By the way, it is kind of interesting to compare the nature of Russian figure skating dominance today with what it meant in the past.
In pairs, the Soviet Union won 14 straight world championships from 1965 to 1978. But this was due to two teams, Belousova and Protopopov and Rodina and her two partners. The modern "hegemony" in ladies is more a revolving door.
In spite of their overall success, only two individuals (Medvedeva and Slutskaya) have won more than one world championship. Maybe we are entering an era where "schools," or coaching consortia, or training systems will be the key, rather than individual athletes.
I sure hope not, Mathman. I’m a fan of individual skaters, not training systems.