Plushenko's knee problems | Golden Skate

Plushenko's knee problems

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
soogar said:
As much as I like Plush, I have a feeling Brian Joubert will win the Olympic Gold medal. He will be the right age and he's a great competitor.

Unfortunately I have similar feelings. I think Plushenko's injuries will catch up with him at the worst possible time- the 2006 Olympics. I don't care for Joubert's skating, but the judges seem to like him, and he has less wear and tear on his body. It is interesting that Plushenko's rivals keep implying that he is not that great. May be they have to keep telling that to themselves, so they won't be completely psyched out?
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
Vash01 said:
Unfortunately I have similar feelings. I think Plushenko's injuries will catch up with him at the worst possible time- the 2006 Olympics. I don't care for Joubert's skating, but the judges seem to like him, and he has less wear and tear on his body. It is interesting that Plushenko's rivals keep implying that he is not that great. May be they have to keep telling that to themselves, so they won't be completely psyched out?

Well if the injuries do catch up, Plushenko has no one to blame but himself. He should have gotten the surgery last year (summer) and rested instead of doing all those shows.

Of all the guys, I think BJ really believes he can beat Plushenko. I don't think it's just lip service with him. I read an interview with Platov where he said that Tatiana tells her students the "beautiful lie" where she makes them believe that they are better than they are until the students become better. I bet Alexei and TT are telling BJ the beautiful lie and he really believes it. Of all the competitors, I like BJ the best. His skating is confident and strong plus his jumps are great. I disagree with those who say BJ's spins are mediocre. They're simple, but they are fast and centered. BJ does have to work on footwork but considering that he has the jumps, I don't think getting the footwork is a big deal for him.

To beat Plush, you have to believe that you can. If a skater goes in conceding the win to Plush, he's never going to beat him. I wish Klimkin would stop putting his friend Plush on a pedestal and start believing that he can beat him. Of all the skaters, Klimkin is the only one who has(d) the goods (footwork, jumps (when he lands them) and spins) to kick Plush's a$$.
 
Last edited:

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I think Plushenko's injuries will catch up with him but I truly hope they are right after the Olympics. It wasn't a good idea to not correct his problem. I just hope he takes it easy and do only 2 gp comps and Russian Nationals and skip the rest.

The only reason Plushenko jumps aren't as good is because he is injured but I guess that's the only way the others can beat him.
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Off-topic for a moment: the latest issue of "International Figure Skating" magazine has a stunning photo of Plushenko on the cover." The other skaters are going to have to catch up in looks, too :biggrin:

(And he's not airbrushed, either. I've seen him close up, and he really does have that skin and those eyes.)

Now back to the previously scheduled thread.
 

Zanzibar

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 22, 2003
Evgeni did a nice interview and kudos to IFS magazine for putting him on the cover. For a reigning multi-titled world champion, in actuality he gets very little coverage on this side of the ocean.
 

dfj

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 5, 2003
hockeyfan228 said:
Off-topic for a moment: the latest issue of "International Figure Skating" magazine has a stunning photo of Plushenko on the cover." The other skaters are going to have to catch up in looks, too :biggrin:

(And he's not airbrushed, either. I've seen him close up, and he really does have that skin and those eyes.)

Now back to the previously scheduled thread.

One more thing (Plushy looks fab!). For fans, there's also a Sandhu article.
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Surgery

Surgery isn't the answer to every problem. I respect Plushy's decision not to rush under the knife.
Linny
 

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
Linny said:
Surgery isn't the answer to every problem. I respect Plushy's decision not to rush under the knife.
Linny

Obviously Plushenko believed this, or he would have had surgery last year. He could have had the surgery after last year's worlds, sat out most of the season and returned for the Euro's and worlds the way Lambiel did. Hind sight is 20-20 though. If he had lost the ability to jump the way he does, and had to relearn the jumps it would have been a huge set back. It is a difficult decision, and only an athlete can decide for himself/herself if the risk is worth it. In Plushenko's case unfortunately it seems the decision to delay surgery has aggravated the injury to the point where he may not have a choice but to undergo it in the Olympic year, or risk losing the advantage at the Olympics. Either way he loses his advantage (but not necessarily the OGM).

Vash
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Vash01 said:
Obviously Plushenko believed this, or he would have had surgery last year. He could have had the surgery after last year's worlds, sat out most of the season and returned for the Euro's and worlds the way Lambiel did. Hind sight is 20-20 though. If he had lost the ability to jump the way he does, and had to relearn the jumps it would have been a huge set back. It is a difficult decision, and only an athlete can decide for himself/herself if the risk is worth it. In Plushenko's case unfortunately it seems the decision to delay surgery has aggravated the injury to the point where he may not have a choice but to undergo it in the Olympic year, or risk losing the advantage at the Olympics. Either way he loses his advantage (but not necessarily the OGM).

Vash


Truly hope so and I'm not a diehard fan. I just want him to win the Olympics.
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Surgery is not the magic bullet; it can leave the patient limited by athletic, if not civilian, terms. I can understand how Plushenko might be reluctant to opt for it, even if he can afford arthroscopy on his own. (The Russian Federation wouldn't pay for arthrosocopy for Klimkin.) Not having surgery and seeing if he could tolerate the pain until after the Olympics was a decision he made after weighing the potential risks and gains for each choice.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
hockeyfan228 said:
Surgery is not the magic bullet; it can leave the patient limited by athletic, if not civilian, terms. I can understand how Plushenko might be reluctant to opt for it, even if he can afford arthroscopy on his own. (The Russian Federation wouldn't pay for arthrosocopy for Klimkin.) Not having surgery and seeing if he could tolerate the pain until after the Olympics was a decision he made after weighing the potential risks and gains for each choice.

Indeed! If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't. I lost a good job with a ballet company because of surgery but that was long ago with only two options: do or don't. However, the sadness did lead to another field and I did enjoy another life.

If Plushy needs money for the athroscopic, I'm sure someone could organize a gala with proceeds going to him. He's a terrific draw in skating.

BTW, this thread is about Brian and it would be nice to get some views on this candid interview by Kathleen Bangs. Has anyone read the interview?

Joe
 
Last edited:

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
hockeyfan228 said:
Surgery is not the magic bullet; it can leave the patient limited by athletic, if not civilian, terms. I can understand how Plushenko might be reluctant to opt for it, even if he can afford arthroscopy on his own. (The Russian Federation wouldn't pay for arthrosocopy for Klimkin.) Not having surgery and seeing if he could tolerate the pain until after the Olympics was a decision he made after weighing the potential risks and gains for each choice.

Well considering how there was an article translated on FSU from a Russian tabloid of Plush buying a new car (pics of Plush and his gf) and he already drives a top notch mercedes, money shouldn't be an issue for Plush in terms of paying for arthroscopy. Maybe he gets the cars for free or at a deep discount for being a sports star, but he's made enough money from shows that perhaps he can have this surgery done. How much is the surgery anyway , $20K? Klimkin is a different story b/c he doesn't get invited to COI to tour every year. It seems that he has to rely on small European and Japanese tours for money. Plus he doesn't win the big events or get invites to the cheesefests like Plush so I can understand him not being able to get arthroscopy.

But at the very least, Plush should have rested instead of toured. I think that decision to tour is going to bite him in the a$$.
 

Vitacus

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
hockeyfan228 said:
Off-topic for a moment: the latest issue of "International Figure Skating" magazine has a stunning photo of Plushenko on the cover." (And he's not airbrushed, either. I've seen him close up, and he really does have that skin and those eyes.)

I agree! :yes:

hockeyfan228 said:
Surgery is not the magic bullet; it can leave the patient limited by athletic, if not civilian, terms. I can understand how Plushenko might be reluctant to opt for it, even if he can afford arthroscopy on his own. (The Russian Federation wouldn't pay for arthrosocopy for Klimkin.) Not having surgery and seeing if he could tolerate the pain until after the Olympics was a decision he made after weighing the potential risks and gains for each choice.

I understand the risks of surgery, but on the other hand he's not capable of performing his best with that sort of injury, not to mention the psychological strain. Pain easily dampens the spirits, which he needs to fight on the ice. He does mention massages, pills, pain-killer injections and several days off the ice resting his knees as temporary treatments, but how long will it be sufficient?

soogar said:
But at the very least, Plush should have rested instead of toured. I think that decision to tour is going to bite him in the a$$.

I sort of share the same concern that he might end up regretting it.
 
Last edited:

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
soogar said:
he's made enough money from shows that perhaps he can have this surgery done. How much is the surgery anyway , $20K?.

joesitz said:
If Plushy needs money for the athroscopic, I'm sure someone could organize a gala with proceeds going to him. He's a terrific draw in skating

I didn't mean to imply that he couldn't afford arthroscopy. I should have said "even though he probably can afford arthroscopy on his own" instead of "even if he could afford arthroscopy on his own." That's what I was going to say originally, but who knows what other people's financial burdens and obligations are?
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
The Joubert thread turned into a discussion of Plushenko's knee situation. Since these are both interesting topics in their own right, we decided to split the thread.

MM
 

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
Mathman said:
The Joubert thread turned into a discussion of Plushenko's knee situation. Since these are both interesting topics in their own right, we decided to split the thread.

MM

Now I get it. I could not remember starting a thread with that title and wondered if I had forgotten that I had started a thread .

Vash
 

mzheng

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
Linny said:
Surgery isn't the answer to every problem. I respect Plushy's decision not to rush under the knife.
Linny

ITA. I was all for him taking surgery last season. But now come to think about if he can still land quads, there is no need take the risk. Who knows what would happen on surgery table. If it is successful he still need to recover. Things not broken don't fix it, just use it more carefully. Do less competetions, and with CoP in place he can work on other things instead of kept on pounding for the quads.

BJ still has way to go to catch up with Plushen. He is in whole another level by his own. Plushen performs the others just skate.
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I totally understood why he didn't get surgery. We've seen in sports how long it takes to get back to where you left off after such a surgery. It's good and bad. I'm just hoping that he hold up til after the Olympics.
 

mzheng

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
lavender said:
I totally understood why he didn't get surgery. We've seen in sports how long it takes to get back to where you left off after such a surgery. It's good and bad. I'm just hoping that he hold up til after the Olympics.

I'm too. Not a big fan of his style (I much more prefer Lambial, Matt, etc.), but would like to see he win the OGM.
 
Top