- Joined
- Aug 31, 2003
It's impressive how many 6.0s Plushenko had... but let's not forget that several of those were from Russian Nationals (I mean it's not like he's ever been overscored at Russian Nationals, right?), and the majority of the rest were from international competitions that weren't against Yagudin, and many were from the years after 2002 where the judging panel had 11-14 judges, so greater chances to earn 6.0.
And unlike Yagudin, he never scored 6.0s at the only Olympics that the two faced off against. If you're comparing age, well, Evgeni was the reigning World Champion so it's not like he hadn't reached his peak as Yagudin had. That was really the one competition that decided the whole "who's better" thing, and Plushenko didn't even come close to beating Yagudin in either of the two segments. Yeah, he had a big mistake in the SP, but he also lost the FS too by a considerable margin... I mean look at the scores http://www.icecalc.com/events/owg2002/results/SEG002.HTM
Regardless, I don't think people measure Yagudin's prowess based on the number of 6.0's the judges gave him rather than the quality of skating and artistry - and not just great jumping - that he brought to the ice. I'd say Plushenko's certainly the better jumper of the two, but in terms of all-round skater, Yagudin definitely gets the nod from me. To me, his 2002 Olympic FS is the best in the past 20 years.
PLEASE watch Plushenko 2011-2013 and compare to Yagudin 2002 or better to Yagudin today
Plushenko surpass him long time ago, but his fans still live in 2002.