2010 Olympic Preview to Men's Figure Skating

Most think that it is a forgone conclusion that reigning Olympic champion Evgeny Plushenko is a shoo-in for a second title in Vancouver. After handily defeating every opponent he has faced this season, Plushenko is the favorite, but his dominance is as of yet untested among a full field of the world's best.

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What - barely a mention of Jeremy Abbott? Think he has as good a shot to medal in Vancouver as Lysacek. Johnny Weir less so but you never know.

Thanks for the article. I like E. Walker, but by reading this article, my blood pressure has gone up. Alright, it seems that everybody has to work his way up to pass Evan Lysacek of all skaters before he could think of getting the OGM.

Can someone explain this to me:

At the European Championships Lambiel won the silver medal, and was attempting the quadruple toe loop in both of his programs. With a full field of competitors in Vancouver, the absence of the triple axel in the short program could prove to be too much of a scoring set back for Lambiel to overcome. Even with his trademark world-class spins and step sequences, Lambiel needs to at least attempt the jump in the short program to have a shot at another Olympic medal.

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Why a quad is not enough in the short program and one has to have a 3axel? Can he use a quad instead of 3A?

...... I think I'd better go to watch my Jeremy Abbott's ex.:scowl:

but he has to do an axel type jump and he has a double so far. That was ok.
Nevertheless...

jennylovskt said:

Thanks for the article. I like E. Walker, but by reading this article, my blood pressure has gone up.

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I had an espresso after.

Thanx for article Can i comment a little??
All people but one have faults there, and looks like the man to beat is not plushy even if it says that
Jouby is not a bad copy of plush, this is too diminishing for a skater, he is not and he is a multiple champion himself.
Plushy is not naive to think he can beat lysacek just like that so why the speculation, he has not said anything about being the favorite himself, if he has i d like the link, he has said lysacek is a gold contender.
Taka has bomped footwork and spins this year at some point, but quad aside his triples are huge.
Oda has not done a stupid mistake this year, people remember last worlds.
Plush all week comments physicked out Joubert, where are the comments?Before the end of Lp skaters talked in the airport on arrival and after sp only, in airport he said he d like not a medal but a clean skate, part of his preparation and after sp conference they had a play with words, Joub: no i can win you with two quad- Plush:I have one quad but you can try, and joub was nothing less but confident and competitive spirit there. Here it sounded like he became a scared puppy. Lambiel only said i want to go for the gold, but this is not a bad comment.

first time i disagree with an article here, please dont kick me out

i have objections for pairs also

Lambiel is unfortunately limiting his potential in SP as he has to do an axel there as per the rules but he can manage a double. Then he does a 4T+2T, which is essentially very close in base value to 3F+3T, what other guys are doing. Then they have both 3Lz, so Lambiel's base value is hurt compared to non-quadders as well, due to his 2A vs 3A of others. I hope and think he'll be able to make up for it in the LP.

seniorita said:

Jouby is not a bad copy of plush, this is too diminishing for a skater, he is not and he is a multiple champion himself.

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Seniorita, thanks for pointing out that Joubert part, I didn't wanna comment cos I don't wanna go around ranting like a Jouby-uber but that was not an accurate comment. Joubert is accused of being a Yags copy over and over but now is supposed to be a bad Plushy copy as well? I think what was meant here is that both are perceived as quad guys with no transitions and are both from the Euro zone. So only one should/can be on the podium, since Plushy is more succesful if we look at his whole career, then it will be Plushy on it. I doubt the above quote is the way to put it. I also don't think the analysis as to why Joubert failed in LP in Euros is correct, if we're gonna base it on the "supposed" quarrel of words between him and Plushenko. Anyways, I was watching Jeremy's tango from last season before this, I think I'll go back to watching some Lambiel now. hwell::sheesh:

Some bad words on Joubert .

Descriptions on Evan are rather vague and not very convincing - it is not very meaningful to say that he would have won the nationals if he had tried (not setting the National title as a goal would not mean that the team intentionally tried not to win:indiff. I did not find it a good example to make a case that the team is accomplishing every goal.

p.s. This was what I found a vague statement.

In Vancouver, Lysacek is the most dangerous hurdle for Plushenko to get over, and the Russian champion would be naïve to assume that he is just going to win another gold medal. Lysacek is trained, healthy, and hungry. Seems like a great combination to have heading into the Olympics as the current World Champion.

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Every top competitor has that great combination.

Sorry for being picky.

I'm sorry, I know how much time and effort go into the articles published here, but the men's preview wasn't up to the standard I'd expect from GS, for all the reasons others have noted: it was biased, there wasn't enough of a focus on some major contenders, and parts of it were really unconvincing.

I especially agree with seniorita's and schiele's point that Joubert and Plushenko are nothing alike as skaters - surely there are more convincing critiques of Joubert that could be made? Also, ITA with Bennett on this:

Bennett said:

This was what I found a vague statement.

In Vancouver, Lysacek is the most dangerous hurdle for Plushenko to get over, and the Russian champion would be naïve to assume that he is just going to win another gold medal. Lysacek is trained, healthy, and hungry. Seems like a great combination to have heading into the Olympics as the current World Champion.

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Every top competitor has that great combination.

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I thought Evan has problems because of the stress fracture he had his foot? Wasn't that the reason given for his barely practicing the quad? So that's all good, and only Evan is now ready and motivated? Give me a break. Bennett is right - everyone has worked hard, all of them want it, and most of them are, if not 100% healthy, at least in the best shape they can be physically.

I would argue the two biggest threats to Plushenko are the guy who's beaten him before and the guy who beat his PB - assuming both skate well. That's a big if, of course. Also, people who have very different strengths from his, like Lambiel or Abbott. Or, in other words: this is a wide open field, and the over the top stuff about Evan Lysacek is really .

ETA: also, what museksk8r said about the outcome of US Nats.

Biggest WTF?! comment in the article goes to this:

The US title was never in the plan for Lysacek or he would have won it.

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What a slight against Jeremy Abbott . . . Frank and Evan should be ashamed of themselves for implying such. Jeremy fully deserved that title and deserves respect for the way he skated for it, yet the implication from their comments is that Frank and Evan entered the event not trying to win the championship, like a give-away mercy win for Jeremy. :disapp::banging:

Wow is this guy working for Frank and Evan? I do remember that Evan said (after he lost Nats) that it was a "practice competition." I did not think this was all that perceptive a prognostication.

yelyoh said:

Wow is this guy working for Frank and Evan?

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My thoughts exactly! :disapp:

Don't Evan and Patrick have pretty much the same jump content? However, according to this article, Patrick's content is "watered down". The author wrote something negative about every skater except Evan. Very poor journalism...

I was astonished to read that Frank C stated that the US title was never in the plan for Lysacek or he would have won it!!! Do Frank and Evan think I am an idiot and not intelligent enough to know they are blowing hot air! Evan was bragging before Nationals how ready he was to win after he lost last year. What is even more astonishing is how they TRY to make it seem Evan let Jeremy Abbott win (guess Evan's EGO couldn't stand that he lost) !!!!!!! I have some swamp land I would like to sell to them, what EGO'S!!!!!! Shame, shame, shame and big, big, big disappointment for Frank C for putting out this trash!!!!! Since Evan is the golden boy he better skate TWO PERFECT programs (including a quad) at the Olmypics!!!!!!!

Whoever wrote this article is a terrible journalist!!!!!!

This article did a poor job of objectively or truthfully revealing how the men competition was shaping up; Are there any good sports writers for figure skating

I'm a bit surprised at the article being so favorable towards Evan at the expense of some other competitors. But if the author turns out to be right (=if Evan does great), then there's no cause for outrage; and if Evan and Plushenko do poorly, then he'll be proven wrong then.

I am the author of the preview, and I stand by my writing. Without trying to sound arrogant, I think that it is important for any journalist (whether you agree with me as being a journalist is another post) to know what they write, and be able to feel comfortable in having his or her writing ‘printed’. In this circumstance, and in all of my writing, I firmly commit to what is published or I would not write it.

I have not been coached by anyone on what to write in this article. I wrote my thoughts about the competition and combined it with competition results. That was what I was hired to do. Neither Evan nor Frank have contacted me about this article before, during, or after it was published. And Frank never said that winning nationals was not in the plan. That was something that I determined for myself with no disrespect to anyone. I was simply illustrating what I have observed this entire season of Evan (through personal and mass interviews). There was no disrespect pointed towards the US National Champion.

Other than Evan, I said favorable things about Plushenko (While it is pointless to try to argue that any of these men has a chance to out jump Plushenko…), Lambiel (Even with his trademark world-class spins and step sequences…), and Takahashi (Takahashi is arguably the most talented men's skater out there today, but he has allowed the big jumps to skate his confidence since returning to competition after injury this season. If the Takahashi of old shows up in Vancouver, he will be serious threat number two to Plushenko.).

I want to thank all of you who come to Goldenskate, read the articles, post on the forum, and keep the site as popular as it is. It is a pleasure to write for you, and while we might not always agree, at least we have a great place to debate it! I always welcome the feedback- positive and negative, so that I can become a better journalist, and I hope that you continue to plug away. Sometimes in the throws of things, I miss a fact here and there, and it is your eagle eyes that help rectify the error. Thank you for that! Now, let’s enjoy the Olympics, and please, continue your discussion.

Actually I wouldn't mind if Takakashi comes back to surprise. I liked him ever since his CyberSwan SP. Totally awesome skater

EWalker said:

whole post

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I am sure you wrote what you thought, but I'd like to know your reasoning behind your belief in Evan. He hasn't tried a quad all season except nationals, and with his iffy 3A (and no plan for a second), this really can hurt him. That said, he's probably trying to duplicate last season (peaking later), and if that's your reasoning, then you have to state it. As it stands, you have stated your opinion of Lysacek but little reasoning to back it up, and that should include pointing out Lysacek's strengths (experience and toughness) that could overcome his weaknesses (inconsistent quad).

Same goes for the other skaters, actually, like using actual competition results to back up what you said about Takahashi, for instance.

Thanks, Seniorita and schiele for the explanation!

EWalker said:

And Frank never said that winning nationals was not in the plan. That was something that I determined for myself with no disrespect to anyone.

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Frank Carroll didn't say it but Evan Lysacek himself said it before the Nationals that the Nationals was just a practice for him, not his focus. He said that he thinks he could go to Vancouver.

On a second thought, this might be a good thing for all my favorites. All American medias' focus are on Evan. Finally, my favorites are under dogs. Give the burden to Evan. We don't need it.

There is a 16 year old who contributes to this website and frankly I think that young writer is a better analyst than Mr. Walker and more objective.

julielai said:

I am sure you wrote what you thought, but I'd like to know your reasoning behind your belief in Evan. He hasn't tried a quad all season except nationals, and with his iffy 3A (and no plan for a second), this really can hurt him. That said, he's probably trying to duplicate last season (peaking later), and if that's your reasoning, then you have to state it. As it stands, you have stated your opinion of Lysacek but little reasoning to back it up, and that should include pointing out Lysacek's strengths (experience and toughness) that could overcome his weaknesses (inconsistent quad).

Same goes for the other skaters, actually, like using actual competition results to back up what you said about Takahashi, for instance.

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I did. I spoke about Evan winning high visibiity events (though not specifically called out... Worlds, Skate America, and the GPF). If you want to know my reasoning, from an objective standpoint, here goes:

I have never seen a skater who has been more committed to 'the plan'. Evan has learned a lot in his years as a competitive skater, and he knows what his body and mind needs to compete in any given scenario. Given that he is often on podiums, I think that that makes him the most dangerous skater in the competition. Is he the most talented? Absolutely not. Plushenko and Joubert are better jumpers and Takahashi and Abbott are better at everything that isn't a jump (doesn't mean that they can't jump). But Evan has a certain indescribable quality that is bankable. I have covered skating for six years as a member of the media, and I have been involved in other ways for much longer. Evan is the most focused and driven skater I have ever covered. He wants to win, sets the plan, and executes. Everything (and I mean everything) that he does has a purpose behind it, and that will stand him in good stead.

I'm not going to go into my thought process for each skater that I wrote about, but I hope that this helps. I am sure by responding (again) that I am opening a whole new can of worms, but I wanted to help you understand my process.

On another topic, I do not address personal insults or jabs.

While not to get too involved in the debate, I thought the comments from Evan Lysacek and Frank Carroll post Nationals SP were telling. He didn't skate to win, didn't win, but thought he would be handed the victory anyway. That's what makes me question the idea that he's the ONE for Plushenko to beat.

I'm not sure why being biased is a bad thing. Pretending not to be biased is worse, in my mind.