Chen Lu (figure skater) praised by such American commentators as Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezic. Chen produced strong results during the 1991–1992 Olympic season. In the fall of 1991, she became the first Chinese figure skater to compete in the United States when she finished 4th at the Skate America competition held in Oakland, California. This event also included Kristi Yamaguchi and Tonya Harding, the world's top two skaters at the time. After winning the bronze medal at the 1992 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, she shocked the skating world with a 6th-place finish at the Olympics. Chen was one of only a few
Maria Petrova (figure skater) Maria Petrova (figure skater) Maria Igorevna Petrova (; born 29 November 1977) is a Russian pair skater. With partner Alexei Tikhonov, she is the 2000 World champion and a two-time (1998, 2000) European champion. Petrova was a sickly child and her doctor recommended she take up a sport; her parents got her into figure skating when she was seven. She started out in singles but always preferred pair skating and admired Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov so she made the switch to pairs at 13. She initially competed with Anton Sikharulidze with whom she is the 1994 and 1995 World