Crystal Skate

Saitama, March 2014: Just a couple of days after winning their fifth world title, Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy tell the press that they aren't retiring as previously planned, but splitting up. The decision comes as a shock to many fans as it means that they are unlikely to ever skate together again, not even in shows. It also means that we have to say goodbye to Robin Szolkowy, but not to his partner. First European title Photograph: Koici Kamoshida/Getty Images Sport Ukrainian-born Aliona Savchenko teamed up with German-born Robin Szolkowy in 2003, after they had both failed in achieving success with their former partners. They became German national champions that very season, giving Germany hope for international recognition in pair skating for the first time since 1998, when Mandy Wotzel won a Bronze Olympic medal with Ingo Steuer, Aliona and Robin's coach. Their first European medal, a silver, was won just two years later. But the real breakthrough ha...

This is Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy's last chance to win a World gold medal and more than probably, Germany's last presence in the spotlight for a while. Will they succeed or is it time for a new pair of World champions? Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres  give us a scare with a terrifying fall right at the end, a mistake you can see he's more than sorry for. The rest of the programme is very good despite a very small error in the Triple Twist. Their music is a mash-up of the soundtracks of Angels and Demons  and Requiem for a Dream . Their score: 119.89 . Overall: 183.90 . The jumps, the lifts, the spins, the interpretation... Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch  are in perfect sync. They even do a risky lift with only one leg on the ice. The only mistake is her hand on the ice while landing the thrown Triple Salchow. Great speed as well while looking like veritable movie stars on Nino Rota's music medley. They get 136.21  points. Overall: 205.52 . Cheng Pe...

Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy have postponed their retirement to win one last World gold medal and you know they're not going home without an epic fight. Will any of the other couples be able to defeat them? Here's the first act: Maylin Wende/Daniel Wende  may not be the top German pair, but once in a blue moon, they have a performance you just can't take your eyes off. This is one such performance. Skating on November Rain , they ace every element. Their score: 58.19 . Julia Antipova/Nodari Maisuradze 's senior debut is not at all bad. Skating on Beethoven's Five Secrets , this pair is excellent technically, but the presentation is nowhere near as good. Everything is pretty, of course, but there is no personal mark on the routine, no story. The costumes are again quite standard, emanating a classical Russian air. They get 66.78  points. Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang  have grown immensely in just one year of skating together. I'm glad they proved me wrong...

It's official! The 2014 Figure Skating World Championships have begun, and if previous competitions held in Japan show us anything, is that they're hosted by one of the greatest, if not the best audience in the world. As it usually happens in an Olympic season, most of the Olympic champions have decided to skip the Worlds, understandably so - after winning the most supreme of medals, they are entitled to a well deserved holiday. The only victor who will compete is Yuzuru Hanyu, probably because the Championships are held in his native country. The other notable absentees are either Olympic medalists (the same right to a holiday applies) or skaters for whom the Olympic Games were the final chapter in their skating careers. Patrick Chan and Brian Joubert are missing from the Men competition, with the Frenchman clearly retiring and the Canadian unsure about his future in figure skating. Another favourite of the audience who won't be attending is Florent Amodio due to lac...

Germany and Russia are famous in history for their rivalry. Tonight they're going to compete head to head, skate to skate in the most glamorous of sports for the biggest prize of all: an Olympic Gold Medal. There is hardly any difference in quality between Tatiana Volosozhar/Maxim Trankov and Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy, so let's wish them good luck, knowing that whoever takes the title home, is fully worthy of it. The start of the competition is in good hands with Felicia Zhang/Nathan Bartholomay . Skating on Les Miserbales , they finish with no error and stand out with some amazing lifts. Their score: 110.31 . Overall: 137.86 . Paige Lawrence/Rudi Swiegers need a bit of help from the Wizard of Oz today, as their routine is peppered with flaws. They both mess up the second Triple Toeloop and she can't hold the landing of the thrown Triple Loop. They are lovely to watch, but could have interpreted the characters a bit more, maybe even have the Wicked Witch make an ...

The first act of the epic battle between Russia and Germany for the supreme gold medal is here. Both Tatiana Volosozhar/Maxim Trankov and Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy know that while a short programme cannot get you a victory, it can sure make you lose it. They've got three and a half minutes to get the advantage and not a single second can be ignored. Maylin Wende/Daniel Wende 's November Rain is almost perfect. All the jumps are landed, the costumes are very beautiful, but she falls right after the death spiral. Sometimes luck will work against you in figure skating. In terms of interpretation, they could have turned the volume up on the sadness, but we'll forgive them as they were clearly too excited to be skating at the Olympics to pull off a tragic mask. Their score: 59.25 . It's all a bit too simple, too slow and too inexpressive for Julia Lavrentieva/Yuri Yudrik , but these are their first ever Olympic Games, so just being here is a success for them. She ...

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy have withdrawn from competition due to a cold, after finishing the short on second place. With their biggest rivals out of the way, it is almost certain Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov will claim the European gold once more. The biggest question now is who will finish second? Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov seem the obvious answer, but Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov are anything but quitters. Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres bring back Requiem for a Dream , the song that used to be skaters' darling. They pair it with Angels and Demons , but except for the costumes, there isn't much that mimics the epic battle. Choosing the fastest music part to do the slowest elements doesn't help either. The only technical mistake was her fall on the second Triple Toeloop. They earn 122.45 points. Overall: 185.48 . Married life suits Maylin Wende/Daniel Wende , who are more in sync than ever before. Their music is the soundtrack of Your Highness...

DANCE Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron  put the mishap from the short in the past, and did a terrific job in the free. Their somewhat futuristic concept features the music of Woodkip ( Iron  and Run Boy Run ) and Olafur Arnalds ( Brotsjor ). Their score: 79.78 . Overall: 124.27 Siobhan Heekin-Canedy/Dmitri Dun  skated on one of the most beautiful tangos, El Tango de Roxanne . Her dress was gorgeous, but his shirt looked a bit like a waiter's. The real problem was that although she tried her best to express the music, he was not feeling it at all. Where there should have been anger and passion, there was nothing. They obtained 78.57  points. Overall: 123.57 Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier  have really struck gold with their Hitchcock  theme. Unfortunately, Paul lost his balance in the twizzles. The costumes were superb and the way his is both symbolic for Hitchcock and makes hers stand out is brilliant. Their score: 82.52 . Overall: 133.66 Ksenia Monk...

DANCE Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin  had a little stumble during the step sequence, but were otherwise dynamic and pleasant to watch. Their score: 55.83 Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier  were fun and had great twizzles. The choice of costumes was very clever as it relates to the first song. They obtained 51.14  points. Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron 's flame was significantly less bright than in Paris. He messed up the twizzles and lost focus on the presentation from that moment on, then fell at the very end of the routine. Their score: 44.49 . Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Tkachenko  brought the atmosphere of Chicago  to Moscow. It was fast, very well presented and had complex steps. They obtained 58.59  points. Madison Chock/Evan Bates  dug their hands into the showmanship bucket, but didn't get the best out of it. The twizzles were fine, but the first song just didn't seem to get them in the mood. Their score: 57.80 Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje...

MEN Peter Liebers delivered an almost flawless programme. He had only two tiny mistakes on the second Triple Axel and on the Triple Flip. His interpretation was patched, showing only when he didn't have jumps to do. His score: 131.46 . Overall: 200.80 Nan Song has a bright future ahead of him. Technically his routine was almost perfect, although he lacked a quad jump. The silly mistake was tripping during one of the transitions. As for his presentation, he expressed the pain in Enio Moriccone's  The Mission  very well. He obtained  128.12  points. Overall:  196.80 Maxim Kovtun 's rendition of Tchaikovski's Piano Concerto no. 1  had something majestic about it. He only jumped two quads, not three as he had planned, which is still impressive. His score: 156.81 . Overall: 238.65 Han Yan  couldn't control the pressure all the way through. He had a dodgy landing on the Triple Axel and tripped out of the Triple Flip, ending up falling. These mistak...

MEN The first out of three Chinese skaters, Yi Wang  skated on A Beautiful Storm . Overall, it was a good, enjoyable skate, but he double-footed the Triple Axel and singled the second Triple Flip. His score: 63.27 . As beautiful as the music was, Peter Liebers'  routine lacked smoothness. The jumps were perfect though, except for the Triple Toeloop. He got 69.34  points. China's national champion, Nan Song , brought his inner rock star on ice, skating beautifully on Guitar Concerto . Unfortunately, his Quad Toeloop was messy and the Triple Toeloop ended up being a Single. His score: 68.68 . Maxim Kovtun  proves he's worth a lot to the Russian team with two perfectly landed quads and a 'spot on' interpretation. His silly fall at the end was a mistake that took us all by surprise. He got 81.84  points. Charming, funny and in perfect control of his elements, Han Yan  probably had the best skate he's had so far in his entire life. The music was Viper'...

When Tatiana Volosozhar joined Maxim Trankov, Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy decided they were no longer going to train together with her. That decision previewed just how good Volosozhar and Trankov were going to be and shows that Savchenko always knew the day would come when both couples would become favourites for the Olympic gold. Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov  - by defeating the Germans both in the World and European Championships last year, they take the lead, at least for now. They've been showing us amazing concepts ever since their debut in 2010/2011, and this year won't be different. Their short programme music is called Waltz Masquerade  by Aram Khachaturian ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCoLUMURunQ ). Having already seen it in action at Nebelhorn Trophy, I can say it is absolutely fabulous. Doesn't Trankov look dashing in that uniform? The long programme is even more intricate: Jesus Christ Superstar  by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Aliona Savchen...