Russian Athletes Triumph at Wheelchair Dance European Championships

The 2009 IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport European Championships have officially finished their run in Tel Aviv, Israel, with several Russian couples taking the top positions at the competition.

On the first day of competition, Russian athletes covered at least one position in most of the events. In the Duo Latin class 1, couple Aleksey Fotin and Ruzanna Kazaryan took first place, followed by Israel’s Glass Meni and Orly Barak. In the Duo Standard class 2, Russia’s Konstantin Sosunov and Elena Shilyaeva were on top, followed by Poland’s Norbert Kaminski and Katarzyna Bloch.

In the Combi Latin class 1, Belarusian couple Ihar Kuliashou and Hanna Siratsiuk took first, followed by Ukraine’s Valeriy Bevzyuk and Olena Iaremenko. Aliaksei Zukhtsikau and Veranica Makhortava from Belarus took third place. For Combi Standard class 2, Belarusian couple Ihar Kisialiou and Hanna Harchakova took first place, followed by Russian couple Alexander Lyapin and Irina Gordeeva.

The competitions continued over the following days with athletes putting their hearts in each performance on the dance floor.

In the Combi Standard class 1 event, Oleksandr Ivanov and Illona Slugovyna from Ukraine took first, followed by Russia’s Victor Pogorelov and Marina Kotmanova. Slovakian couple Adam Juraj and Petra Kollberova took third place. In the Combi Latin class 2, Poland’s Iwanicki Piotr and Kinczel Nadine took first, followed by Belarusian couple Ihar Kisialiou and Hanna Harchakova. Russia’s Maxim Sedakov and Svetlana Kukushkina took third place.

For the Duo Latin class 2 event, Russian couple Sergey Antonov and Alexandra Berdnik took first place. Poland’s Kamil Kuran and Monika Chojnack and Russia’s Konstantin Sosunov and Elena Shilyaeva came in second and third place respectively.

The organizer of the event was the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Israel.