Robin Szolkowy

In 1997, Szolkowy began skating with Claudia Rauschenbach, daughter of 1980 Olympic gold medalist Anett Pötzsch.Three months later, she relocated to Germany and the new team began training in earnest with former World champion Ingo Steuer as their coach.[15] However, the pair's refusal to leave their coach cost Szolkowy his place in the German army, which had sponsored his skating.Finishing first in both segments with a total score of 202.39 points, they won their second European title by a 32.98-point lead over silver medalists Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov.[17][18] At the 2008 World Championships, held in Gothenburg, Sweden, they placed second in the short program, 2.36 points behind Zhang/Zhang of China, and first in the free skate, 6.74 ahead of Jessica Dubé / Bryce Davison.[22] Savchenko/Szolkowy were the first German pair since Marika Kilius / Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (1963 and 1964) to successfully defend a World Championship title.On the plane back to Germany, Steuer suggested scrapping their long program to You'll Never Walk Alone,[23] which had been recorded for them by André Rieu's orchestra in Maastricht.Savchenko developed a flu during the Grand Prix Final which worsened and forced the pair to withdraw from German Nationals.On their way back from France, the airline lost their luggage containing their skates, resulting in concerns the pair would be forced to withdraw from the Grand Prix Final.[33][34] At the European Championships, Savchenko/Szolkowy won the short program by almost three points, receiving a perfect ten for performance and execution from one of the judges.In October, they confirmed Pina and Angels & Demons as their new music selections and said they were practicing a throw triple Axel,[14][41] successfully executed in international competition by only one previous pair, Americans Rena Inoue / John Baldwin at the 2006 Winter Olympics.[45] They added a reverse lasso lift to their free program but performed only a double twist because they were still working on a new entry to the triple.[46] They attempted the throw triple Axel again in the short program at 2011 NHK Trophy but Savchenko took another hard fall.[49] At the Grand Prix Final, Savchenko/Szolkowy won the gold medal with a total score of 212.26, defeating Volosozhar/Trankov by a margin of only 0.18 points.[55] Savchenko ruptured a muscle fiber in her left upper thigh as a result of a fall in training on 12 January 2012.[57][61] By the start of the competition, Savchenko was able to land jumps and throws but spins aggravated her injury, causing the pair to withdraw before the short program on 25 January.[63] After falls on previous competition attempts, Savchenko landed the throw triple Axel for the first time in their career but her free foot touched the ice.They won their fourth World title – becoming the fifth pair in the post-World War II period to do so – by a margin of 0.11 points over silver medalists Volosozhar/Trankov.[67] Their colorful costumes received a mixed reaction, with one Canadian journalist describing them as "something that looked like the cat threw up", however, Szolkowy said he was pleased with the results of their collaboration with a Chemnitz design studio.[67] On 8 November 2012, it was announced that Savchenko/Szolkowy had signed a three-year agreement with their first major sponsor, ThomasLloyd, a Swiss investment banking group.[68] The pair said they were uncertain if they would compete at their second Grand Prix assignment, the 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard, due to Savchenko's illness.[70] Since ISU rules do not allow another GP event to be given if skaters withdraw for any reason from an assignment, this also meant they would not qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Sochi.They finished second in the short program but won the free skate to claim the Cup of China title,[72] making them only the second pair to win all six Grand Prix events.At the 2013–14 Grand Prix Final, Savchenko/Szolkowy edged out Volosozhar/Trankov for the gold medal after placing second in the short and first in the free setting a new personal best scores total of 227.03 points.[7] In January 2019, Szolkowy decided to move to the United States to coach at a rink in Irvine, California,[87][88] beginning in April.