Alexander Petrov: Plushenko Ready to Compete!

[plushyfan]

Well, I don't know what to think. The age is not an issue, after all Konstantin Menshov is 32 and not retiring. Most ballet dancers retire by their mid-thirties but Maia Plisetskaya was dancing well into her sixties. I got a recording of Bolshoi's Swan Lake, 1976 production - you would never believe she was 51 there! And we are talking here 2 hours on and off on the stage vs 4 minutes on the ice...
But then again Plisetskaya had her spine intact as far as I know.
What puzzles me is motivation - what he could possible hope to achieve in the sport beyond what he's already got. Is is desire to re-live the thrill of competition or just craving to be a centre of attention? Somewhere along the way dignity and grace of retiring at a right time has been lost, so sad... the legend that just could not say goodbye gracefully. At this stage it feels like a bad movie being replayed again and again. Coming, going, retiring, coming back...
Mishin says so much in that interview and tells us so little (wouldn't he make a good politician?), however between lines it is clear 1)Plushenko's back is not alright; 2) Mishin has no idea whether he will be able to compete or not. So what's new?
From the practical point of view I am interested just how much of Mishin's time and attention will be shifted from Liza and what impact if would make on her season. He himself said a year ago that it was a relief to have two loads off his back (Plushenko & Gatchinski) and that allowed him to concentrate on Liza.

He can't live without ice and he loves the adrenalin. I think he wants to be a pioneer and if you didn't notice we didn't see so many old skaters to compete than in some last years. Joubert, Menshov, Abbott, Daisuke, Voronov, Liebers and Chan, Mao make comeback when they are almost 25..... And I believe V/T and K/S wouldn't want to compete if they don't see Plushy, despite they are pair skaters.

"Is is desire to re-live the thrill of competition or just craving to be a centre of attention? " he is in the centre of attention all the time. If he doesn't do anything he is in the FS articles, some skaters mention him, or the tabloid writes something about him...etc. For example if any journalist wants to that the people read the article, they put Plushenko's name in the title. And this isn't too good for Plushenko, of course.

I think his back is OK but they don't know how will react if he will train hard. So they are careful.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

He was ready to compete in the individual competition, too. He loves Russia so much. He received high scores on team competiton so you can't tell a real reason why he didn't want to compete in individual competition...There is no logical reason ..He wanted. One team gold and one bronze on individual competition are more than one gold..

Injury aside, there's no way he would have won the men's individual competition, and even bronze would have required strong skates from him. I know you could say that Javier and Ten did poorly, but what's to say he would have done well? It was pretty obvious that the individual event was slated to be much tougher than the team (even though the field bombed in the individual), and in the team event Plushenko had barely placed ahead of Chan (who had errors) in the SP and was way behind Hanyu, and in the FS he arguably should have lost to Reynolds and Machida. Going into the individual event, he was very much an underdog (instead of the de facto favourite as he'd been used to), and it's not unsurprising that he had made comments about his preference to compete in the team event (and get the easy gold medal) while letting a compatriot deal with the much more competitive individual event (where he would have been fighting for bronze at best).

 

[karne]

Ahhh, Plushy will always be the villain for those who wish their favourite skaters had even half of his mental resilience/jump technique/competition confidence/ability to perform...

He fully intended to skate the individual event, broke the screw in the warmup and had to withdraw because of a serious risk. If you don't believe that, or believe he should have skated anyway (putting his life at risk), then it says a lot more about you than it does about him.

 

[Amei]

Well, I don't know what to think. The age is not an issue, after all Konstantin Menshov is 32 and not retiring. Most ballet dancers retire by their mid-thirties but Maia Plisetskaya was dancing well into her sixties. I got a recording of Bolshoi's Swan Lake, 1976 production - you would never believe she was 51 there! And we are talking here 2 hours on and off on the stage vs 4 minutes on the ice...
But then again Plisetskaya had her spine intact as far as I know.

Agree, age is not the main issue...He has had multiple injuries, the kind of injuries that make it much easier to get injured. Frankly he's incredibly lucky that he is able to walk today. And the Russian Fed got what they deserved in Sochi for putting their in a basket that has had multiple withdrawals due to injury and hadn't competed a full season in years.

What puzzles me is motivation - what he could possible hope to achieve in the sport beyond what he's already got. Is is desire to re-live the thrill of competition or just craving to be a centre of attention? Somewhere along the way dignity and grace of retiring at a right time has been lost, so sad... the legend that just could not say goodbye gracefully. At this stage it feels like a bad movie being replayed again and again. Coming, going, retiring, coming back...

He reminds me of Brett Favre an American football player that was absorbed with getting records for his longevity and a lot of people will say he stuck around for so long because he didn't want to fade into obscurity (which happens to most athletes once they retire); in the end Favre became a joke. I don't know why he still competing, most public statements I take with a grain of salt because they are going to say what will sound best in the press (99% of the time) not necessarily because its the truth.

 

[Spiral]

And the Russian Fed got what they deserved in Sochi for putting their in a basket that has had multiple withdrawals due to injury and hadn't competed a full season in years.

I think the Russian Federation knew at least as much about his condition as we did, but their problem was that they didn't have a consistent man in singles and they needed one badly at least for the team event. From what I've heard the audience at the team event in Sochi was comprised not so much of regular skating fans, as of sports fans in general, many of whom were Russians who came to support their national team. It's not a situation figure skaters in general are used to. Trankov - the person with the most experience and best record on that team, after Plushenko, and not one who lacks confidence in himself - said that when he heard the crowd stamping their feet and yelling "Russia! Russia!" he began to shake and he didn't know how he would have skated if the pair skaters had to skate first. But when Plushenko had had a perfect skate, Trankov began to think that if Plushenko had managed it, it was quite doable, and he'd manage it too. Now imagine if one of the other Russian guys who often bombed at not so major competitions, had to emerge at that arena first, amidst all the hysteria, knowing that upon his performance would depend not only his medal but those of all his teammates, and what most home fans and journalists would say if he had done poorly. Personally, I like both Menshov and Voronov very much and have nothing against Kovtun, but it's difficult for me to imagine any of them delivering a good performance back then under all the pressure. That was the fiasco the Russian Federation was trying to avoid. After all, they didn't know they'd have such a huge lead, but in any case it makes the winning team look not so good if it includes somebody whose performance really bombed, and besides, who knows what effect it would have had on the rest of the team. I also think it's useful to remember that Russian journalists predicted a sure victory for their team in the Japan trophy competition this spring, and to consider how that turned out. If there's anything one can say for sure about figure skating, is that it's completely unpredictable. So I actually agree that the Russian Federation got what they deserved in Sochi - they put serious money into training skaters on all levels some time before the home olympics and selected their team brilliantly in the end IMO - and the result was a team gold with a huge lead. And as for the individual men's event, given their record of performing at high stakes competitions by that time, again I doubt that any other Russian man could have obtained a respectable result there either. But, again, I'm sure for the Russian Federation the team event was more important than any individual event, so they wanted, first of all, a sterling team that could withstand any pressure and deliver.

Frankly he's incredibly lucky that he is able to walk today.

I fully agree with that. I was very upset for Plushenko when he had to withdraw from the individual event, but I kept reminding myself that it could have ended much worse. I agree with Karne's view of Plushenko's Sochi Olympics. I think that, given the circumstances, Plushenko did everything he could there, and those Russian fans who sling mud at him are very ungrateful. They should have listened to Trankov who was there and competed there. Then again, I think nearly all of these people had been slinging mud at Plushenko before Sochi as well, and would have continued doing so no matter what he did.

He reminds me of Brett Favre an American football player that was absorbed with getting records for his longevity and a lot of people will say he stuck around for so long because he didn't want to fade into obscurity (which happens to most athletes once they retire); in the end Favre became a joke. I don't know why he still competing, most public statements I take with a grain of salt because they are going to say what will sound best in the press (99% of the time) not necessarily because its the truth.

I don't follow American football, but as regards Plushenko, I think everything depends on the choices he makes in the future. If it turns out that he can't withstand the physical grill of training for major competitions, and he announces his retirement, I think all normal people will respect him. If he proves able to train and compete at the top level, I think all normal people will respect him too, no matter if he earns a medal at Worlds or Olympics or ends up seventh there. If he pushes himself to the limit and then gets injured beyond recovery during training or in competition, that will be an awful outcome, and the one I very much hope won't happen, but, of course, all normal people will still respect him. However, if he sees that he can't compete at the top level, but instead of announcing his retirement, keeps saying that he'll join the fray soon, perhaps, attending some minor events where he can't lose in any form, and then saying that he needs to rest and sit out the major events, and finally tries to make the Olympic team event, so that he could make the Guiness record for having competed and won medals at five Olympics - well, I'm afraid only his personal fans will support him in such as career path. Personally, I can say that only his getting a permanent injury would upset me more.

 

[lyverbird1]

Ahhh, Plushy will always be the villain for those who wish their favourite skaters had even half of his mental resilience/jump technique/competition confidence/ability to perform...

He fully intended to skate the individual event, broke the screw in the warmup and had to withdraw because of a serious risk. If you don't believe that, or believe he should have skated anyway (putting his life at risk), then it says a lot more about you than it does about him.

Or maybe, you know, not everybody is a fan for their own reasons. Not everyone has to agree and be slated by people backing him. Like who you like and dislike who you want for whatever reasons you have. Doesn't make one person right over another person when it's about an opinion...

 

[plushyfan]

Injury aside, there's no way he would have won the men's individual competition, and even bronze would have required strong skates from him. I know you could say that Javier and Ten did poorly, but what's to say he would have done well? It was pretty obvious that the individual event was slated to be much tougher than the team (even though the field bombed in the individual), and in the team event Plushenko had barely placed ahead of Chan (who had errors) in the SP and was way behind Hanyu, and in the FS he arguably should have lost to Reynolds and Machida. Going into the individual event, he was very much an underdog (instead of the de facto favourite as he'd been used to), and it's not unsurprising that he had made comments about his preference to compete in the team event (and get the easy gold medal) while letting a compatriot deal with the much more competitive individual event (where he would have been fighting for bronze at best).

Right. But he had chance you can't deny. And if he would have been on 4th place that would have been a great result from him. So I can say you there is no real reason why he didn't want to compete in individual competition. I remember many old skater's tweets who watched Plushenko's training before the individual competition. He landed 4-3-3 combo. He was determined. Evan was so worried about him, he saw when Plushy had a great fall.

 

[karne]

Or maybe, you know, not everybody is a fan for their own reasons. Not everyone has to agree and be slated by people backing him. Like who you like and dislike who you want for whatever reasons you have. Doesn't make one person right over another person when it's about an opinion...

Except when people are accusing him of "never intending to compete" or faking the injury or worse, saying he should have competed anyway despite the unacceptable level of risk, it's no longer about just "not liking" a skater.

 

[gravy]

Except when people are accusing him of "never intending to compete" or faking the injury or worse, saying he should have competed anyway despite the unacceptable level of risk, it's no longer about just "not liking" a skater.

I totally agree with this, but it's a bit ridiculous to say "you only dislike Plushenko because your favorites can't compete like him". That's utter nonsense and eye-roll worthy.

Reminds me of all the childish teenagers going around saying "you hate me 'cuz you ain't me". If you don't think it's foolish to say that, "then it says a lot more about you than it does about [us]" who aren't exactly his biggest fans.

 

[Blades of Passion]

There's no way of knowing if he faked the injury or not. To me it looks like he did. There is no valid evidence provided by an impartial doctor on the day of the event that a screw in his back suddenly snapped during the warm-up. After the team event he wanted to further increase his legacy with an individual event medal, but when push came to shove his body was too tired and he didn't want to risk not making the podium. Throughout his entire career Plushenko has always withdrawn when it looks like he isn't going to get what he wants - Europeans and Worlds in 2002 vs Yagudin, Worlds in 2005 after a poor SP performance, Europeans in 2013 after a poor SP performance.

 

[karne]

There's no way of knowing if he faked the injury or not. To me it looks like he did. There is no valid evidence provided by an impartial doctor on the day of the event that a screw in his back suddenly snapped during the warm-up. After the team event he wanted to further increase his legacy with an individual event medal, but when push came to shove his body was too tired and he didn't want to risk not making the podium. Throughout his entire career Plushenko has always withdrawn when it looks like he isn't going to get what he wants - Europeans and Worlds in 2002 vs Yagudin, Worlds in 2005 after a poor SP performance, Europeans in 2013 after a poor SP performance.

As your list proves - he has only withdrawn when very ill or injured. You know this. And anyone with eyes could see what happened that day in Sochi - that he was warming up, and then suddenly, a botched triple Axel, his face turning grey with pain.

The x-ray of the snapped screw has been shown - doubtless you were among those who mocked him for doing so! If Hanyu, or Chan, or Lambiel had done the same thing, you would not make the same accusations, the same demands for an "impartial doctor" to provide "valid evidence"!

 

[Blades of Passion]

As your list proves - he has only withdrawn when very ill or injured. You know this.

There was no injury in 2002 that prevented him from competing AFAIK. He had a crap program at the GPF and didn't want to face Yagudin at Europeans, then didn't want to bother at Worlds after have been trounced at the Olympics.

And anyone with eyes could see what happened that day in Sochi - that he was warming up, and then suddenly, a botched triple Axel, his face turning grey with pain.

My eyes aren't deceived by poor acting. It appeared completely put-on. Much like Johnny Weir running into the boards at 2003 Nationals and pretending it injured him, except less convincing.

The x-ray of the snapped screw has been shown. If Hanyu, or Chan, or Lambiel had done the same thing, you would not make the same accusations, the same demands for an "impartial doctor" to provide "valid evidence"!

X-ray from when, by who? I don't buy it. The screw just happened to suddenly snap in the warm-up for the competition on a relatively easy jump for him. Not all year long during actual competition or more intense practices. But right there and then, conveniently removing him from a competition he was scared of missing a medal at and was already being criticized for taking the ONE Russian spot away from someone else with more stamina who was perhaps more up to the task of the Olympics.

Yes I would scrutinize the other guys you named if they ever did something like that, but they never have.

 

[karne]

There was no injury in 2002 that prevented him from competing AFAIK. He had a crap program at the GPF and didn't want to face Yagudin at Europeans, then didn't want to bother at Worlds after have been trounced at the Olympics.

He was ill! But the guy could be dead in his grave and you wouldn't believe it even as you spat on the body!

My eyes aren't deceived by poor acting. It appeared completely put-on. Much like Johnny Weir running into the boards at 2003 Nationals and pretending it injured him, except less convincing.

Your eyes saw what they wanted to see. You were baying for Plushenko's blood long before he even attended Russian Nationals. You viewed him as the most evil villain in all of skatedom. Is it any surprise that your eyes are too blind to see genuine pain?

X-ray from when, by who? I don't buy it. The screw just happened to suddenly snap in the warm-up for the competition on a relatively easy jump for him. Not all year long during actual competition or more intense practices. But right there and then, conveniently removing him from a competition he was scared of missing a medal at and was already being criticized for taking the ONE Russian spot away from someone else with more stamina who was perhaps more up to the task of the Olympics.

You appear never to have heard of metal fatigue? That a piece of metal can be subjected to stresses over and over and over with no apparent issues until it suddenly snaps? Besides, I've no doubt Plushy would have medalled - it's not like anyone else there was exactly convincing.

 

[gravy]

He was ill! But the guy could be dead in his grave and you wouldn't believe it even as you spat on the body!



Your eyes saw what they wanted to see. You were baying for Plushenko's blood long before he even attended Russian Nationals. You viewed him as the most evil villain in all of skatedom. Is it any surprise that your eyes are too blind to see genuine pain?



You appear never to have heard of metal fatigue? That a piece of metal can be subjected to stresses over and over and over with no apparent issues until it suddenly snaps? Besides, I've no doubt Plushy would have medalled - it's not like anyone else there was exactly convincing.

Lolololol.

 

[lyverbird1]

He was ill! But the guy could be dead in his grave and you wouldn't believe it even as you spat on the body!



Your eyes saw what they wanted to see. You were baying for Plushenko's blood long before he even attended Russian Nationals. You viewed him as the most evil villain in all of skatedom. Is it any surprise that your eyes are too blind to see genuine pain?



You appear never to have heard of metal fatigue? That a piece of metal can be subjected to stresses over and over and over with no apparent issues until it suddenly snaps? Besides, I've no doubt Plushy would have medalled - it's not like anyone else there was exactly convincing.

This is all getting rather overwrought and hysterical... :disapp:

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

You appear never to have heard of metal fatigue? That a piece of metal can be subjected to stresses over and over and over with no apparent issues until it suddenly snaps? Besides, I've no doubt Plushy would have medalled - it's not like anyone else there was exactly convincing.

And I'm sure if he competed at Euros 2014, he would have beaten Voronov and earned his spot in Sochi. :sarcasm: It's very easy to say, oh well the field bombed so Plushenko would have won bronze had he replicated his team performances - but what if he had replicated his SP from Volvo Cup or FS from Russian Nationals? Even his solid team FS would have scored only 5th best in the mess that was the men's individual FS.

It's highly coincidental that of all the moments when the "metal fatigue" decides to kick in, it's right before the men's individual competition where Plushenko had absolutely no chance of winning gold or silver, and would have had to fight off others for the bronze (I mean, he almost and should have lost to Reynolds in the team FS, arguably Machida too, and Reynolds wasn't even a favourite). He was an underdog, and as BoP said, he doesn't like competing under those conditions. Certainly doesn't like competing when he stands no chance to win... and if he has to skate at or near his best to simply medal, well... "I will give other Russian man opportunity to compete in individual." :sarcasm:

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

#offseason#hashbrowns

 

[plushyfan]

Blades of Passion:There was no injury in 2002 that prevented him from competing AFAIK. He had a crap program at the GPF and didn't want to face Yagudin at Europeans, then didn't want to bother at Worlds after have been trounced at the Olympics.

Nooooo! He didn't compete because they made a new program! He had two months to SLC OG!!! His first program was the Cirque du soleil but the judges didn't like it, and they made the Carmen!! Didn't you know this????? He had no time to compete, because they worked so hard! And if you mentioned the ECH 2002, Abt was the real winner, not Yaguidn.

In 2005 WCH Moscow. He was injured, he had big pain before the competition, but he wanted to compete because the WCH was in MoscowI! When he skated the SP he had big pain. After the competition he immediately had surgery in a german clinic,Muscavyk doctor operated him. He had hernias on both sides. Do you know what is that?? Do you know that is not joke??? Do you know that is so dangerous???? Sometimes the haters in figure skating are so ridiculous...nd I have a question..What did they say the German doctor, "please Ms Muscavyk lie for me, lie that I have surgery because I didn't want to be the second in competition,. Plus you can be happy because Lambiel had chance to win......

2013 ECH. Yes, he withdrew, because he was injured again. Some days later he was operated in Israeli Clinic, they replaced a disc in his spine. The disc was fixed by 4 screws. Can you imagine when a bolt broke, and that would have been in your spine ??? And they ask again everybody( doctors, nurses, surgeons, staff) in Israeli clinic "please lie for me, and risk your reputation because of me".... Can you imagine that????? But if he acted the injury before the SP I would give him an Oscar Award!!! Maybe he hoped one producer from Hollywood will discover him.. Look at his face he was green because of the pain
http://video.yandex.ru/users/ver2106/view/8

 

[silverfoxes]

2013 ECH. Yes, he withdrew, because he was injured again. Some days later he was operated in Israeli Clinic, they replaced a disc in his spine. The disc was fixed with 4 screws. Can you imagine when a bolt broke, and that would have been in your spine ??? And they ask again everybody( doctors, nurses, surgeons, staff) in Israeli clinic "please lie for me, and risk your reputation because of me".... Can you imagine that????? But if he acted the injury before the SP I would give him an Oscar Award!!! Maybe he hoped one producer from Hollywood will discover him..

And the huge scar on his back is just special fx makeup? Or he scarred himself just to keep the story going?

I would never engage a conspiracy theorist...besides I think they just copy & paste the same garbage into every Plushenko thread, like a broken record.

 

[plushyfan]

And the huge scar on his back is just special fx makeup? Or he scarred himself just to keep the story going?

I would never engage a conspiracy theorist...besides I think they just copy & paste the same garbage into every Plushenko thread, like a broken record.

https://instagram.com/p/z7cnkZGyze/?taken-by=plushenkoofficial his scar. I can't find the photo about the fresh scar.. :hopelessness: the photo was taken in march 2015.. ( otherwise he is very handsome in the trunks )

edit: https://www.google.hu/search?q=Ксен...QhDas1N_M:&usg=__zFhb01J0qytib5RS6ANex7UJqZo= yes, this isn't real