Plushenko Withdraws from Cup of Russia Grand Prix

seniorita · Nov 13, 2013

LiamForeman said:
Let's hope it works out for him, but yeah, if he misses Nationals, it wouldn't be fair. The other guys have been out there the last many seasons. Interesting...

Plushenko is the 2010, 2012 and 2013 National Champion, on top of 2012 Euro Champion, he was absent on 2011, so regarding competition in his own country, the other Russian skaters had just to step up and take advantage of his age/injuries and they havent.

hippomoomin · Nov 13, 2013

My hunch tells me he won't compete in Sochi at all. How many comebacks have worked out in the history, especially for those who don't show up at all at any major competition before Olympics. Yuna Kim is a real legend.

lavender · Nov 13, 2013

LiamForeman said:
I'd imagine if Evan was even close to landing his jumps, videos would show up on the internet.

Not looking so there's that. :laugh:

karne · Nov 13, 2013

We are talking about a guy who's practically held together with string and sticky tape at this point. If he feels even the slightest twinge out of place I am not surprised they'd panic and pull him from CoR.

I think he will go to Nationals. He wants his eleventh National title. And he will need to go to Euros to make his selection for the Olys over anyone else valid. Plus, he probably wants a crack at his ninth Euros title.

I hope Menshov gets the nod for CoR to replace him - and I would love to see both him and Gachinski beat Kovtun. They both have before. (And I would like to see Farris beat Kovtun too, but that's just a given).

sweetskates1 · Nov 13, 2013

This is Evgeni Plushenko we are talking about. I expect him to shock us with a high score at the Olympics. I do not think he is good enough to medal but if there is an "old dinosaur' capable of Rocky-like comebacks it certainly would be Plushenko.

Sasha'sSpins · Nov 13, 2013

jaylee said:
I noticed footage of Evan jumping in this Fox News interview with Michelle Kwan. I don't know when it was taken (before or after the injury that caused his Skate America withdrawal?), but it doesn't appear to be archival footage. It looks relatively new. He's practicing new combos that he hasn't done in the past that I can recall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSSB_g-qfPM

Wow thank you for this! I hadn't seen it before! It was great to see Michelle again (and she's quite good imo conducting the interview!). Evan is intense and no-nonsense when it comes to his training. That much is clear. I hope he makes it to Nationals but sadly with recurring injuries I just don't see it happening. I'd love for him to prove me wrong.

skateluvr · Nov 13, 2013

prettykeys said:
Hear, hear.

ITA. I was looking forward to seeing his performance, whether or not he could still jump. He is the face of Russian skating for so long. good luck plushy.

skateluvr · Nov 13, 2013

Sasha'sSpins said:
Wow thank you for this! I hadn't seen it before! It was great to see Michelle again (and she's quite good imo conducting the interview!). Evan is intense and no-nonsense when it comes to his training. That much is clear. I hope he makes it to Nationals but sadly with recurring injuries I just don't see it happening. I'd love for him to prove me wrong.

Wow MK, major diamonds!!!

thinspread · Nov 13, 2013

karne said:
We are talking about a guy who's practically held together with string and sticky tape at this point. If he feels even the slightest twinge out of place I am not surprised they'd panic and pull him from CoR.

I think he will go to Nationals. He wants his eleventh National title. And he will need to go to Euros to make his selection for the Olys over anyone else valid. Plus, he probably wants a crack at his ninth Euros title.

Icey said:
What if the same thing happens at the Olympics where he will be skating a more difficult program: he's injured during the short program or practice (shades of Kwan) and can't continue.

I think this is a realistic concern. Me too want to see him doing well at Sochi, but I wonder if his knees are sound enough to handle all the scheduled events, the nationals, the europeans and then the team and the singles event at the Olympics.

SkateFan66 · Nov 13, 2013

LiamForeman said:
I'd imagine if Evan was even close to landing his jumps, videos would show up on the internet.

In the past, Evan rarely posted practice videos on the Internet (last practice video was posted over two years ago) I don't expect that trend to change anytime soon.

drivingmissdaisy · Nov 13, 2013

sweetskates1 said:
I do not think he is good enough to medal but if there is an "old dinosaur' capable of Rocky-like comebacks it certainly would be Plushenko.

He can do it. There is not a single consistent male skater at the elite level that you can say with any confidence "he will skate a clean program." I understand that programs are more difficult now but if Plushenko lands his jumps (including the quad) the other guys aren't going to be able to fall three times and win. Not in Russia.

sweetskates1 · Nov 13, 2013

If Plushenko medals, it would be the single most amazing comeback in figure skating history - it would be incredible and exciting! Let's see what happens, anything is possible, specially when Plushenko is involved.

drivingmissdaisy said:
He can do it. There is not a single consistent male skater at the elite level that you can say with any confidence "he will skate a clean program." I understand that programs are more difficult now but if Plushenko lands his jumps (including the quad) the other guys aren't going to be able to fall three times and win. Not in Russia.

noskates · Nov 13, 2013

I think Plushy is going to need more than just "landing his jumps" - I don't know what his physical state is, I don't know what his mental state is, but there comes a time when every elite athlete has to face the fact that injury and age is piling up against him. I think it would be very sad if he takes the place of another skater and then for whatever reason is unable to complete his programs at the Olympics because of an injury. He's had his Olympics. It's time to move on to the next stage of your life.

drivingmissdaisy · Nov 13, 2013

The Russian men have had plenty of opportunities the past couple of years to claim their spot at the top and have not done so. I'm sure the Russian Olympic Committee wants him on the team as badly as he wants to be out there skating because of his narrative. I don't see him taking the spot unless he's fully healthy, as he has a lot of pride and doesn't want a poor finish.

sky_fly20 · Nov 13, 2013

hippomoomin said:
My hunch tells me he won't compete in Sochi at all. How many comebacks have worked out in the history, especially for those who don't show up at all at any major competition before Olympics. Yuna Kim is a real legend.

Plushenko did in 2010

Skater Boy · Nov 14, 2013

SkateFan66 said:
In the past, Evan rarely posted practice videos on the Internet (last practice video was posted over two years ago) I don't expect that trend to change anytime soon.

Sure, but do you think he will break the trend of pulling out of events with injury issues? I am not sure why but somehow I dno't gt the feeling a lot of us feel Evan is that serious o realistic about a return. Whereas despite the horrible injuries of plushy one still thinks he is trying. Evans attempt is sort of like Suguri's. You wish them well but it doensn't seem very realistic or too genuine in the case of Evan in some ways. But Evan is a cmpeittior so you never can tell.

ciocio · Nov 14, 2013

Skater Boy said:
Sure, but do you think he will break the trend of pulling out of events with injury issues? I am not sure why but somehow I dno't gt the feeling a lot of us feel Evan is that serious o realistic about a return. Whereas despite the horrible injuries of plushy one still thinks he is trying. Evans attempt is sort of like Suguri's. You wish them well but it doensn't seem very realistic or too genuine in the case of Evan in some ways. But Evan is a cmpeittior so you never can tell.

Is Evan healthy? This is the most important, he does not need to post videos on Internet.

MasterB · Nov 14, 2013

For Plushenko it is all about strategy. He already went out and performed really well for someone in his league and doesn't really need to do anything else until he absolutely has to. That man knows how to throw a punch. The one thing we all know about Plushenko is that he knows how to compete under extreme pressure. Sure, he doesn't do it for me the way Chan or Daisuke may do it.

All things being equal (Kovtun and Plushenko both deliver clean programs at Russian Nationals) I think Russia will have a tough decision in their hands. Commercially speaking Plushenko is a god and would be a fantastic olympic story to sell. It would be unfair to send Plushenko over Kovtun if Plushenko doesn't deliver at nationals. I would love to see them both at the Olympics, one in the team event and the other in the individual event. After seeing Kovtun compete earlier I suspect that the judges are holding their marks back in anticipation of Plushenko performing. While Plushy skated well at Volvo he was overscored.

karne · Nov 14, 2013

The question there, MasterB, is of course, what happens if they get a repeat of last Nationals, and Kovtun ends up FIFTH, behind not only Plushenko, but also Voronov, Menshov, and Gachinski?

I fear Tarasova will play her rubbish politics again, but the fact is, Kovtun got beaten on the Nationals stage by two old men, a skater who had placed 17th at Worlds (hang on, there's irony there), and a skater who was having the worst season imaginable. That's not a good thing. On the international stage, his program scores are barely beating that of a US skater who does not have a quad (Brown). Kovtun is very far from being the saviour of Russian skating.

ciocio · Nov 14, 2013

karne said:
I fear Tarasova will play her rubbish politics again, but the fact is, Kovtun got beaten on the Nationals stage by two old men, a skater who had placed 17th at Worlds (hang on, there's irony there), and a skater who was having the worst season imaginable. That's not a good thing. On the international stage, his program scores are barely beating that of a US skater who does not have a quad (Brown). Kovtun is very far from being the saviour of Russian skating.

I'm afraid that she is already playing them, because it seems that Russia has asked ISU to allow them two skaters for Sochi which is completely unfair. It is obvious to me that Tarasova knows very well that Kovtun won't go if Plushenko is able to skate even a half clean program.

Plushenko Withdraws from Cup of Russia Grand Prix

seniorita

hippomoomin

lavender

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

sweetskates1

Sasha'sSpins

skateluvr

skateluvr

thinspread

SkateFan66

drivingmissdaisy

sweetskates1

noskates

drivingmissdaisy

sky_fly20

Match Penalty

Skater Boy

ciocio

MasterB

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

ciocio

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