SPORTS> Feature and Column
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SPORTS> Feature and Column
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Figure skating-Meissner spices up world championships
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-27 10:18 Stephane Lambiel claimed the men's title for the second consecutive year, even though by no stretch of the imagination can the 20-year-old Swiss be considered the world's top skater. That honour goes to Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia, who decided to end his season in Turin. With Olympic gold medallists Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia also giving Calgary a miss, China dominated the pairs event with Pang Qing and Tong Jian taking the gold ahead of Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao. In the ice dance, Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski's perseverance was finally rewarded when the duo won their maiden major international title and Bulgaria's first world figure skating gold. Partners since 1996, Denkova and Staviski had featured on the podium at European and world championships throughout their long careers. The duo, however, had never made it to the top step until their unexpected victory ahead of Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon of Canada and Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto.
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