Robin Szolkowy (born 14 July 1979) is a retired German pair skater. With partner Aliona Savchenko, he is the 2010 and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, a five-time World champion (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014), a four-time European champion (2007–2009, 2011), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2007, 2010, 2011, 2013), and an eight-time German national champion (2004–2009, 2011, 2014). Savchenko and Szolkowy scored the first 10.0 ever given by a judge under the ISU Judging System. Personal life Szolkowy was born in Greifswald, Rostock district, East Germany. His mother, a nurse, met his father, a Tanzanian medical doctor, when the latter was a student in Greifswald. Although he had seen photos of his father, the two did not meet until March 2008, in Vienna, Austria. Szolkowy married Romy Born, who is originally from Zürich, on 1 August 2014 in Chemnitz. On 11 May 2015, it was announced that Born and Szolkowy were expecting their first child together. Their son, Henry, was born on 14 September 2015. Early career Szolkowy began skating in Erfurt in 1983 after his mother saw an advertisement for a new skating rink. Originally a singles skater, he switched to pairs when he was 16. His first partner was Johanna Otto. In 1997, Szolkowy began skating with Claudia Rauschenbach, daughter of 1980 Olympic gold medalist Anett Pötzsch. Rauschenbach/Szolkowy won the German Junior National pair title three times and the 2001 senior German National pair title. Their best result at the World Junior Championships was ninth. Monika Scheibe coached the pair. After Rauschenbach retired, Szolkowy was unable to find a new skating partner for a year and a half. During this forced hiatus, he participated in synchronized skating in an effort to maintain some of his skills. Partnership with Savchenko After Aliona Savchenko, the 2000 World Junior champion (with Stanislav Morozov), told a German journalist she was looking for a partner, he spoke to German coaches and suggested Szolkowy, whom she recognized from a competition. In May 2003, Savchenko and Szolkowy had a successful tryout in Chemnitz, Germany. Three months later, she relocated to Germany and the new team began training in earnest with former World champion Ingo Steuer as their coach. When they first teamed up, they had to adjust to the fact that they had been taught different basics. They also had communication difficulties — he spoke German and English while she knew only Russian. Savchenko/Szolkowy