2000 Euros Women's FS (ABC) | Irina Slutskaya's Reclaims Crown, Maria Butyrskaya Fights Back

Summary: The 2000 European Championships in Vienna showcased one of the defining rivalries of the era as reigning World Champion Maria Butyrskaya (Мария Бутырская) attempted to defend her European title against a resurgent Irina Slutskaya (Ирина Слуцкая). The broadcast also reflects on the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Butyrskaya after her car was bombed shortly before the Russian Championships, an event that cast a shadow over her season while highlighting the mental resilience required to continue competing. Skating first among the contenders, Butyrskaya delivered a composed and elegant performance to Swan Lake, landing six triples, including a triple Toe-half loop-triple Salchow and looking far more confident than she had earlier in the competition. Italy's Silvia Fontana was unable to build on her excellent short program after several costly jump errors, while France's Vanessa Gusmeroli produced one of the finest free skates of her career, completing six triples—including two impressive triple Lutzes—to challenge for the medals. The evening then belonged to Slutskaya, whose revitalised skating and commanding technical content secured her third European title despite choosing not to attempt her trademark triple-triple combinations. Final skater Viktoria Volchkova (Виктория Волчкова) opened brilliantly before mistakes and an inflamed calf interrupted her challenge, though strong performances in the earlier phases of the competition were enough to earn the bronze medal ahead of Gusmeroli. The broadcast concludes with Slutskaya reflecting on her remarkable comeback after missing the 1999 World team. --- VHS60fps (American coverage, commentators: Robin Roberts, Peter Carruthers). The 2000 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 1999–2000 season. Ladies/women's free skate (FS) performances shown: Rank Name Nation TFP QA/B SP FS^ 1 Irina Slutskaya Russia 2.0 1 1 1^ 2 Maria Butyrskaya Russia 4.8 1 4 2^ 3 Viktoria Volchkova Russia 6.0 2 2 4^ 4 Vanessa Gusmeroli France 6.4 4 3 3^ 8 Silvia Fontana Italy 15.4 6 5 10^ --- Chapters 00:00 Opening Feature – Butyrskaya vs. Slutskaya 02:51 Women's free skate Preview 04:25 Maria Butyrskaya (Мария Бутырская) 🇷🇺 10:48 Silvia Fontana 🇮🇹 16:27 Vanessa Gusmeroli 🇫🇷 22:47 Irina Slutskaya (Ирина Слуцкая) Feature 24:32 Irina Slutskaya (Ирина Слуцкая) 🇷🇺 31:06 Viktoria Volchkova (Виктория Волчкова) 🇷🇺 37:21 Final Results 37:49 Irina Slutskaya Interview 39:08 Pairs & Ice Dance Highlights --- #figureskating #フィギュアスケート #eiskunstlauf #фигурноекатание #pattinaggioartistico #patinageartistique #patinaçãoartística