'Aliona Savchenko' (originally
Ukrainian ''Олена Савченко/Olena Savtchenko''; German spelling: ''Aljona Savchenko''; born
19 January 1984 in
Kiev,
Ukraine) is an internationally ranked
Ukrainian pair figure skater who now skates for
Germany and has obtained German citizenship. She currently represents the Chemnitzer EC.
Savchenko's partner since
2003 has been
Robin Szolkowy. The team has won the German National pair title four consecutive times. They are the
2007 World pair bronze medalists and current
European pair champions.
Career
Aliona Savchenko began skating at the age of 3. Her father practiced with her on a lake. He wanted to take her to a figure skating school in Kiev when she was four, but was told she was too young. She was admitted a year later.
Savchenko and her first partner,
Dmitri Boyenko, were coached by
Alexander Artychenko, representing Ukraine under the auspices of the club Dynamo Kiev. The pair separated after the 1998
World Junior Figure Skating Championships at which they placed second.
Her next partner was
Stanislav Morozov also from club Dynamo Kiev. The team won the
2000 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, twice won the Ukrainian National pair title, and placed 15th at the
2002 Winter Olympics. Their coach was
Galina Kukhar.
Savchenko's partnership with Morozov dissolved in 2002. In May 2003, Szolkowy's coach, former World champion
Ingo Steuer, brought Savchenko to Chemnitz, Germany for what would be a successful try-out. Three months later, Savchenko relocated to Germany and the new team began training in earnest.
In 2004, during their first season together, Savchenko and Szolkowy won the German National pair title. The two made their international debut as a team at the start of the 2004/2005 season. They again won the German National pair title, placed fourth at Europeans and sixth at the
2005 World Championships.
During the 2005/2006 season, Savchenko and Szolkowy won their third German National title, as well as
Grand Prix Skate Canada, where they won both the short program and free skate. They placed second at Europeans, third at the
Grand Prix Final, and sixth at Worlds. Savchenko was granted German citizenship on 29 December 2005, allowing the pair to compete in the
2006 Winter Olympic Games, where they finished sixth.
In
2007, Savchenko and Szolkowy earned their first World Championship medal, a bronze, scoring a new personal best for their short program, 67.65 points. While winning their first European pair title earlier this year, the team set new personal bests for total points (199.39) and for their free skate program (134.01).
[1] Savchenko and Szolkowy also won their fourth German National pair title. At the end of the 2006/2007 season, the pair ranked third on the
International Skating Union's World Standings.
[2]
Competitive highlights
(with Szolkowy)
(with Morozov)
(with Boenko)
References
1. http://www.isufs.org/bios/isufs00007498.htm
2. http://www.isufs.org/ws/wspairs.htm
External link
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