Evgeni Plushenko | Page 66 | Golden Skate

Evgeni Plushenko

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
For everyone's convenience, here's the Google Translate of the paragraph where Yana talks about Ultra-C (yes, Google thinks Yana is a man named Ian, apparently):

- Ian, you can now specify precisely which elements ultra-si talking about?

- Zhenya now there are many "chips" that only Pre-Olympic rush home on the eve of the Olympics prevented show during public appearances. For example, set on a lutz "polubilmana", and much more. He can jump two different quads - toe loop and Salchow, left there is, in principle, and a quad lutz. But he is determined, of course, not only to restore what he knew he could, but also learn new things.
:confused: My best guess: Ultra-C refers to things he has done in practice but never showed in competition. So perhaps he'd like to do the quads he once had in practice (salchow, lutz, loop?) along with "new things" (more COP-friendly programs?).

Just judging from this statement, sounds like it's not so much that he wants more hardware, but that he thinks he still has more things to show. If he had skated his dream LP in Sochi, perhaps he would've retired? (Everyone else would say he already had his dream LP a decade ago, but don't try telling him that).

What is funny now is that people may believe more that he is serious about staying in competition as they did in the run for 2010 oly ....
Well, if we go by the old adage "history repeats itself," then his comeback indeed looks more plausible now than it did in 2008. And, older fans correct me, but wasn't he running around with just 3T and 2A in shows from 2006 to 2009? He's actually much closer to competition shape now than he was during his first retirement.

Lol at all the NEWS! headlines! They sound like they'd belong right at home in a gossip magazine. :laugh: My own: NEWS! Plushenko's wife sends death threat to haterz everywhere!

Before Sochi, I think Plush was adamant that it would be his last competition. But he did bring up the possibility of 2018 after the Team Event (when he said, "Why not?" when asked--I think he was joking though :unsure:). A combination of the screw derailing his plans and his realization of how close he came to breaking Grafstrom's record...

I both understand and don't understand. I don't understand because my brain says, on a very basic level, more quads is crazy. But I understand because... this is what skating--what sport--means to him.
 

Esopian

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 18, 2014
It's crazy that he still wants to continue competing in the Olympics after all he has accomplished. Is it because he's been skating all his life and doesn't want to stop? Or it's because he wants to break records and prove to the haters that he could still skate after the age of 32? :clap:

Now I'm looking forward to what'll happen in the 2018 Olympics!
 

plushyfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Country
Hungary
ultra C program

Yana: For example, set on a lutz "polubilmana"-= half Biellmann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5lAZtvnkak&t=1m25s


I remembered this show. This is a practice video Artistry on Ice show 2010, focus on Plushy, he arrived later the other skaters already knew the opening choreography . Plushy learn unbeliveable quickly. I saw this video not once, I simply love it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIsVXRVJVX0 at 6m 53s with Rene. :eek::

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhCwWQUXQf8 second part

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZpWEMiFaeU third part
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
So Ultra-C entails:
- catch-foot spiral into 3Lz (AKA I have transitions! I have transitions most of you aren't flexible enough to do, and I'm over 30 years old!!)
- 4T, 4S, 4Lz?
- "new things"?

Seems like Ultra C really equals COP. :biggrin: These are all elements rewarded under the system (difficult entries, difficult solo quads). Too bad it looks like we'll never see that fabled 4T-4T combination.

Is the catch-foot spiral really wise, with a spinal disc implant? :unsure: I'm glad he doesn't seem to want to use the half-Biellmann spin as well. I remember he tried it at Japan Open and got Level 1. :laugh:

Looking at the end of this Tango Amore performance makes me wish he'd done a full-on Y-spin when he was younger. He's one of the few men who could've done it. Dammit, Plushy, you were supposed to try these things at 18, not at 31! :p

Might as well as add a new one to "possible motivations":
- Does not want to easily relinquish title "Most flexible man in figure skating."
 

silverfoxes

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
I can believe he was the most flexible man competing in 2001, but that was before Shawn Sawyer hit the scene in senior competitions...and nowadays there are some Asian skaters like MCM who would surely have more claim to the title. And Rudy Galindo might have been more flexible at his peak, though he never did Biellmanns to my knowledge (but he did Y-spins, martini spins, Charlotte spirals, etc.) Anyway, I think Plushy was deceptively flexible...he wasn't exactly a string bean body type, so it's amazing that his Biellmann looked so effortless.

So what new things does he have in his bag of tricks....:think:

plushyfan - thanks for the videos!
 

whitebamboo

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
I dunno, maybe I can be a little bit "too blunt" here. I guess, one can probably say most people, were they in his place, would not have thought of continuing. Of course it brings many risks, with who knows what prospects. So people are asking, speculating into his psychology, trying to figure out "why". But for myself, maybe I am getting a bit of a feeling that...well, as the old beer commercial said, "why ask why?"

I'll repeat the quote from Mishin:
What surprises you? Louis Pasteur once instilled itself smallpox. Why Plushenko can not speak at the fifth Olympics? Acts of extraordinary people do not need to measure mediocre yardstick.

I've been thinking somewhat about these words. Instead of "why", Mishin asks "why not". No, of course Plushenko does not "need" to do this. But quite simply, it's merely that he and those with him think differently than most people probably would. That is all.

All this is not to suggest that he will or will not succeed (because frankly, I haven't the faintest idea). I do realize, as we all do, that he is risking his health, and maybe more than his health. But he realizes it, too. I guess, maybe I'm trying to say that fans/haters/etc. should not presume to think they know him better than he himself does...

(Sorry, that was probably not the most coherent. But oh well.)
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
@Gallavich
"Does not want to easily relinquish" =/= "Wants to regain." :laugh: He wants to be in the mix, not to get the title back.

Shawn Sawyer is insane. The extension on his arabesque spiral! I'm quite sure Rudy Galindo didn't do Biellmanns in competition, but he too was very flexible.

Plushy was probably the most flexible man competing in 2001, especially compared to others in the medal hunt (Yagudin, Goebel, Honda). I remember one of the Chinese skaters did a great Y-spin though!

Plushy actually had a string bean body type when he was younger. He added a lot of muscle (and mullet :laugh:) in the 2000-01 season, and finally won Worlds.

@Whitebamboo
At the end of the day... all we're doing is speculating. Who knows why (or why not)... Why are these guys leaping over frozen water and rotating four times in the air anyway? :p
 

silverfoxes

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Plushy actually had a string bean body type when he was younger. He added a lot of muscle (and mullet :laugh:) in the 2000-01 season, and finally won Worlds.

@Whitebamboo
At the end of the day... all we're doing is speculating. Who knows why (or why not)... Why are these guys leaping over frozen water and rotating four times in the air anyway? :p

You're right, he was a little toothpick when he was younger. He looked tiny for his age up until his late teens, I'd say. Pitkeev reminds me of him in that respect, though I don't know what he can do in terms of flexibility.

And yes, we obviously don't have intimate knowledge of what makes Plushy tick, but I think it's interesting to discuss because he is such an anomaly. Who wouldn't like to know what motivates such a special person?
 

plushyfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Country
Hungary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAgfNDp5eP0

translation:

Evgeni Plushenko: At my 5th Olympics I plan to fight for medals

Award of sports journalists (and Olympic Committee) received Evgeni Plushenko, who was named as the best skater of last season. While receiving the award, he said that he is preparing for 5th Olympics. Why he needs it, he told us in an interview...

Plushy: It's been 3.5 months since my surgery. Just go back from the tour shows in Japan, where I jumped 3 Axel... the same axel, on which was broken the screw in the spine in Sochi. Yes, I jump already alll triple jumps. I'm not saying that I would return this, even in two years, but I have such a dream, a desire to prove to some people, especially to myself some things, because I'm not satisfied with the outcome of my last event in the Olympics, that I could not compete in the individual tournament.
Our aim, together with Mishin now is to create a new skater, "new Plushenko". Ofc, it will be difficult ... and that means keep pace with modern trends, learn new quad - I mean specifically, on Quad Lutz.
Comparing the last two operations, I feel much better - I do not have anything else in the body that can be broken. Compared with all previous operations, now do not hurt me anything. Now I feel great. I have dreams, wish - why not try to go away, why not try to be the first single skater, which will participate on five Olympics. I'll try to perform and fight for a medal.

- Commentator: And what do you say on criticism from some colleagues?
- Plushy: They do not criticize, but envied, because they had imagined business plans for their own show tour. I had planned a tour of my shows after the Olympics, but I could not go because of the surgery, and their plans were realized. I'm not offended, I have rich and turbulent life, have a family, big plans... if I pay attention to everyone's opinion, I would not have achieved anything. Well, there were Olympics - some things were successful, some unsuccessful, some people criticized, some cheered for me.... life goes on, I have my goals. Right now i preparing new programs, new project related to skating, I have a family...

- Commentator: Tell me more about Sochi, and your decisions ...
- Plushy: I'm proud of my performance in the team event. As for the individual - that i not need to skate the 1st after the warmup group, than 2, 3, 6th... one hundred percent I would ask to give me a injection of painkillers. I will go on the ice and skate. Simply, there was not the time... It was such a strong pain, and it was impossible for me to perform. But maybe it was better this way - when I went to Israel for examination, and when they found that the screw broke... that i skated under the injections - I could become invalid. Thus the was better - I was cured, and now I can try to participate on my 5th Olympics.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
I hate to say this, but his mindset seems too Olympics-oriented. Why must he end it at the Olympics, which will be in another four years? It seems like he's very aware of the records (both Grafstrom's and the 'first singles skater to attend five Olympics' record). I guess nothing he does at Worlds could compare to this.

I guess the Sochi splatfest made him realize how much room he has to play in COP. Allows him to try the quad lutzes with more regularity than he could under 6.0, since the system forgives falls that 6.0 does not. It's inconceivable that he still feels there are things he hasn't done or medals yet to win--but as Mishin said, extraordinary people can't be measured by ordinary yardsticks.

I remember there was a Patrick Chan interview where he said something like, "I don't want to be 35 and regretting that I didn't go to my third Olympics." Plushenko's response would probably be, "Well, just go the Olympics when you're 35 then. :cool:"
 

plushyfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Country
Hungary
This is his plan. I don't believe he can do it. Two years is too much time. When he will prepare he will have little injuries, he doesn't like wake up early, his other hobbies-golf, football, tennis- will be so tempting. He will gain weight as in the past, his sons will grow up Plushy has to deal with them etc.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
I dunno... for his health's sake, I hope you're right, but if past history holds true, he's going to make a real attempt. If he doesn't succeed, it won't be because he didn't try.

Also, considering the Panin Memorial/Russian national team training/"I want quad lutz/spiral into 3Lz," it seems like he wants to compete in more than the Olympics. 2018 just seems to be his long-term end goal. The whole plan sounds like some bizarre Kickstarter fund that keeps adding stretch goals. :scratch:
 

whitebamboo

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
....
And yes, we obviously don't have intimate knowledge of what makes Plushy tick, but I think it's interesting to discuss because he is such an anomaly. Who wouldn't like to know what motivates such a special person?

Maybe, I'm thinking that for a long time people have been directly asking him and Mishin "why". They've been asking for four years, perhaps more. And they have been answering. There are more than one reasons, of course but in the end, the answers they gave actually seem fairly straightforward.

We are all just speculating, so maybe I'll add my own bit after all here. Mishin uses Louis Pasteur as a comparison. Before Sochi, when asked "why", he used this comparison as well, and he talked about great athletes of the past, in other disciplines. With Evgeni, I remember that when he was asked about the general development of figure skating, whether people will be jumping 4As, quints, etc., he would say that scientist do not stop discovering, artists do not stop creating, so why should figure skating stop? (I don't have the exact quotes, so this is just a rough paraphrase.)

In another recent interview after receiving the award of best skater in 2013/14, Evgeni said, among other things:
I want to be a pioneer.
(https://vk.com/club71377445)

I suspect that most people, even skating fans, do not see figure skating as something that can be even compared to what, say, Louis Pasteur did. I don't know that I do, myself. But from these words, I think that Mishin and Plushenko do see figure skating as something that can, at least on some level, be compared to those things that people usually think of when they talk about "great human endeavors". Namely, something worth "pioneering" (i. e. assuming great risks) for. I think that is one of the differences.

Well, maybe that's my own speculation, based on some of the things he and Mishin said...But more generally, one thought I have is that when one it is necessarily through one's own conditioning and experiences. That's only natural and inevitable. But I think it can have its own limitations, especially when it is about someone like Plushenko, who indeed is such an "anomaly".
 

silverfoxes

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
I think his intentions are 100% serious. He's not the type of person that talks a lot of nonsense, ever. Before Sochi he was adamant that that would be the last Olympics...now his tone seems equally adamant. Something could derail his plans between now and then, of course.

This interview from 2011 is a relevant one, I think...

“Shows are nice, but they are lacking the extreme,” he explained. “I look for the extreme. I went to classes for extreme car and motorcycle driving and I started to play paintball, but all this wasn’t enough. Figure skating is an extreme sport. When you are competing, you feel this adrenaline. I wanted to come back in 2010 and test myself one more time, and I think it went well. That whole season was great.

“Like my Latin tattoo Viam supervadet vadens says: ‘The path will be overcome by the one who walks it,’” Plushenko said as he pulled up his sleeve to show the tattoo on his right forearm.

“You have to overcome yourself and this you only can achieve if you are trying, moving forward and working hard.”
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
@whitebamboo
Not sure about Mishin, but I'm sure Plushy considers figure skating one of the great creations of mankind. :biggrin: (I laugh, but it's probably true). For most people, the confusion comes from, "He already is a pioneer, what more does he want to do?!" I suspect, for Plushy, competition isn't suffering, even with the injuries (see: 2013 interview British Eurosport). I thought he might back off after how close he came to never skating again, but that ultimately got outweighed by how much he doesn't want his final Olympics to be WD.

Thank you for the interview. It was well worth scrolling through the posts on football to find. Interesting to hear his thoughts on journalism as well as soccer. :) But of course, the relevant part:

- When you start training?
- You can say almost started. However, not all at once. With my coach Alexei Mishin we chose to skip the upcoming competitive season to focus on working out the elements of new programs. Plan agreed with the Federation of figure skating. There is an understanding that we must regain strength, moral, emotional components and return to duty with renewed vigor. Old Plushenko ended at the Olympics in Sochi with all the injuries.
- Can you decipher this message?
- Figure skating is not in place, with each Olympic cycle performance requirements vary not only jumps and tracks steps, but other important elements. The Best of Plushenko today is history. Need a New Plushenko. So at the end of July or beginning of August we start a new competitive program - short and to sezon-2015/2016 years. Will "to roll" them, a lot of work. I want to be a pioneer. I plan to not only perform at the fifth Olympics in his career, and to fight for victory in Korea.
It seems like he's planning to come back 2015-16 to test himself out.

@plushyfan
No need to be so negative! It seems like, from Plushenko's perspective, he's already died once. And now they're looking for a rebirth. Maybe he's just cuckoo, but I'll say it again: I'd prefer him competing over him pulling those motorbike tricks.
 

plushyfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Country
Hungary
Oh no...don't say that! I do believe he will know, and accept (however reluctantly), when enough is truly enough.

Don't get me wrong!!! I'm worried about him continously. I follow him almost every day he is as my son as my friend as my role model .
And I have informations about him what aren't public. Not about his health informations about him in generally.
So you are right I exaggerated because yesterday I was in very bad mood...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBU4MyuHoSg new montage-Evgeni Plushenko - God Of Ice Skating
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
^I hope the fact that he wants to skate forever will rein him in. Surely he knows he can keep skating long after he's stopped competing. I mean, Kurt and Elvis are still landing 'em triples. :yes: For all the talk of him being the consummate competitor, I do think Plushy is someone who enjoys skating even outside competition. This is why he never, ever stopped going to shows, whether he was "retired" or "competing" at the time. I think Gallavich means that he's serious about making an attempt at 2018, not that he's necessarily willing to throw everything away for this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBU4MyuHoSg new montage-Evgeni Plushenko - God Of Ice Skating
Best death drop ever. :love: Also, love the spread eagle exit after triple lutz.
 
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