MALMOE, Sweden -- After a five-year absence, Elena Sokolova thought it was time to return to international competition.

"It seems I feel more comfortable on the ice," the 22-year-old Russian said.

And she proved it Monday, hitting seven triple jumps to beat world champion and Olympic silver medalist Irina Slutskaya in qualifying at the European Figure Skating Championships.

Sokolova said the big difference was a change in coaches, returning to Victor Kudriavtsev after a stint with Alexei Mishin, and a new choreographer.

"I hope this is just the beginning," she said.

This is the first full international competition that will use an interim judging system based on a random selection of judges but with the old 6.0-point system. No one -- not even the judges -- know which scores count.

Sokolova competed at the 1998 Olympics and world championships but failed to qualify for the Russian team since.

Her jumps were remarkably consistent Monday, earning marks from 5.5 to 5.8. She did a difficult triple lutz-triple toe loop combination.

"I am a little bit tired and I want to finish this season because it really is hard for me right now," Slutskaya said. "I didn't have vacation. I was on tour for five months. I was sick for a month and I still am taking some medicine" for bronchitis.

She got marks from 5.3 to 5.9.

"I think I am skating good, but not great," Slutskaya said. "Someone is skating better."

Russian Victoria Volchkova won the second qualifying group, completing four triples jumps but faltering on two others. Her marks ranged from 5.1 to 5.7.

In pairs, former world and European champions Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov of Russia led after a bluesy short program, ahead of defending champions Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin. France's Sarah Abitbol and Stephane Bernadis were third.

Tikhonov said he made two small mistakes: a slight delay on his takeoff during the side-by-side triple toe jumps and a bobble on the spiral sequence.

"I wanted to do it perfectly," he said. "When you try to show expression, you lose a little bit technically."

In ice dancing Tuesday, Russian world champions Irina Lobacheva and Ilya Averbukh were the first to skate, and still held after the compulsory dance.

Bulgarians Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski were second and Russians Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomomarov were third.

Lobacheva and Averbukh earned marks from 5.5 to 5.8 for the Tango Romantica, the only compulsory dance of the championships under new rules. The compulsory dance requires an exact pattern around the ice to a predetermined rhythm, such as the tango or waltz.