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Will Russian anger over Plushenko’s loss have an effect on ice dancing?

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Will Russia’s anger over Evgeni Plushenko’s loss in the men’s figure-skating competition have an effect on the ice dance results?

That question will hang in the air until Monday, when the skaters do the free dance in an event that began with compulsories Friday.

If world champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin do not win, Russia will leave the Olympics without a skating gold medal for the first time since 1960, since its women won’t even get near the podium.

Even worse: A 12-Olympics win streak in pairs ended with a crash when no Russian team won a medal.

“We are trying to focus on our skating, not the other things,” Shabalin said after he and Domnina won compulsories.

Despite the best efforts to reform the skating discipline that long has had the most controversial judging, the suspicion that the results are prearranged continues to linger.

If the judges think they need to favor Domnina and Shabalin, no one will be the wiser, but one or both of the top two U.S. teams may be the victims.

“That’s so out of our control, it’s not even worth thinking about,” said Ben Agosto, 2006 Olympic silver medalist with Tanith Belbin.

There also is a sense the judges may want to ensure Canada gets a figure-skating medal before inconsistent Joannie Rochette begins women’s competition Tuesday.

So the confidence Meryl Davis expressed her and partner Charlie White becoming the first U.S. couple to win an Olympic dance title may not be misplaced.

“We know that gold is within our reach,” Davis said. “We know that if we go out and skate our best, we have just as good a chance as anyone else.”

The top four finishers all had season-best scores for the compulsories, likely to be eliminated by the International Skating Union. That would turn dance into a two-phase event more attractive to television.

Domnina and Shabalin were first with 43.76 points. Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, two-time world medalists, slipped into second at 42.74. Reigning Grand Prix and U.S. champions Davis and White stayed within reach at 41.47. Belbin and Agosto were fourth with 40.83.

phersh@tribune.com

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