Chemnitz figure skating pair receives honour award from the city
The Chemnitz figure skating pair Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy will be awarded the City of Chemnitz's prize of honour. The Chemnitz City Council voted unanimously in favour of this at its meeting yesterday. The award honours one of the world's most successful ice skating pairs of recent years as ambassadors of the city of Chemnitz.
Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "Robin and Aljona have shaped international figure skating like no other pair in recent years. They are among the greats in the history of the sport. They have developed their talent into unique skills with a great deal of ambition and will and the courage to keep presenting new things. The City of Chemnitz Award of Honour goes to Aljona and Robin because they are international ambassadors for this city. Because it is not only their sporting performances that evoke great admiration. But also because they are strong and positive personalities off the ice and role models for many people, especially young athletes. In this sense, Aljona and Robin have represented Chemnitz in the world in the most desirable way for more than 10 years."
Alyona Savchenko was born on 19 January 1984 in Obukhiv/Ukraine. She started ice skating with her father on a lake at the age of three. She competed as a pair skater with Dmitri Boyenko for Dynamo Kiev. The two split up after the 1998 Junior World Championships. From then on, Alyona skated together with Stanislav Morozov. The pair became junior world champions in 2000. After the sporting separation from Stanislaw Morosow in 2002, Alyona Savchenko searched the world for a new pair skating partner and found him in Robin Szolkowy. She moved to Germany in 2003 and has been training in Chemnitz ever since.
Robin Szolkowy was born in Greifswald on 14 July 1979. When he was four years old, his mother moved with him to Erfurt, where he began ice skating. At first he was a single skater, then switched to pairs skating at the age of 16. His first partner was Johanna Otto. He became German pairs champion with Claudia Reichenbach in 2001. The pair were already training in Chemnitz. After Claudia Reichenbach ended her career, Robin Szolkowy also looked for a new pair skating partner. On the recommendation of Chemnitz coach Ingo Steuer, a trial training session with Aljona Savchenko took place in May 2003, which was a success.
Since 2003, he has been training the successful pair Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, who won the German Championships at their first attempt in 2004.
The pair Aljona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy can look back on a bronze medal at the Olympic Games, 4 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal at the World Championships as well as
4 gold and 3 silver medals at the European Championships.
After the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, the skating pair will end their active competitive careers.