Does Plushenko's longevity make him a better skater than Yagudin? | Golden Skate

Does Plushenko's longevity make him a better skater than Yagudin?

CarneAsada

Medalist
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Yagudin won most of their head-to-heads at the big competitions and seems to be the more beloved one in English-speaking forums, but Plushenko continued and dominated while Yagudin got injured and retired. Do you consider Plushenko greater than Yagudin?
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
Well, that's not fair. I can't imagine Yagudin got injured on purpose! If Yagudin could have continued, I'm sure he would have. And oh, to imagine the battles we could have seen!

I consider Plushenko greater than Yagudin for different reasons, one of which is that Plushenko was never afraid to raise the bar when needed. Yagudin matching you with a 4T and 4T-3T? Well, I'll just come up with the 4T-3T-2Lo. Oops, Yagudin's started doing that now? Hmm, time to try the 4T-3T-3Lo. It's the Olympic season - maybe I should try a different quad - Quad Lutz? Maybe not, I might get hurt. Oh crap, I muffed the SP and need a miracle to win the LP - let's just toss in the 3A-half loop-3F to up the difficulty!

Plushenko's iron will and unbelievable mental strength is undoubtedly his greatest quality. But to say he is greater than Yagudin because Yagudin had a career-ending injury and Plushenko did not until twelve years later is WRONG.
 

Mafke

Medalist
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
I always thought Yagudin was the far more interesting skater. There's a lot to admire about Plushenko's talent and accomplishments... but I've never much enjoyed watching him while I could enjoy watching Yagudin just skating around without doing any scoring elements.

jmo
 

CarneAsada

Medalist
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Agreed about raising the bar when needed. I think even if Yagudin hadn't been injured, Plushenko would've surpassed him due to pushing the technical content too far for Yagudin to keep up. Yes, Yagudin was more watchable for most, but Plushenko actually attempted to keep his programs interesting when Yagudin was around.
 

UnsaneLily87

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
No. I actually was just wondering this yesterday so I went and watched a bunch of videos of both of them at their peak. If you compare 2002-Yags with 2006 Plushy, Yags is significantly better. He has the technical goods as well as the artistry. A complete skater.
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Yagudin is the standard of a complete skater!!! No one can be more complete than him!! :love: He is an artist and an athlete at the highest level of figure skating! Hence my avatar! :cool:

But on the other hand, Plushenko is the one who always to raise the bar higher!! He is the one who constantly push figure skating forward!! He is another kind of champion!! His longevity, his love for figure skating, no one can deny that! He is the pioneer!!:agree:

Both of them have big impacts on their own ways!
 

louisa05

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
I'm not sure that it is safe to assume that if Yagudin could have continued, he would not have pushed his tech content as well. We have to consider that the same physical problems that forced him to retire also limited his ability to push himself further technically. No physical limits = no retirement = Yagudin pushing himself as much as Plush.
 

Enero

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
I'm not a fan of these types of threads because there will never be a definitive answer to a question like this. Everyone has different opinions and the idea of who is the greatest of this or that can be very subjective.

That said, between Yagudin and Plushenko, I think Plushenko will be the skater who'll likely be most remembered as the decades go by due to his unusually long career (multiple titles) and the way he pushed men's figure skating.
 

Tompson

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Yes, Plushenko has better career but..Go youtube and watch Yagudin!! He is a total package!
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
I'm laughing at a "clean Weiss" or "clean Sandhu." Did that ever happen?

I, too, found Yagudin to be a more interesting skater choreographically. I also found him more "user friendly" without the monumental ego. But you can't deny the fact that Plushenko (as much as it pains me to say this) had the longevity. I still watch Yagudin's GM performances over and over and I've never rewatched any of Plushenko's performances.
 

UnsaneLily87

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
This is a debate that will go on forever most likely. I would rank them both in the top 3 or 4 in history though. If pushed to choose I would say better skater Yagudin by a hair, better career Plushenko by more than a hair at this point.

But better hair goes to Yagudin.
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Zhenya Plushenko's records, medals and popularity speak for itself
Yagudin I think until now is bitter Zhenya is more successful than him especially in Russia
 

aschiutza

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Both skaters were greeat skaters. The destiny made that both of them came in the same time to the top. I am one of the few who loves the artistry of both, yes, i think that Plushenko has great artistry. Not one who is normally loved in FS, his one is too much inspired by balet and less by FS, while Yagudin was more a skater than a balet dancer.

Longevity helps to be remebered (for example I like Kulik more for his artistry and jumps than i like Yagudin, but how many remember him from the youngster?). Longevity helps loads to get a legendary status, especially from the occasional FS skaters.

I think that if Plushenko didn't injured himself so often, he would have gone further. But by 2005 his health didn't let him improve anymore at the pace he was used to. So, this was his legacy to keep himself between the best for so long with such injuries.

Yagudin is rembered for his complete package. A longer career would have helped him to stay more relevant, but as it is, he is still one of the greatest skater. It is not his fault that his career was cutted short by injury. But it is also not Plushenko's fault that he went to have his longevity, he worked damn hard to stay there dispite his injuries. While i admire a lot Plushenko for keep going despite all, i am not seeing Yagudin a less better skater than he is for not having the longevity.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Yagudin is easily the better skater. But Plushenko's accomplishments and consistency are more impressive. Yagudin if uninjured probably would have had a more notable career, but he beat Plushenko in the biggest head to head of their careers and has nothing to feel bitter about. He's an Olympic champion and gave arguably the greatest performances ever at the Olympics.

Yagudin is the better skater, but Plu's longevity makes him the better competitor.
 

BlackPack

Medalist
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
quality over quantity

If Plush ever did programs at the level of "Winter," then yes, but since he didn't, then no. "St Petersburg 300" is his best program IMO but even then paled in comparison to Yagudin's best.
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
quality over quantity

If Plush ever did programs at the level of "Winter," then yes, but since he didn't, then no. "St Petersburg 300" is his best program IMO but even then paled in comparison to Yagudin's best.

But I bet Yagudin couldn't do a Nijinsky program at this level either, http://youtu.be/SEJXkfMYTX4
They are all unique on their own ways. :love: Greatest skaters of all time!
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
My general impression was that Plushenko did beat Yagudin in quite a lot competitions between 2000-2002. I was never able to see Yagudin as an artistic skater, ditto about Plushenko. Plushenko´s accomplishments are way above of those by Yagudin, because P. had a longer career. In that sense Plushenko is a better skater than Yagudin.
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Yagudin is easily the better skater. But Plushenko's accomplishments and consistency are more impressive. Yagudin if uninjured probably would have had a more notable career, but he beat Plushenko in the biggest head to head of their careers and has nothing to feel bitter about. He's an Olympic champion and gave arguably the greatest performances ever at the Olympics.

Yagudin is the better skater, but Plu's longevity makes him the better competitor.

Plushenko is known by casual vewers, Yagudin only by older viewers or who watched the 2002 Olympics
a testament even at the 2014 Olympics he was making huge headlines

that's like saying the double jumpers Gordeeva / Grinkov, lol
and better than the Great Propotovs and Mihkentouk / Dmitriev
 
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