, train in Aston, PA, with Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov. He formerly represented Switzerland in singles and was 30^th in that discipline in the 2000 Europeans. She is 22 and he 27.

24. 21.43 (12.16+9.27) Newcomers Oksana Klimova/Sasha Palomäki are the Finnish champions. She was a singles skater. They teamed up in 2007 and he moved to train in Moscow with Ksenia Ruminatseva and Elena Tchaikovskaia. He was born in Espoo, September 4, 1991; she was born in Moscow May 24, 1992. They were 23^rd in the 2008 world junior championships.

26. 17.15 (9.32+7.83) Ina Demireva and Juri Kurakin are the Bulgarian champions, competing in this event for the first time, although they took part in the world championships in Gothenburg where they finished 30^th. She is the younger sister of Albena Denkova, the 2006 and 2007 world ice dance champion, who is now the President of the Bulgarian Association. She will turn 20 on February and he was 21 on August 3.

27. 15.83 (8.40+7.43) Christa-Elizabeth Goulakos and Bradley Yaeger are Canadians who represent Greece. Goulakos previously skated in this event with Eric Neumann-Aubichon. She teamed up with Yaeger in 2007. He formerly competed with Mylene Girard and they were runners-up for the Canadian Junior title. She will be 21 on March 3. He turned 24 on January 7.

Last year, for the first time Azerbajian entered a second couple and Nadine Ahmed and Bruce Porter have returned. Though they finished 25^th last year and currently lie in 28^th with 15.10 (8.36+6.74), which is last place again, they are both enjoying the experience of doing what they love to do and traveling around the world to do it. They were both born in the United States - she in Miami Florida, he in Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. They train with Genrikh Sretenski, who coaches in Washington DC. She was born in Dec 2, 1985 and he in January 13, 1981. They teamed together in 2007. They competed in Oberstdorf this past summer and were 14^th. A short time later, they were 10^th in the Golden Spin of Zagreb.