Totmianina and Marinin Back on the Ice and In the Lead at Europeans
by Sal Zanca, Special to U.S. Figure Skating Online |
| Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin Photo by Paul Harvath |
2005 European Championships Results
(1/25/05) — All eyes were on Russian pairs skater Tatiana Totmianina Tuesday at the 2005 European Championships in Torino, Italy. Totmianina was making her first appearance in international competition since a terrible on-ice fall last October at Smart Ones Skate America. No ill effects from the accident were evident as she and partner Maxim Marinin skated a gentle and light short program to "Ave Maria." Their marks put them at the top of the leaderboard ahead of two fellow Russian pairs.
During Tuesday's short program Totmianina and Marinin performed the same one-handed lift that went disastrously wrong at Skate America. They performed the lift with no difficulty and earned their best score ever under the new system - 69.70. Their previous best was 68.64.
Their coach, Oleg Vasiliev, explained how it was actually harder for Marinin rather than Totmianina to come back after the accident.
"We started from zero level," Vasiliev said. "We started from crossovers in the middle of November. In two months and maybe one week from zero level to where they are today. It was very intense work, not just technical.
"Besides Tatiana's injury — the concussion — there was psychological damage to Max," Vasiliev continued.
Vasiliev said he needed to help Marinin believe in himself and not worry about what he was doing.
"With Tatiana it was a little bit easier because she wanted to come back on the ice the next day," he said.
Totmianina was more concerned about the long break away from competition than the injury itself. Although they had the Russian championships at the beginning of January, their last full competitive appearance was the 2004 World Championships.
"Of course we're trying to forget," Totmianina said. "But anyway because we just had a long break, almost 10 months since our last competition. It's difficult to come back."
She didn't think much about the lift during the program.
"For me after it (the lift) there were two more elements and I had to prepare for them," Totmianina said.
Two other Russian pairs finished behind Totmianina and Marinin, but in an unexpected order.
Julia Obertas and Sergei Slavnov are in second after an energetic routine to a Russian folk song. Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov, who placed second at the European Championships last year, are in third after two major mistakes. Tikhonov did a double toe loop instead of a triple, and their spins were out of sync.
"It's a big mistake," Tikhonov said. "You want to come into the European Championships and skate your best."
Totmianina and Marinin go after their fourth straight European title Wednesday afternoon.
Compulsory DanceTatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov of Russia made a bit of figure skating history Tuesday by becoming the first leaders at the European Championships under the new judging system with a flowing performance in the compulsory Golden Waltz.
The European Championships are the first full championship exposure of the new system, adopted by the ISU Congress last June, after two years on the Grand Prix circuit. The new system will also be used at the 2005 World Championships for the first time in March and at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Those Games will also be held at the Palavela, the same arena which is hosting Europeans.
Ukraine's Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov were second in the compulsory dance with 40.39 points, just edging Bulgarians Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski.
Denkova and Staviyski beat Navka and Kostomarov, the reigning World champions, at the 2004 NHK Trophy last November, the only loss Navka and Kostomarov have had in almost two years.
Tuesday, however, Denkova was plagued by a heavy cold. She smiled through the performance, but she rushed off the ice quickly, red-faced and bleary-eyed.
Navka missed the Russian nationals because of the flu, but she told reporters Tuesday that it was better to rest.
"It was good we took time off to prepare quietly three weeks before the Europeans," Navka said.
