Plushenko takes back national title after 4-year hiatus

Evgeni Plushenko of St. Petersburg (SPB) won the men’s 2010 Russian National title with a powerful,  but flawed performance of his tango routine. Sergei Voronov (SPB) finished in second overall, while Artem Borodulin (MOS) maintained third place for the bronze.

Plushenko popped his  planned opening quad toeloop into a triple, but immediately landed a clean one afterwards. He  was not able to  land his second triple Axel on the first try, and fell out of a triple  Salchow landing immediately after the successful execution of that  jump later.

“I went for the second quad because I missed the first one and had to  do it to rectify the situation,” explained Plushenko. “I am happy that I was able to land a triple  Axel in the end. Perhaps there was a certain euphoria right…

Kavaguti and Smirnov win third consecutive national title

Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of St. Petersburg (SPB) defended their overnight lead to  win their third consecutive national title.

Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov (SPB) maintained second overall to win silver, while Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov of Perm (PRM) took the bronze.

Kavaguti and Smirnov did not attempt a  throw quad Salchow, but landed two clean triple throws, side-by-side  triple toes, and a sequence of two double Axels.

“Today our coach told us before the  start not to attempt a quad throw,” Smirnov later explained. “Even though we have landed a clean  one in the morning practice. She told us that in the present  circumstances it would be better to do a  “simple” triple throw. You  have seen the rest yourself: high flight, great…

Domnina and Shabalin win third national title

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin took the Ice Dance title, while Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Moscow (MOS) edged out  Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer (MOS) for the silver.

Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko (MOB) maintained a very close fourth with just over two points keeping them from the podium.

Domnina and  Shabalin’s free dance debut did not go over as well as they had hoped. Domnina stumbled on the second twizzle, which received  level two, and their combination spin was rated only a level three. In  addition, the current World Champions appeared tense and tentative, which prevented   them from fully committing to the performance.

On a positive side, the  team has created new lifts for the dance and with more mileage, the  dance has the potential to…

Ksenia Makarova crowned new Russian Champion

Ksenia Markova of St. Petersburg (SPB) won the ladies event in a tight field of four. Alena Leonova (SPB) rose two spots to to claim silver, while Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (SPB) catapulted from 10th to third overall.

Tuktamysheva skated first in the second  warm-up group, and the standard she set proved to be unmatched  throughout the event. The performance of the Glazov’s native was  marred only by an uncharacteristic fall on a triple Salchow in the second  half of the program, but she was otherwise clean.

Tuktamysheva, who will  finally be able to compete at Junior international competitions next  year, delivered six clean triple jumps which included a solid triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination and an impressive double Axel-triple toeloop-double loop with excellent flow out  it.

Compared to her performances last year, Tuktamysheva…

Domnina and Shabalin maintain easy lead after Original Dance

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Moscow Oblast (MOB) maintained an easily lead after the Original Dance (OD), while Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer of Moscow (MOS) and Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev (MOS) are nearly tied for second. In a very close fourth place, is Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko (MOB).

Domnina and Shabalin gave a solid debut of an Australian Aboriginal Dance, which profusely stood out amongst the other teams who perform Russian Folk dances. Apparently, this was exactly their intention.

“We wanted to surprise everyone by our dance,” Domnina later explained. “We did not want to create another Slavic dance and  have considered a lot of options, including Scottish folk. But  eventually we settled on this one. I guess it really makes everyone  stop and…

Kavaguti and Smirnov prevail after Short Program

Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of St. Petersburg (SPB)   prevailed over Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov (SPB) with a 3-point-lead in the Pairs Short Program.

The students of Tamara Moskvina were the next to last to skate, and  gave a commanding and inspiring performance to Camille Saint Saens’ The  Swan. The defending champions who kept last season’s  program, were able to capitalize on the mileage and enchant the  audience with their excellent flow and strong elements. The team had  minor problems with a catch on the triple twist, but landed clean  side-by-side triple toeloops and a throw triple loop to receive 78.01  (41.27/36.74) points.

“Our impression from the performance is very simple: we skated well,” said Smirnov. “Both me and Yuko are satisfied. However, we had not have…

Domnina and Shabalin lead after Compulsory Dance

The Russian National Figure Skating Champions kicked off with nine dance teams  performing Tango Romantica for the Compulsory Dance (CD).

As expected, current World Champions Oksana Domnina  and Maxim Shabalin of Moscow Oblast (MOB) easily won this segment of the event with 45.17  (22.00/23.17) points. The students of Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi  Karponossov have not competed at all since their triumph in Los Angeles  last spring, but they looked as if they have not missed a beat. The  couple was smooth and confident throughout, and gave a  commanding and  expressive performance.

“We were very eager to show our programs to the audience and judges,”  commented Domnina afterwards. “Finally we got out. We have really  missed competing”

“We are lacking competitive practice a bit,” added Shabalin. “We …

Sofya Biryukova first after Short Progam

The Ladies event at the 2010 Russian National Figure Skating Championships is a two-fold  competition. With only half of the competitors being age-eligible for  ISU Championships, securing a spot on the Olympic team and winning a  medal at Nationals are not necessarily the same thing.

Sofya Biryukova of Moscow (MOS) took the lead in the ladies short program after performing a clean and passionate routine to Libertango.

Biryukova landed a solid triple  toeloop-triple toeloop combination and solo triple flip,  but her  double Axel out of a spread eagle was somewhat tentative. The student of Viktoria Volchkova posted 62.97 (37.93/25.04)  points which included a +3.00 bonus that the Russian Figure Skating  Federation awards to ladies landing a clean triple-triple combination.

“It is the first time that I participated in Senior Nationals,” said…