She began the decade with a friendly rivalry with Michelle Kwan. She nearly beat Kwan at the 2001 Worlds which led to media hyping a showdown between Kwan and Slutskaya at the Salt Lake City Olympics. They both made mistakes and neither won. Slutskaya skated away with the silver at those Games and won the World Championships the following month, beating Michelle both times.
Setbacks followed her the next few seasons. She choose not to compete at the 2003 Worlds due her mother taking ill. The next season, she had recurring issues that involved fatigue and swelling in the legs. She pushed through and continued to compete but did not skate well. She ended up hospitalized but came back to win her second World Championship in her hometown of Moscow in 2005.
She again went to the following Olympics as a heavy favorite with another American challenger, Sasha Cohen. She came armed with a new record behind her name, the only female skater to win seven European Championships. Again, both she and Sasha made mistakes while another captured gold. It was a bronze medal for her this time.
In the fall of 2007, she gave birth to a son, Artem. Still there were whispers that she would be back for the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Just as Irina is as sure as the triples she lands with ease, Irina was sure she was not going to making a comeback to the competitive, Olympic-eligible ranks. She still skates and wows crowds, but she doesn't need to prove herself anymore.
Irina Slutskaya earned 7 European titles, 2 World titles, and 2 Olympic medals. That's more than most skaters will ever acheive, but the whispers and desire for her to comeback once more show how much influence she had over skating in this decade.
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