Alexander Abt
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Alexander "Sasha" Abt (Russian: Александр "Саша" Абт)(born October 22, 1976 in Moscow, Russia) is a Russian figure skater and coach. He competed as an elite senior skater for about ten years. He placed fifth at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
[edit] Career
Abt's first experience with figure skating came at the age of six when his grandmother first took him to a figure skating rink. He first began training with Sergei Volkov; however, Volkov was suffering from cancer and sent Abt to be trained by Rafael Arutunian before he died. Soon after, Abt began to make a name for himself on the junior circuit, placing second at the 1991 Junior World Championships.
His early career was hindered by a series of injuries, the most serious of which took place in 1996, when, while training at a rink in Mexico, Abt crashed into the boards, causing his skate blade to cut into his leg and forcing Abt into the hospital for several weeks.
In 1998, Abt placed fourth in Olympic trials despite skating what many considered to be a stronger free skate than Alexei Yagudin, who made the Olympic team instead. Later that year, Abt won his first medal at the European Figure Skating Championships, coming in third behind fellow countrymen Yagudin and Evgeni Plushenko. Over the next few years Abt continued to hone his style, as he became well known throughout the skating world for his deep edges, knee bends, elegant stroking and musicality. However, Abt also continually had to compete with Yagudin and Plushenko, both of whom possessed an arsenal of very difficult jumps.
Abt won the silver medal at the 2002 European Championships, and came in fifth at the 2002 Winter Olympics. In May 2002, Abt changed coaches, working with Alexander Zhulin. In 2003, Abt won his first (and only) Russian Championship.
However, Abt still suffered from repeated injuries and illnesses. He collapsed in the kiss-and-cry area at the 2001 European Championships from a sinus infection, and was forced to withdraw from the 2003 European Championships due to an ankle problem. The last time he skated competitively was at the 2004 Russian Championships, where he withdrew after placing fourth in the short program. Shortly after, Abt became a professional skater.
[edit] Personal life
In 1999, Abt married former ice dancer Elena Pavlova. They have one son, Makar, born in March 2000. The family now resides in the United States where Abt and Pavlova coach.
