The 16-year-old was expected to be one of the star performers on the opening day in Slovakia as she looked to build on her triumph at the ISU Grand Prix Final.

Medvedeva lived up to expectations with her routine, including a triple flip-triple toe combination and a triple loop, as she was awarded a total of 72.55 points from the judges.

“Basically I did my job, but I could have done better,” Medvedeva said.

“Overall I’m pleased, because I fought through it.

“This is my debut at the European Championships and I was a bit more nervous than usual."

Her team-mate Elena Radionova, the runner-up in last year’s Championships, proved to be Medvedeva’s closest challenger after she ended on a total of 70.96 points.

The absence of the reigning European and world champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva does not seem to have weakened Russia too much.

Anna Pogorilaya finished in the bronze medal position, ensuring they held the top three positions.

A challenge for the gold medal looks unlikely, however, as her score of 63.81 points leaves her some way behind the leaders.

Italy’s Roberta Rodeghiero is the best placed skater to deny Russia a clean sweep of the podium, lying  fourth on 61.01 points.

Spain’s Javier Fernandez began his pursuit of a fourth straight title in style as he recorded a personal best performance to win the short programme by considerable margin.

The 24-year-old had been forced to settle for the silver medal for the second straight year at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final as Japan's Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu won  by an 18 point margin.

Fernandez showed he could close the gap by the World Championships in March, scoring a total of 102.54 points with his free programme routine, whereas he score at the Grand Final had been 91.52.

It also saw him surpass his previous personal best performance of 96.42 set at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama in Japan.

Only a fall in his free skate routine tomorrow looks likely to stop him continuing his domination of the European Championship.

Russia’s Maxim Kovtun lying in second place on a total of 88.09.

He will be confident of securing his second consecutive silver medal as he boasts a 3.79 point lead over the Czech Republic’s Michal Brezina, third on 84.30.

The Israeli duo of Alexei Bychenko and Daniel Samohin currently lie outside the medal positions on 84.09 and 82.73 points respectively.