PITTSBURGH Russian skater begins recovery from fall during Skate America

Tatiana Totmianina suffered a concussion after falling headfirst to the ice.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- World champion pairs skater Tatiana Totmianina was discharged from a hospital Sunday after suffering a concussion, but no other serious injuries, in a fall during Saturday night's free skating program at a competition in Pittsburgh.
Totmianina fell headfirst to the ice at the Skate America event when her partner, Maxim Marinin, was performing a one-handed lift above his head.
Speaking to reporters from a wheelchair at Mercy Hospital on Sunday, Totmianina said she has little memory of anything that happened Saturday, including her accident.
Finding humor
She sported a bruise on her right eye, but joked with journalists about the move that led to her injury.
"Actually, it wasn't something unusual. But it wasn't successful," Totmianina said. "How it happened, I don't remember. Yesterday, I don't remember almost anything."
Totmianina and her coach, Oleg Vasiliev, said the fall occurred because of a technical error, but wouldn't elaborate.
Dr. Larry Jones, the chief of trauma at the hospital, just blocks from Mellon Arena, where the accident occurred, said CT scans, X-rays and neurological tests were all negative.
Totmianina and her coach said they expect the skater could begin training again in as little as 10 to 14 days.
Totmianina, 22, planned to rest in a local hotel before returning to Chicago, where she trains.
"I think she needs to rest, one week at least -- one week doing nothing, not reading, no television, no nothing," Vasiliev said. Her condition is "still not good, but she's out of danger right now."
Earlier Sunday the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Valentin Piseev, president of the Russian skating federation, as saying Vasiliev hoped that Totmianina would receive further treatment in Chicago from Russian-speaking doctors "who can examine the skater in detail."
But Vasiliev dismissed that at Sunday's news conference, and Totmianina rolled her eyes when they were asked about it.
"It doesn't matter if they speak Russian or English because we speak English," Vasiliev said. "It's most important to find a good doctor who will be helpful for us."
Partner depressed
Marinin, 27, accompanied Totmianina to the emergency room Saturday night and was upset, but doing better Sunday, Vasiliev said.
"He's mentally depressed, but he understands and we couldn't blame just the partner [for the fall]. There's many, many reasons that could happen," Vasiliev said.
Even a small error can turn dangerous when skaters travel up to 40 mph, and men like the 6-foot-3 Marinin lift their female counterparts, the coach said.
"It's part of the deal in figure skating," Vasiliev said. "You always should be ready for something [bad] happening."
Marinin and Totmianina won the World Championships in Dortmund, Germany in March, scoring their first perfect 6.0 during the event's short program. They won their second 6.0 two days later in the free skate -- the same type of event in which Totmianina was injured Saturday. The pair finished fourth in the 2002 Winter Olympics.