European and World Pair Skating Champions:
Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy are German, European, and World Pair Skating Champions.
Aliona Savchenko - Date and Place of Birth:
January 19, 1984 in Kiev, Ukraine
Robin Szolkowy - Date and Place of Birth:
July 14, 1979 in Greifswald, Germany
About Aliona:
Aliona Savchenko began skating when she was only three years old. She grew up in the Ukraine. She began pair skating at a young age. In 2002, she competed with partner Stanislav Morozov in the Winter Olympics.
About Robin:
Robin Szolkowy began skating when he was four years old. He began pair skating at age sixteen.
Successful Try-Out:
In 2003, Robin Szolkowy's coach, Ingo Steuer, brought Aliona Savchenko from the Ukraine to Chemnitz, Germany for a try-out. Savchenko then left the Ukraine and relocated to Germany. Only a few months later, the newly formed pair team won the German National Figure Skating Championships.
German Citzenship in Time for the 2006 Olympics:
Aliona Savchenko obtained German citizenship on December 29 2005. That qualifed the pair to compete for Gemany in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. They placed sixth.
Competition Highlights:
- 2008 and 2009 World Pair Skating Champions
- 2007, 2008, and 2009 European Pair Skating Champions
- 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 German Pair Skating Champions
- 2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Champions
Were the 2010 Olympic Favorites:
Savchenko and Szolkowy's score at the 2009 world figure skating championships was 203.48 points, nearly 17 points above the second place pair team. That wide margin made the German pair skating team the favorites to win before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. They made some errors, and did not win, but did win the Olympic bronze medal.
