On 19 January 2006, Slutskaya won the European Championships for the seventh time, breaking the record she had shared with Sonja Henie and Katarina Witt to become the most successful ladies' skater at the event. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Slutskaya was considered the odds on favorite to win the gold medal — 15-year-old Mao Asada, who had upset her at that season's Grand Prix Final, was barred from the event due to age regulations. She was in second place after the short program by only 0.03, behind Sasha Cohen of the United States. In the free skating, Slutskaya doubled a triple flip and then fell on a triple loop jump. She won the bronze medal, behind gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa of Japan and silver medalist Cohen. Slutskaya did not compete at the 2006 World Championships the following month. She originally not planned on competing at the 2006 worlds in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but decided before the event she would like to compete and vye for a 3rd world title, unfortunately her entry request was deemed too late and she was disallowed to compete. In November 2006, she denied reports that claimed she was retiring from competitive figure skating, saying the reports were completely false. Despite the claims she has not competed since the 2006 Torino Olympics so it seems clear she had in fact retired, but had not yet wanted to make it public.