Location-Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Schedule-

• Oct 29, 1997-Practice
• Oct 30, 1997-Judges Meeting
• Oct 31, 1997-Ice Dance Compulsories and Free Dance, Ladies Short Program, Mens Short Program, and Pairs Short Program
• Nov 1, 1997-Ice Dance Free Program and Ladies Long Program
• Nov 2, 1997-Mens Long Program, Pairs Long Program, and Gala Exhibition

Review-

Coming off a disastrous performance at the 1997 World Championships, Elena and Anton looked much better at the Nations Cup. All jumps, throws, spins, and lifts were clean, except for a sloppy triple split twist and the throw triple salchow, which Elena stepped out of. They seem to have a little bit of trouble with that throw. Most importantly, I think they skated fluidly and in unison, getting the season off to a good start with a solid second place finish behind Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer.

Standings After Short Program-

1. Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer-GER
2. Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze-RUS
3. Peggy Schwarz and Mirko Muller-GER
4. Evgenia Filonenko and Igor Marchenko-UKR
5. Maria Petrova and Teimuraz Pouline-RUS
6. Marie-Claude Savard-Gagnon and Luc Bradet-CAN

Final Standings-

1. Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer-GER
2. Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze-RUS
3. Evgenia Filonenko and Igor Marchenko-UKR
4. Peggy Schwarz and Mirko Muller-GER
5. Marie-Claude Savard-Gagnon and Luc Bradet-CAN
6. Maria Petrova and Teimuraz Pouline-RUS