On the ice, it's just Alexander Abt and the music. In practice, he improvises, enjoys and doesn't pay attention to anything that is going on around him. It doesn't matter if a classical piece or a modern song is played - Sasha (as he is called by his friends) can skate to every kind of music. He is the most musical skater since Viktor Petrenko, and everyone realizes this immediately.

Even before he finally was able to compete in the 1998 Europeans (where he won the Bronze medal), skating fans knew his name and talked about his special talent. Wherever he skated, he drew always the attention of the fans and the media as he did for example at the 1995 Skate America.

Unfortunately, Abt's promising career was hindered by many injuries and also by unfair decisions at Russian Nationals. 1993 he finished fourth at the Nationals in St. Petersburg although he skated better than the more experienced Oleg Tataurov. In the 1998 Nationals in Moscow he was fourth again, although he delivered a strong free program whereas Alexei Yagudin faltered.

However, Alexander Abt didn't leave and look for another country to compete for as others like Igor Pashkevitch did.

1995 Abt suffered from a knee injury and wasn't able to compete at Nationals. In summer 1996 finally he had a bad accident during an exhibition tour in Mexico when he crashed into the boards and cut his right tight muscle with his own blade. He was in hospital for weeks but returned to the ice as soon as possible. When he finally was sent surprisingly to Milan to replace Ilia Kulik at the 1998 Europeans, he wasn't really prepared for the competition. He skated a brilliant short and finished second there, but struggled in the free and dropped to 3rd overall.

"My grandmother took me to the ice rink when I was six years old", Sasha says about the beginning of his career. "She took me there, because it's healthy to do sports." His family wasn't involved in any kind of sports. His mother is an accountant, his father a worker.

In the well organized Soviet sports system, the talent of the cute looking kid was soon discovered. Alexander Abt started to train with Sergei Volkov, the first figure skating World Champion from the Soviet Union. But Volkov suffered from cancer. Before he died he took Sasha 1991 to Rafael Arutunyan.

Since then, Abt is working with the young coach of Armenian origin. Together they are also doing a lot of the unusual choreography.

Sasha's career started promising. 1991 he won the silver medal at Junior Worlds.

But the injuries were major setbacks. After the accident in Mexico, Abt had to stay for two months in hospital. The doctors told him he won't skate for half a year, but he resumed practice four months after the accident. Ten weeks later he competed in Russian Nationals and finished 7th. "I wasn't ready for these championships", he says.

But in spring 1997 he skated well in the free skating at the Universiade in Korea.

Unfortunaly, the injuries caught up with him again when Sasha believed his international carreer finally had taken off. His knee started to bother him in autumn of 1998. He still competed in the Grand Prix and qualified for the Final, but he wasn’t able to skate at Russian Nationals. In this season, Sasha did his famous triple axel-triple loop combination. In December 1998, Abt had to undergo knee surgery because of his meniscus. He now had surgery on both knees. He left the hospital on crutches, but he was soon back on the ice. Sasha wasn’t able to qualify for Europeans and Worlds 1999, but he came to the Final. Obviously, this competition came early for him, but he tried his best and finished 5^th.

Meanwhile, the talent of the young skater has been recognized by organizers of tours and shows such as Daniel Weiss (Germany). Weiss invited Sasha to skate in the Germany Tour. The Russian also went to the Italian Tour and was among the crowd favorites.

The 1999/2000 season took off not too well. Sasha finished 6^th at Skate America, but he was able to go to the Grand Prix Final in the end, when Alexei Yagudin had to withdraw. Abt had come late to Colorado Springs and struggeled a bit in his programs. A second place finish at the Cup of Russia in St. Petersburg was more like him. At Russian Nationals, Sasha had to overcome a shock – in spite of a decent performance, he was only placed 4^th in the Short. The skater who was placed 3^rd had a less difficult program. However, the Russian Federation stepped in and reprimanded the judges. Sasha and the other guy, Roman Serov, both didn’t skate their best in the Free, but Sasha came out on top and was nominated for the National Team.

Alexander believes that only this skater wins who combines artistry and technique better than others. "You need good skating and choreography, jumps alone aren't enough." After his career within the ISU he hopes to skate in shows. Already he is a crowd favorite when skating in exhibitions and shows.