Russians Edges Rising Chinese Stars in Figure SkatingElena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze edged China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo to lead a Russian sweep of the three finalist events at the International Skating Union Grand Prix Competition on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Russia.Shen and Zhao narrowly outpointed the Russian pair, but Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze dominated on aesthetics, scoring straight 5.9s for presentation. It was a familiar pattern. Shen and Zhao usually thrill audiences with their athleticism, particularly their heart-stopping throws, but judges find their aesthetics a bit lacking. But this year the Chine pair's presentation was distinctly improved and got 5.8s from six of the seven judges. Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek of Poland finished third. Yevgeny Plushchenko and Irina Slutskaya won the men's and women's titles, repeating their victories of a year ago. Plushchenko earning two perfect 6.0s for presentation and got technical 5.9s from five of the seven judges. Compatriot Ilya Klimkin earned an uneven array of marks ranging from 5.0 to 5.6 for technique, but the marks were strong enough to boost him from fourth place into second, pushing American Matthew Savoie into third place. Elena Sokolova of Russia ended in second place behind Slutskaya, followed by American Sarah Hughes. |
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