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Russians lead ice dance
PRAGUE (AP) -- World champions Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov of Russia took the lead after the ice dance compulsories today at the European figure skating championships.Krylova and Ovsiannikov took all first-place votes from the judges, scoring mostly in the 5.7-5.8 range, after a routine skated to the Ravensburger Waltz and Tagno Romantica.
Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat of France were second, although the U.S. judge rated another Russian couple, Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbach, second. Anissina once skated with Averbach for the former Soviet Union and won two junior world championships with him before moving to France.
The original dance to the waltz rhythm follows Thursday and the free dance is scheduled for Friday.
Russians also led the pairs and men's competitions. Evgeny Plushenko was favoured in the men's event competition, with a commanding performance at the men's qualifications Monday. Plushenko, barely 16, was in a class by himself while Olympic, world and European champions fell.
He entered today's short program with an advantage over 1994 Olympic gold medalist Alexei Urmanov and defending European and current world champion Alexei Yagudin, his Russian teammates.
In the men' event, Plushenko completed a quadruple toe loop, two triple-triple combinations and four other triples.
Urmanov fell heavily on his opening jump and had a poor first two minutes. He recovered somewhat to end with three triples in the final minute to come in second to Plushenko in his group.
Urmanov, skating his first European since a 1997 injury, hit the boards on an off-centre triple toe loop opening the program. Yagudin fared even worse, finishing behind Frenchman Laurent Tobel and Andreas Vlascenko of Germany in the first group.