Elena Sokolova won her first Russian Nationals in 2003, and in only her first European Championships, she earned a Silver Medal. She also completed her best season ever with another Silver Medal at the World Championships.

Elena Sokolova

Sokolova has been competing in senior events since 1995. Eight years later, at the age of 23, Sokolova appears to be on the cusp of being one of Russia’s premier skaters.

Sokolova’s first international competition on the senior level was at the 1998 Olympics where she finished seventh. She earned a spot on the Russian team by finishing third at the national championships.

The 2002-2003 season was memorable for Sokolova since she worked so hard to get back on the medal podium.

Sokolova almost gave up figure skating in 2002 when she didn’t earn a spot on the Russian team to participate at the Salt Lake City Olympics. "I was frustrated, disappointed and really down on myself back then," Sokolova told reporters prior to the 2003 World Championships in Washington, D.C.

While her teammates went to Salt Lake City to compete in the Olympics in 2002, Sokolova went to the Dominican Republic to get away from any news about the Olympics and think what her future was in figure skating. She thought about giving up the sport but decided she didn't want to leave the sport with some goals unaccomplished.

She went from her long-time coach Viktor Kudryavtsev to Alexei Mishin and then back to Kudryavtsev within four years.

Midway in Sokolova’s comeback, she suffered serious head injuries in a freak accident during a plane flight. A skate bag fell out of an overhead luggage bin during a rugged landing and hit Sokolova on the head. It wasn’t until she returned home that the injury was determined serious enough to have caused a concussion and force her off the ice for several months.

Even before the 2003 World Championships, Sokolova was nursing a knee injury that almost required surgery. Only three weeks before Worlds did she begin skating and going through her programs routinely. She described her short program that put her in second place the best of her life and then her free skate was superb to lock her into second place.

Personal

Name	Elena Sokolova
Born	Moscow
Home town	Moscow
Home Club	ESHVSM Moskvich
Coach	Viktor Kudriavtev
Choreographer	Alla Kapranova
Music: Short program	Turandot by Giacomo Puccini
Music: Long program	Romeo and Juliet (musical) by Gerard Presgurvic
Personal best score	177.81 European Championships (2006)
Short program	60.98 World Championships (2006)
Free skate	116.93 European Championships (2006)