The 1999 Winter Universiade at Poprad-Vysoké Tatry in northern Slovakia saw the gold medal in women's figure skating go to Russia's Elena Sokolova, who went on to win world silver in 2002 and also added two European silvers and a bronze to her collection before retiring in 2007.

But if that Universiade performance prefigured future success, Sokolova's compatriot Irina Slutskaya did so in even more emphatic terms after winning silver.

While she may only have been 19 in Slovakia, Slutskaya was already, effectively, a skating veteran, having started aged four and been professionally coached since she was six.

Indeed, by the time she took to the ice at the Universiade she had already collected a world bronze and silver as well as two European golds and a silver.

Her showing at the student event would soon be followed by a dip in which she briefly considered giving up the sport, as she failed to qualify for the European and World Championships.

But she decided to remain in skating and was soon enjoying the most successful period of her career, with a turning point coming at the 2000 Grand Prix Final, where she defeated her compatriot and world champion Maria Butyrskaya and Michelle Kwan of the United States, then midway through a career that would bring her five world titles.

This 5ft 3in Moscow-born skater had a reputation for remarkable physical ability and this helped her earn further glories as she earned silver in controversial circumstances at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, behind Sara Hughes of the US.

Hughes and Slutskaya finished with tied scores, but Hughes took the gold medal on a tiebreaker for having won the free skating. A Russian protest was turned down by the International Skating Union.

The following month, Slutskaya responded in the best possible manner by winning her first world title in Nagano. She would regain the title in 2005, on her home ice of Moscow, where she produced what she described as the "skate of her life".

At the following year's Winter Olympics in Turin she added another medal to her collection - this time a bronze.

On April 10, 2007, Slutskaya announced she was returning to Russia from the US and would not participate in the 2007 Champions on Ice tour as she and her husband, Sergei, were expecting a child. 

She later said that she enjoyed motherhood and had no plans to return to competitive skating. "I don't see the target," she said. "I don't know why I have to go there. I have almost all the titles."

Slutskaya, known for her athletic ability, was the first female skater to land a triple Lutz-triple loop combination. 

She is also known for her trademark double Biellmann spin with a foot change, which she invented. 

With her women's record seven European titles she is generally considered to be one of the most successful ladies' singles skaters in Russian and European history.