Russian ice dancer Alexandra Stepanova has flummoxed fans on social media by delivering an emotional routine at the European Championships Gala Show, with her see-through costume becoming an object of keen interest.
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Skating to a famous Russian song, “The Candle was Burning” by Alla Pugacheva, Stepanova and her skating partner Ivan Bukin showed their tender and mesmerizing routine convincingly taking on the roles of lovers who were telling the spectators their love story on the ice of Minsk-Arena in the Belarusian capital.
However, it was not so much the hot routine that drew the majority of attention from the fans, but Stepanova’s curve-hugging and almost see-through black suit, which shone under the lights of projectors highlighting the skater’s most - ahem - 'delicate' feature.
Despite not being fully revealing and at least reserving some of her dignity, the outfit was intensely discussed on social media with some claiming that Stepanova was skating half-naked.
“Next time they will skate fully naked,” on user wrote while commenting on the Youtube video.
One user suggested that the skaters hadn’t checked how their costumes looked before the show, not realizing that the tight-fitting jumpsuit would become pretty much transparent.
"Didn't they check the costumes under lights?" they mused.
Other users praised the skaters for their phenomenal performance at the European Championships, congratulating them on their clean skating which took them to silver medals.
The skaters were not allowed to take part in the 2018 Olympics due to the fact that Bukin’s name was mentioned in the Moscow Lab doping data. Despite the severe blow the couple continued training and has been demonstrating brilliant results this season.
Stepanova and Bukin claimed their first European silver in Minsk, finishing behind Olympic medalists and world leaders in ice dancing Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France.