ZAGREB, Croatia -- Carolina Kostner wasn't about to be
outdone by her training partner.
The Italian held off a stiff challenge from Sarah Meier of
Switzerland on Saturday to win her second straight European title.
On Thursday, her rinkmate Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic took
the men's title.
"It's been a tough week. Now I can relax -- and party," the
20-year-old Kostner said.
Kostner finished with 171.28 points overall. Meier scored 169.44
points to win the silver medal for the second straight year.
Kostner became the first Italian woman to win a European title
last year, and she had no interest in doing anything less this
year. But Meier didn't make it easy on her, winning the free skate
with a program that included five triple jumps.
Kostner appeared nervous as she opened up with a
triple-triple-double combination to music by Dvorak. But she scaled
a planned triple lutz into a double -- just as she did in the short
program -- and it looked as if she might be in trouble.
"I have tried to stay really calm and concentrate all week,"
Kostner said. "I thought I did it really good, but I think I can
do it better."
She's going to have to if she hopes to contend for a medal at
the world championships in March. Not only was her final total
lower than scores Mao Asada and Kim Yu-na have put up before, Meier
won the free skate and might have overtaken her for the title if
not for a fourth-place finish in the short program.
"It was quite a different competition from last year," Meier
said. "I am happier with this silver medal."
Last year, Meier was leading the competition after the short
program only to falter in the free skate and watch Kostner pass
her. There was no such letdown this year -- even with a half-hour
wait between her warm-up and her program.
"The half-hour after the warmup was the worst in my life. Each
program seemed like it was going on for 10 minutes and I didn't
feel good at all," Meier said.
She didn't show it. After having trouble with her salchow in the
short program, she did two nice ones Saturday.
"I think I was the only one to keep my nerves," Meier said.
Finland's two skaters couldn't duplicate their strong effort
from the short program, when they finished second and third. Each
managed only three clean triples.
Laura Lepisto finished third with 166.65 points. Kiira Korpi,
who was second entering the free skate, dropped to fifth place
behind Julia Sebestyen of Hungary.
"For now I have the bronze and I don't want to go any lower,"
Lepisto said.
Especially with next year's European championships being held in
Helsinki, Finland.
"But first I have to qualify," Lepisto said. "It will be a
tough national competition."
Finland had three women finish in the top 10 -- and that was even
with Susanna Poykio, who was fourth at the 2007 Europeans, not
making this year's team.
Russia finished the European championships with four medals,
double what it had last year. Ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim
Shabalin gave Russia its only gold medal, overtaking Isabelle
Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France.
Delobel and Schoenfelder weren't the only French defending
champions to lose. A year after he won everywhere he entered, Brian
Joubert was just third in the men's event behind Verner and
two-time world champion Stephane Lambiel. Germany's Aliona
Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy won the pairs title.