Is Plushenko Too Old For This Sport?

[figuristka]

Whether people are fans or not of Plushenko's skating he should be admired for his accomplishments. Iam sure IF healthy he will attempt to be in Sochi. Not an easy feat with his injuries and longevity in the sport, not to mention be judged with the newer system. I certainly hope he does not cause a chronic or serious problem to his body. Yes both Plushenko and Yagudin were greatly admired and cheered for when they competed at such a high level in Canada. Iam lucky enough to have gotten to live event back then. I still think a healthy Plushenko could be top 5 in Sochi but its unsure if he can be healthy at this point.

[yaya124]

I was there. After the fall he was on fire, he is always like that when he made mistake: fight. That is why I love him.

I saw the practice in the morning too. Not in good condition on jumps, but otherwise, stunning to watch. He was fast, light, floating on ice with such elegance and ease. If he could have his health back and hence the jumps back to normal standards, he is still a very strong contender.

He is not too old, simply too injured in Zagreb.

In person he looks very young and fit

[seniorita]

^ It was great to meet you there

I was not there in practices and the one he fell, but his morning practice had a quad with low saving, but otherwise the rest of triples were very good, plus the lutz combo was as usual. He was holding his back the whole time but his axels didnt lose a beat. In the 6 min warm up he threw 3z 3t and 3 axel just like that. Bringing them inside the sp is another question and probably he was not as prepared, since he didnt train the whole month after RN I think he didnt make run throughs of his program to be at ease. I hope he stays home as much as is needed and heals properly.I know practices are not to say much since Javier in morning practice was falling flat in every single attempt of quad. I dont know how they jump at 8 am anyway and the rink was freezing cold.

[amber68]

I think what Plushenko accomplished is especially impressive considering he was not trained for the IJS and had the judging system switched on him well into his career. This is a challenge that Yagudin did not have to face, and there's no way of knowing if he would have handled it better than Plushenko. And I say this as someone who was firmly on the Yags side of the Yagudin-Plushenko rivalry.

As buttercup said, unfortunately for Plushenko, he trained to be a 6.0 skater but had to compete, for a good part of his career, under COP.
His spins are not great if you compare him to Lambiel but were perfectly adequate if you compare him to Yagudin or any other 6.0 top skater. The same goes for footwork. His footwork was great if judged by 6.0 standards and he definitely worked very hard to adapt to COP judging system which was implemented right when Plushenko was in his prime!
And yes the COP programs are harder but the competitions under 6.0 were much more difficult.
Let’s remember how costly was any mistake in the SP ! Also the skaters had to do qualifying rounds where they had to skate almost perfect LP because otherwise they had no chance to make the last group for SP which was so important under 6.0.
Do you remember the format used at the Grand Prix Final competitions from 2000 to 2003 when the skaters had to perform two different LP-s, sometimes in the very same day?
I wonder how the COP skaters would fare if the same formats for competitions would be used + zero points awarded for falls + higher marks for 4T-3T (or 4S-3T ) combos

[let`s talk]

As buttercup said, unfortunately for Plushenko, he trained to be a 6.0 skater but had to compete, for a good part of his career, under COP.

And the sport had better days under 6.0 than under CoP. Better popularity, venues, TV coverage, etc.

Jeez! Some people act like Plushenko would have robbed their gold medals, thanks God I don't live in Canada! (no offense to the decent Canadian FS fans).
I hope wallylutz and Dragonlady know each other personally, they're a mach made in heaven!

It's like that movie title, the one and the one-er or somesuch.

Damn to live in a different time zone. I always miss all the fun!

[plushyfan]

I still remember in the good old days how North American commentators gushing about Plushenko's skating skills, saying that "there is something special about his skating", that he can "gain speed with one or two pushes while others take ten". And how they rave about his perfectly stretched line in his camel spin.

How many times Simon and Chris from EuroSport talked about his footwork, saying it has edges of the highest quality?

Plushenko has been on the top of the sport for more than a decade. If he achieved that by only being a jumping machine, and not necessarily a good one per some posters here, how does it reflect on those who competed with him?

There are a lot of figure skating fans who are watching the protocols, who understand the scoring etc., and they think that someone wins have only jumping ability? LOL! Not to mention that the facts demonstrate- I have been told here, that the COP prior to the introduction of more 6.0 performed, such as Michelle Kwan, he got them for his presentations.- And I'm sure that the Americans figure skating fans deny his greatness, because the American commentators have not been evaluated him, but this is not the case in Europe and Japan. But the interesting thing is that in the early races, when Plush was young, they also praised him as a very talented skater, who has a very strong artistic side too.
__________
And he was the first skater who landed in 4-3-2 and in 4-3-3 combo in history.

[Mathman]

plushyfan Did you forget something? No matter how decorated Plushenko's career has been, he only won one Olympic Gold medal in his life and likely won't see another one. Yet, in the Sochi 2014 Olympics in Russia, Patrick Chan will have the chance of winning not one but two Olympic Gold medals in one shot, thus, surpassing what Plushenko has ever achieved.

You do realize that this "statistic" invites a comparison between the number of Olympic gold medals won by Plushenko and the number won by all Canadian men taken together in the history of the sport. Right?

[gmyers]

There are a lot of figure skating fans who are watching the protocols, who understand the scoring etc., and they think that someone wins have only jumping ability? LOL! Not to mention that the facts demonstrate- I have been told here, that the COP prior to the introduction of more 6.0 performed, such as Michelle Kwan, he got them for his presentations.- And I'm sure that the Americans figure skating fans deny his greatness, because the American commentators have not been evaluated him, but this is not the case in Europe and Japan. But the interesting thing is that in the early races, when Plush was young, they also praised him as a very talented skater, who has a very strong artistic side too.
__________
And he was the first skater who landed in 4-3-2 and in 4-3-3 combo in history.

They just say all his pcs is from jumping and/or because he's from Russia. They do not budge at all from their position that all he can do is jump. They reject all claims of artistry and skating skill now.

[Buttercup]

^^ Not to mention that in theory, every skater whose country qualifies for the team event will have a shot at two OGMs - Florent Amodio, Javier Fernandez (well, maybe not him), whoever wins US Nats next year, Maxim Kovtun for all we know; all will have a shot at two. There is no overwhelming favorite in the men's event, like Plushenko was going into 2006. And you know, Scott and Tessa will have a chance to win three OGMs! Beat that.

Yet even if one of the men does win two OGMs, Plushenko's career still stacks up favorably for its longevity and accomplishments in various major events.

[let`s talk]

Wallylutz - so let me get this straight:

One the one hand, he is so injured that he will have to spend the rest of his life on crutches - and on the other, he isn't injured at all?

So - which is it?

I already posted it on his fan thread but I want to repost the info here too:

Today piter.tv aired a video interview with Mishin. He said that a couple of days later Plu will be operated in Israel where he will get an artificial disk replacement in the spine. He said Evgeni can't train properly with his current back condition, so they decided to go though the surgery. He will keep training for Sochi after reabilitation:
http://piter.tv/event/Mishin_o_Plyuschenko/

[seniorita]

WHat is an artificial disc replacement?
I dont believe his "luck", Evgeni every time before Olympics has a surgery He looked so strong in the beginning of the season...

[MK's Winter]

I already posted it on his fan thread but I want to repost the info here too:

Today piter.tv aired a video interview with Mishin. He said that a couple of days later Plu will be operated in Israel where he will get an artificial disk replacement in the spine. He said Evgeni can't train properly with his current back condition, so they decided to go though the surgery. He will keep training for Sochi after reabilitation:
http://piter.tv/event/Mishin_o_Plyuschenko/

Wow. He is really young to have that kind of surgery. I am the same age as Plush and have similar back issues and I do everything I can to Avoid surgery at my age. Surgery is only a temporary fix and he will require more when he gets older. I wish him the best of luck and hopes he makes good decisions that do not compromise his health. He's had a great career and honestly has nothing to prove.

[LRK]

I already posted it on his fan thread but I want to repost the info here too:

Today piter.tv aired a video interview with Mishin. He said that a couple of days later Plu will be operated in Israel where he will get an artificial disk replacement in the spine. He said Evgeni can't train properly with his current back condition, so they decided to go though the surgery. He will keep training for Sochi after reabilitation:
http://piter.tv/event/Mishin_o_Plyuschenko/

Thanks indeed Let's talk! I have taken the liberty of quoting/linking to your post in the Injuries & Other Ills thread, and I hope this is okay with you.

[Evgenia]

He said that a couple of days later Plu will be operated in Israel where he will get an artificial disk replacement in the spine.

Follow-up report. His surgery will be tomorrow, on Thursday
http://ria.ru/sport/20130130/920530714.html

[dorispulaski]

Please do not insult other posters by name. That's how posts get disapproved & disappear.