Competition Notes
Russia pledged to speed up processing of visas and Vladimir Putin dismissed concerns about the cost of organizing the event on short notice. The country had also accepted hosting duties of the World Pentathlon Championships after political instability caused Egypt to step down. The city of Moscow expected to spend 200 million rubles (5 million euros or $7 million USD) on the event.
2010 bronze medalist Laura Lepistö withdrew in early March due to a back injury and was replaced by Juulia Turkkila. Shawn Sawyer dropped out due to a scheduling conflict and was replaced by Kevin Reynolds, while Myriane Samson withdrew due to a knee injury and was replaced by Amelie Lacoste. Sinead Kerr and John Kerr dropped out to recover from shoulder surgery, and later announced their retirement.
Read more about this topic: 2011 World Figure Skating Championships
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