LYON, France, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Irina Slutskaya of Russia Thursday won a record seventh European Figure Skating Championships title at Lyon, France.
Slutskaya, 26 -- who was first in both the short program and free skate -- finished with 193.24 points, over 15 points better than countrywoman Elena Sokolova. Carolina Kostner of Italy was third, followed by Switzerland's Sarah Meier.
Slutskaya's seventh title broke a record she had shared with Sonja Henie or Katarina Witt.
"Katarina Witt was for me always the best skater, and I never thought that I'll beat her record," said Slutskaya, who competed in her 10th European Championships.
"I put my name into the history book, and I think that's good."
She heads into the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, trying for her first Olympic gold medal. She was fifth at the 1998 Olympics and second to Sarah Hughes in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
