Russian figure skaters dominate at European Championships in Sheffield

Russian skaters won five out of six possible medals, including two golds, over the last two days of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield.

The star of the night was Evgeni Plushenko, returning to the sport for the first time since his second-place finish at the Vancouver Olympics 2010, whose mesmerising free skate performance earned him the seventh European gold of his career.

Among other medallists were the Russian pair Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, who took the gold in the pairs competition. Their compatriots Vera Bazarova and Yury Larionov came in second, while Kseniya Stolbova and Fyodor Klimov completed the all-Russian podium.

Meanwhile, in the ice dancing challenge no one could match the quality of French skaters Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France, who successfully defended their title. Russian pairs Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitry Soloviev and Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov had to settle for silver and bronze medals, respectively.