Location-Milan, Italy

Date-January 10-18, 1998

Review-

In the short program, Elena and Anton skated to "Swan Lake" as well as I've seen them skate it! Every element was flawless and they even received a 6.0 from the Polish judge, their first ever.

The long program, skated to "Dark Eyes," was also excellent. The program included a triple split twist, side by side triple toe loops, a throw triple loop, a throw triple salchow, and a slightly flawed double axel - double toe loop combination. The program was placed first by every judge, and Elena and Anton established themselves as Olympic favorites by winning the 1998 Europeans.

Standings After Short Program-

1. Elena Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze - RUS
2. Sarah Abitbol and Stephane Bernadis - FRA
3. Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev - RUS
4. Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Suidek - POL
5. Evgenia Filonenko and Igor Marchenko - UKR
6. Peggy Schwartz and Mirko Muller - GER
7. Katerina Berankova and Otto Dlabola - TCH
8. Yulia Obertas and Dmitry Palamarchuk - UKR
9. Inga Rodionova and Aleksandr Anichenko - AZE
10. Marsha Poluliaschenko and Andrew Seabrook - GBR
11. Elaine Asanaki and Joel McKeever - GRE
12. Olga Bestandigova and Josef Bestandig - SVK
13. Maria Krasiltseva and Alexander Chestnikh - ARM
14. Jekaterina Nekrassova and Valdis Mintals - EST

Final Standings-

1. Elena Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze - RUS
2. Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev - RUS
3. Sarah Abitbol and Stephen Bernadis - FRA
4. Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Suidek - POL
5. Peggy Schwartz and Mirko Muller - GER
6. Evgenia Filonenko and Igor Marchenko - UKR
7. Yulia Obertas and Dmitry Palamarchuk - UKR
8. Katerina Berankova and Otto Dlabola - TCH
9. Inga Rodionova and Aleksandr Anichenko - AZE
10. Marsha Poluliaschenko and Andrew Seabrook - GBR
11. Elaine Asanaki and Joel McKeever - GRE
12. Olga Bestandigova and Josef Bestandig - SVK
13. Jekaterina Nekrassova and Valdis Mintals - EST
14. Maria Krasiltseva and Alexander Chestnikh - ARM