Editing Elena Berezhnaya (section)

== Post-1998 Olympics ==
Following the Olympics, Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze competed at the [[1998 World Figure Skating Championships|1998 World Championships]] where they won the gold medal.<ref name=worldtitle/> Later in the year, they spent some time training at the Stamford Twin Rinks in [[Stamford, Connecticut]].<ref name=nyt981101/> They won [[1998 Skate America]] and [[1998 NHK Trophy]]. In January 1999, they had to withdraw from the European Championships after the short program due to Berezhnaya having the flu.<ref name=99wcabc/> They won their second world title at the [[1999 World Figure Skating Championships|1999 World Championships]] in March 1999.<ref name="hines-36" />

The [[Yubileyny Sports Palace]] ice rink then closed for renovations, forcing the pair and Moskvina to relocate to [[Hackensack, New Jersey]]'s Ice House in the summer of 1999.<ref name=bio0102b/> Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze struggled at Skate America in October 1999, placing third, but regained their form to win Skate Canada in November. Moskvina would later admit Sikharulidze had become distracted by life in a new country and was not as focused on training. In February 2000, the pair won gold at the [[2000 European Figure Skating Championships|2000 Europeans]] but were stripped of their medals after Berezhnaya tested positive for [[Pseudoephedrine#Sports|pseudoephedrine]], a substance whose ban was lifted temporarily between 2004 and 2010 before being banned again. This resulted in a three-month disqualification from the date of the test, and the medal being stripped.<ref name=wallech/> She stated that she had taken cold medication approved by a doctor but had failed to inform the ISU as required.<ref name=disq/><ref name="hines-37">Hines (2011), p. 37</ref> The pair missed the World Championships that year as a result of the disqualification.

Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze developed a rivalry with Canadians [[Jamie Salé]] and [[David Pelletier]]. The 2001 World Championships were held in Salé/Pelletier's home country of Canada. Although Salé fell on the triple toe loop in the short program and then singled her double Axel in the long, Salé/Pelletier were awarded gold ahead of Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze. At the [[2001 European Figure Skating Championships|2001 European Championships]], Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze reclaimed their title.<ref name="hines-37" />

In autumn 2001, Sikharulidze required stitches for a {{convert|12|cm|in|abbr=on}} long gash along his arm when his partner's blade accidentally cut him in training just before the start of the Grand Prix season.<ref name=bio0102b/> The injury having delayed their preparations, Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze used their Charlie Chaplin program at the start of the season and debuted their new long program to Meditation de Thais at the Grand Prix Final in December. The pair decided to keep their new programs for the Olympics, while their rivals abandoned their new long program, with which they had been struggling, and decided to reuse their old ''Love Story'' program. ''[[The New York Times]]'' speculated that the judging might be influenced by the crowd response, with the familiar music of Love Story having more potential to draw louder applause in North America and the judges not being immune to human reactions.<ref name=nyt020211/>