Robin Szolkowy

Infobox Figure skater
title= Robin Szolkowy


caption= Savchenko & Szolkowy at the 2007 German National Championships
fullname= Robin Szolkowy
altname=
country= GER
formercountry=
dateofbirth= birth date and age|1979|7|17
birthplace= Greifswald, East Germany
hometown=
residence= Chemnitz, Germany
height= convert|175|cm|ftin|abbr=on
partner= Aliona Savchenko
formerpartner= Johanna Otto,
Claudia Rauschenbach
coach= Ingo Steuer
formercoach=
choreographer= Ingo Steuer
formerchoreographer=
skating club= Chemnitzer EC
retired=
combined total= 202.86
combined date= 2008 Worlds
SP score= 72.14
SP date= 2007-2008 Grand Prix Final
FS score= 134.01
FS date= 2007 Europeans

Robin Szolkowy (born 17 July 1979 in Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, then East Germany, today Germany) is a German pair skater. With partner Aliona Savchenko, he is the 2008 World pair champion, 2007 World pair bronze medalist, 2007 & 2008 European Pair Champion, and 2007 Grand Prix Final Pair Champion.

Biography

Szolkowy's mother, a nurse, met his father, a Tanzanian medical doctor, when the latter studied in Greifswald. Although Robin has seen photos of his father, the two have never met. [http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5092356/detail.html] Szolkowy began skating when he was 4 years old. Originally a singles skater, he switched to pairs when he was 16.

Savchenko is Szolkowy's third pair skating partner. His first partner, Johanna Otto, was followed in 1997 by Claudia Rauschenbach, daughter of two-time World gold medalist and 1980 Olympic champion Anett Pötzsch. Rauschenbach and Szolkowy won the German Junior National pair title three times and the German National senior pair gold medal in 2001, but never placed higher than ninth at Junior Worlds. Their coach was Monika Scheibe.

After Rauschenbach retired, Szolkowy did not find a new skating partner for a year and a half. During the forced hiatus, he participated in synchronized skating in an effort to maintain some of his skills. In May 2003, Ingo Steuer brought Aljona Savchenko, the 2000 World Junior Pairs Champion (with Stanislav Morozov), from her native Ukraine to Chemnitz for what would be a successful try-out with Szolkowy. Three months later, Savchenko relocated to Germany and the pair began training in earnest.

Savchenko and Szolkowy won their first major competition, the German Nationals, in early 2004. The two made their international debut as a team at the start of the 2004/2005 season, again winning the German National title and placing fourth at the Europeans and sixth at the 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 that year, the team set new personal bests for total points (199.39) and for their free skate program (134.01), [ [http://www.isufs.org/bios/isufs00007498.htm Biography ] ] set to the music from the soundtrack of the film "The Mission." They also won their fourth German National pair title. At the end of the 2006/2007 season, Savchenko and Szolkowy ranked third on the International Skating Union's World Pair Standings.

At the Grand Prix Final in December 2007, Savchenko and Szolkowy scored 72.14 in the short program, setting a new world record, and a season's best 127.09 points in the free skate, 199.23 overall, to win the Pair title. At the end of 2007, they were ranked first in the World Pair standings. [ [http://www.isufs.org/ws/wspairs.htm World Standings ] ]

In January 2008, Savchenko and Szolkowy went to the 2008 Europeans with the aim to reclaim their title, which they did. They finished first in both short (70.36) and long program (132.03), scoring a new personal best in their total score (202.39). This one improved in the 2008 Worlds in which they were given 202.86 points and became the eventual winners.

Programs

2005/2006 Short Program Music: "Souvenir De Chine" by Jean-Michel Jarre

2005/2006 Free Skate Music:" (soundtrack) by Vangelis

2005/2006 Exhibition Music: "Hey Ya" by Outkast

2006/2007 Short Program Music:"Once Upon a Time in Mexico" by Brian Setzer

2006/2007 Free Skate Music:
"The Mission" (soundtrack) by Ennio Morricone

2006/2007 Exhibition Music: "I'm Feeling Good" by Michael Bubble and "Somewhere" (soundtrack) from West Side Story

2007/2008 Short Program Music:"Asoka" (Bollywood movie soundtrack) by Anu Milak

2007/2008 Free Skate Music:"L'Oiseau" (from Cirque du Soleil) by Rene Dupere

2007/2008 Exhibition Music:"I'm Feeling Good" by Michael Bubble, "Leningrad" by Chris de Burgh

Competitive highlights

(with Savchenko)

(with Rauschenbach)

References

External links

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Persondata
NAME=Szolkowy, Robin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=German figure skater
DATE OF BIRTH=17 July 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH=Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=