One hundred years of solitude. If you think that the last time Poland hosted the European championship of figure skaters in 1908, the immortal novel of Gabriel Garcia Marquez immediately comes to mind. By the way, there are such words on the first page: “It will take many years, and Colonel Aureliano Buendia will remember that distant evening when his father took him with him to look on the ice.”
What the inhabitants of Warsaw came to take a look last night was an arbitrary program of sports couples. And what they had been waiting for almost a century was the success of their favorites Dorota and Mariusz Sudek. Star spouses, in whose collection the European Championship 2000 and the bronze European Championship 2004, whose faces are depicted on all the posters and posters of the tournament, lingered in sports for this home performance. Twelve years in the international arena crowned with another bronze medal. And at the end of the rental to the music of Chopin, the audience welcomed the standing veterans. Although the owners of the competition had to fight not so much with rivals as with age.
What is it like to keep pace, having pound weights on your feet, the Russians know Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov. Petersburgers still had enough for a short program. The ejection of a triple flip was the only noticeable blot - the partner stumbled on the road. After the first day of the competition, the bronze medalists of the European and World Championships 2006 occupied the second row.
But an arbitrary composition lasts longer, and therefore requires more strength. The last two weeks, Maria and Alexei have been training hard, forgetting about the success in the “Stars on Ice” project, and about the embarrassment in their native St. Petersburg, where they failed the Grand Prix finals. The Petrov - Tikhonov missed the Championship of Russia, because of which she fell into the category of substitutes - the Russian Federation was loyal to sports principles. However, at the last moment, Maria Mukhortova was injured, tying her partner Maxim Trankov as an anchor to the house. And "Lesha, Masha, our joy", which was confirmed by banners at the Warsaw "Torwar Arena", got a chance.
It was clear from everything: the skaters had a great desire to prove that it was too early to write them off. Under Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, our leaders rode in the last warm-up, following the main Polish couple. Behind were parallel jumps, the most difficult supports, the release of a triple rittberger and salchow. But it was noticeable how hard it was for the guys not to splash out the precious cup on trifling steps. Reported, endured, survived - honor and praise! Later, Alexey will say that the Polish audience helped them in this, allowing them to concentrate and focus on the performance.
And the Germans Alena Savchenko and Robin Sholkova finished the tournament of sports duets. By the way, the famous Ukrainian specialist Tatyana Tarasova has recently called the former Ukrainian figure skater “a lad from God”. After a short program, the thought crept in: the silver medalists of the Grand Prix finals are far from the peak of form. Having ruined the ejection of a triple flip, Alena left the ice with a pained expression on her face. But the elements of the fourth level still allowed the favorites to settle in the first position with a comfortable margin of more than three points.
In the free box, everything was in the hands of the German skaters. And "Mission" (the soundtrack of the famous film) turned out to be feasible. Savchenko - The Zolkovs rolled the song at a good speed, wide, sweeping, without failures. And thus, the eleven-year-old Russian hegemony in this type of figure skating was turned from a ray into a segment.
It is outlined by the gold medals of Oksana Kazakova - Arthur Dmitriev in 96th and Tatyana Totmyanina and Maxim Marinin in 2006. And in the 95th title of the champions of the Old World, the Germans also owned - Ingo Stoyer and Mendi Wetzel. Yesterday, the winner of Dortmund 95 Ingo Stoyer, mentor of Alena and Robin, was held as a coach.
Olga GONCHAROVA