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Remembering the titans. Twelve feats of Evgeny Plushenko. Part 2 https://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/mezhdunami/2222254.html -gogole translate
Eugene heard the call of wandering and responded to it. Having received as a gift an amulet-superpower (first skates) and having met the patron-guide (Alexey Mishin), he set off on a long journey. Difficulties and troubles awaited at every turn, but it did not break him, but only tempered.
Our hero was honest and did not build himself a humble young athlete - from the very beginning, he fought desperately on the ice. And very soon the whole world learned about his complex character and unprecedented talent. The first victories came. Loud and visual.
Even before victories, Evgeny had a main rival, Alexey Yagudin. Their battles shook the whole world, and the main battle of the titans, held at the 2002 Olympics, forever changed figure skating. Eugene lost the battle, having survived the strongest emotional shock. All according to the laws of the genre: a meeting with a shadow leads to the death of a hero - literal or symbolic, but he is reborn.
At the post-Olympic World Cup Eugene did not go. Revival was postponed for the next season. People wondered: “Will they be able to? Will he come back just as strong? Or will a defeat break him? ”
Plushenko, to whom the echoes of these questions undoubtedly reached, only smiled sarcastically and ...
feat number 7. For four years he turned male singles into the most predictable discipline in figure skating.
“It is not necessary for a hero to die, but he must be in contact with death. Caught on the verge of death, the hero looks to where the path is closed to ordinary people. He acquires divine power - and is symbolically reborn in a new capacity. ”
Post-Olympic Plushenko is already a much more meaningful skater. Young Eugene was like a volcano, spewing quadruple jumps in astronomical quantities. He sought to give his maximum without regard to the level of competition and the level of rivals - a similar approach allowed him to become the best, but he demanded too much strength and health. The Plushenko team made conclusions.
Complex elements, of course, have not gone away. They just started to use them where they were really needed. Dynamics and energy also did not disappear, but only became a little more competently fit into the fabric of programs. The energy-saving regime did not extend to the main starts and was fully justified - it was necessary to get to the Games in Turin as healthy as possible. Attention, what is important, was paid not only to physical but also mental health - psychologists and psychotherapists began to work with Eugene.
The fourth was a little smaller, but the number of victories has grown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7WXLsJlAiw - St Petersburg 300 at GPF 2002-2003
So, Plushenko-wunderkind, who burned all his rivals in the flames of his talent, turned into Plushenko-champion - a calculating killer, who always knew exactly how many shots he needed to make.
So the young man, who could not always cope with his strength, turned into a man who lost only two starts in four seasons.
Two starts. For four years.
feat number 8. Gave the world a great program "Dedication to Vaclav Nijinsky"
“The favor of fate to the hero, among other things, is manifested through contact with great ancestors. The predecessor gives the hero a key or points him on the way. ”
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
“We have penetrated into the image, imbued with the tragic fate of this brilliant and unhappy man. Eugene on ice transmits the path of Nijinsky in art, and, if you look closely, his life path. After all, Nijinsky died, going crazy. "
Alexey Mishin
“I’m scared, I see the greatest actor in the world.”
Sarah Bernhard about Wenceslas Nijinsky
The grandiose figure skater has a grandiose goal: to embody the image of a man who could dance the scent of a flower on ice; a genius whose mind fell in an unequal battle with a great gift ...
There is something otherworldly, sacred in this program. Something that undoubtedly took place a century earlier, when an ungainly slowed-down phlegmatic young man with a half-open mouth and an absent glance, when he stepped onto the stage, suddenly turned into the Eighth Wonder of the World, into a graceful God of dance, who could wrap into darkness.
“The favor of fate to the hero, among other things, is manifested through contact with great ancestors. The predecessor gives the hero a key or points him on the way. ”
William Indyk Tandem of the Two Kings of the Air allowed us to see the new Eugene - the figure skater, who fought not only with rivals and with himself, but also with unprecedented power in an artistic way.
The most surprising thing about this story is how timely Mishin and his pupil visited the idea of devoting the program to Nijinsky. After all, if it is necessary to choose a certain Plushenko for the House of Weights and Measures, Plushenko will be 2004. That Eugene combined technical perfection in himself (his health allowed him to jump two quadruple and make a Billman) with a meaningful and more serious approach to programs than at the dawn of his career. Charisma and the merits of Eugene have not yet drowned out the images embodied in the productions.
If Nizhinsky had “come” earlier, he would not have been so deep and mystical. If he came later, there would be a disproportionate amount in the program from Evgeni Plushenko himself. But he appeared on time - figure skating is not often so lucky.
By the way, Plushenko himself is also well aware of how lucky he is with this production - not without reason over time “Dedication to Nijinsky” more and more often rides on various shows and demonstrations. Not without reason for the key part in the Sochi arbitrary “Best of Plushenko” was chosen “Scheherazade”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=SEJXkfMYTX4 - the Nijinsky at Rus Nat
feat number 9. Winning the Olympic Games in Turin with an incredible margin
“The ease with which the main feat is accomplished proves that the hero is above the common man, he is of royal blood. Many tales and all the legends describing the feats of the incarnate gods describe this lightness. Where an ordinary hero would have encountered difficulties, the chosen one does not encounter any obstacles and does not make any mistakes. ”
Joseph Campbell "The Thousand-Years Hero"
“He is untouchable. The rest can forget about gold. ”
British Eurosport commentator a minute and a half after the start of a free program
For the ease with which the Games ’gold was won, there was a most difficult period in Plushenko’s career: less than a year before the Turin Games, Eugene again failed his health - withdrawing from the Moscow World Championship, an operation. And the beginning of the Olympic season, even if it was “golden” from and to, left, nevertheless, a number of questions concerning readiness for the main start of the four-year period.
All the more striking is the final table of the Games, in which Eugene brought the silver medalist Lambiel twenty-seven points (twenty-seven, Karl! It's just like two flawless fours! Or one well-worn out double Axel of Jason Brown!).
The feat here lies precisely in how correctly the peak of the form of Eugene was brought to the Games. At the Olympiad itself, the sensation of heroism did not arise - the unconditional best skater of the world took what was rightfully his and waited for him for four years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajp5xglwb0k - The Godfather 2006 with ES commentary ( I have changed
)
Eugene left figure skating winner. As it seemed then - left completely.
feat number 10. Brilliantly returned to the big sport after a four-year absence
“When the hero has completed his journey, he, an adventurer, has yet to return to everyday life with the priceless treasure that he has acquired and which brings life to all things. But it so happens that the hero refuses to return. ”
Joseph Campbell "The Thousand-Years Hero"
"If at first the hero refuses to hear the call of the world of adventure, now he does not want to return to the world of everyday life."
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
Michael Jordan, Michael Schumacher, Mohammed Ali, Evgeni Plushenko and many other great athletes returned to the “world of adventure” after leaving. Such is the character of genuine champions, such is their mentality - the eternal thirst for victories, in the name of which health is invariably sacrificed (Ali here, of course, is the most obvious example). And each such return, regardless of its outcome, always contains a bit of incredibly dreary awareness of the transience of sports life ...
A lot was said about Plushenko’s return to sport, including critical things. But it was the very case when the motives faded before the results of re-entering the river.
The fact that Plushenko returned incredibly strong was superimposed by one more amusing fact - in four years a new king did not appear in the men's single. Someone, like Lambiel and Takahashi, was prevented by serious health problems, someone, like Joubert, was unable to count and deficit in the second assessment ... Moreover, there was a clear regress in men's figure skating: in 2006 Lambiel became the world champion by performing two quadruple in an arbitrary one; Joubert had only one in a year, and Battle and Lysacek won their titles in 2008 and 2009, respectively, without using the fourths at all.
Against this background, the 4-3 cascade became, if not fundamental, then an extremely weighty argument in the fight for the gold of the Games in Vancouver. The victory at the European Championships confirmed the seriousness of Plushenko's intentions - he went to the Olympiad in the status of a favorite. It seemed that there was no absence at all for four years.
So, I rested for a week, winning Eurovision on the way, and back to the Games ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6vml3Nicr8 ECH 2010
What comes to mind when you hear the words "Plushenko" and "Vancouver"? Scandalous results of the Games? Purest 4-3 in both programs from Eugene? His peerless demonstration number, which he skated as if someone's life depended on it? Or maybe the same episode at the Award Ceremony, when Plushenko first stood on the top step of the pedestal and only then moved on to the second ..?
For me, Plushenko in Vancouver is his view after the completion of an arbitrary program. The look of an insanely tired man who gave all of himself to his beloved work.
The look of a wounded beast who will forgive himself and injustice, and meanness, but never forgive pity.
I have nothing more to say on this topic.
feat number 11. Became a link for several generations of skaters
“The hero becomes the lord of two worlds. He is honored for his accomplishments, and the legend about him should inspire future generations to exploits. ”
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
Do you know what unites Todd Eldridge, who turned 47 this year, and twenty-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya? That's right - they competed on the same ice with Plushenko.
Eugene's sporty longevity for some became a true delight and joy, and for others - a nightmare. Someone thoughtlessly copied Plushenko, someone (for example, Hania) took over his mind wisely, adding his own ... I sent Plushenko to retire (and then left the sport before Eugene himself).
Nobody inspired skaters like Plushenko. And no one was annoyed. Yes, in recent years, Eugene’s career has been criticized for taking someone else’s place, not giving way to young people, and in general is becoming obsolete. But there are facts, and the facts show that Plushenko came to figure skating, when any clean quadruple toe loop was for “wow!”, And left him when people started jumping quadruple lutz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOIDCHO-V3Y - Evgeni Plushenko vs. Boyang Jin【Tango Amore 】@ Amazing on Ice 2016
Took Rome brick, and left marble.
feat number 12. Four Olympics - four medals
“The path changed the hero. What he wanted was done, but that is why much more serious dangers fell to him on the way home. Since his entire personality now corresponded to the forces and the forms of measurement, where time did not exist, the forces and forms of time fell devastatingly upon him. ”
Joseph Campbell "The Thousand-Years Hero"
“The journey must end with a return home. The hero is helped to return back - often he is literally brought home on his hands. Returning home, the hero loses divine power and becomes mortal again. ”
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
After Eugene took the seventh European gold in 2012, it became clear that “Plushenko at the Games in Sochi” is not a utopia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBJtNXvyWbg - ECH 2012 LP
According to all the laws of the genre, the hero must complete his journey, returning home. It was embarrassing that at the end of the journey the hero had to become a mere mortal ...
Conversations that Plushenko occupies someone else’s place (let's be honest, not unreasonable conversations) broke out with a new force. And again, Plushenko silenced everyone. In the short program, he yielded only to the young Japanese prince Yuzuru Hania - he passed, as it were, to that power and scepter. The rest, young and modern, were left behind. Among them was Patrick Chan - he never beat Plushenko. Neither the Quad, nor with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhUR3yGFrLc - Evgeni Plushenko Sochi 2014 team SP - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajaY90WZG_E - 2014 Olympics Team Men SP 10 JPN Yuzuru HANYU
Joseph
And now a minute of author vanity =)
Long before the Games in Sochi, I guessed that the latest program Plushenko would be a variation on the theme “The best I've done”. It would be strange if a figure skater with a career so rich in events and programs neglected such an opportunity.
In general, there was no other way out for Eugene - he became a living legend in sports. Any acting mask on his face would simply crumble - in any image he was doomed to remain himself. Therefore, "Plushenko in the image of Plushenko" is the right decision. And very symbolic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeMoig-AJzk - Evgeny Plyushchenko Wows His Home Crowd - Figure Skating Team Event | Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics
Team competitions were won brilliantly. Plushenko in both programs beat direct competitors from Canada. And won the fourth medal at the Olympics. Moreover, Eugene - just think about it - won victories at the main starts in three (!!!) different decades. It is not even space. This is a different dimension.
And then ... Then the hero appeared before his compatriots as a mere mortal, losing superpower, holding on to iron will and titanium screws.
Great power always implies great pay.
The hero of the myth is obliged to sacrifice himself for the cause for which he fought, and he is also the hero of the myth. Happy ends were invented much later ...
However, the final of this story is still ahead. Do you know why?
The whole career of Eugene is easily divided into four Olympic cycles. And in each of these four years he appeared before us in a new incarnation: Plushenko-wunderkind replaced Plushenko-champion, and he, in turn, was replaced after 2006 by Plushenko, a cultural phenomenon. The latter eventually grew into a Plushenko myth ...
So here. There is another hypostasis to which Eugene has been trying on for several years. Attempts are perceived by the figurative world in different ways, but they all agree on one thing: Plushenko, a mentor, sounds very, very intriguing.
P.S.
“Now that his journey has almost come to an end, he must give up his place to a new hero, instructing and supporting his pupil. At the end of the journey, every great hero must become a teacher, the character with whom he identified himself first. ”
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
Eugene heard the call of wandering and responded to it. Having received as a gift an amulet-superpower (first skates) and having met the patron-guide (Alexey Mishin), he set off on a long journey. Difficulties and troubles awaited at every turn, but it did not break him, but only tempered.
Our hero was honest and did not build himself a humble young athlete - from the very beginning, he fought desperately on the ice. And very soon the whole world learned about his complex character and unprecedented talent. The first victories came. Loud and visual.
Even before victories, Evgeny had a main rival, Alexey Yagudin. Their battles shook the whole world, and the main battle of the titans, held at the 2002 Olympics, forever changed figure skating. Eugene lost the battle, having survived the strongest emotional shock. All according to the laws of the genre: a meeting with a shadow leads to the death of a hero - literal or symbolic, but he is reborn.
At the post-Olympic World Cup Eugene did not go. Revival was postponed for the next season. People wondered: “Will they be able to? Will he come back just as strong? Or will a defeat break him? ”
Plushenko, to whom the echoes of these questions undoubtedly reached, only smiled sarcastically and ...
feat number 7. For four years he turned male singles into the most predictable discipline in figure skating.
“It is not necessary for a hero to die, but he must be in contact with death. Caught on the verge of death, the hero looks to where the path is closed to ordinary people. He acquires divine power - and is symbolically reborn in a new capacity. ”
Post-Olympic Plushenko is already a much more meaningful skater. Young Eugene was like a volcano, spewing quadruple jumps in astronomical quantities. He sought to give his maximum without regard to the level of competition and the level of rivals - a similar approach allowed him to become the best, but he demanded too much strength and health. The Plushenko team made conclusions.
Complex elements, of course, have not gone away. They just started to use them where they were really needed. Dynamics and energy also did not disappear, but only became a little more competently fit into the fabric of programs. The energy-saving regime did not extend to the main starts and was fully justified - it was necessary to get to the Games in Turin as healthy as possible. Attention, what is important, was paid not only to physical but also mental health - psychologists and psychotherapists began to work with Eugene.
The fourth was a little smaller, but the number of victories has grown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7WXLsJlAiw - St Petersburg 300 at GPF 2002-2003
So, Plushenko-wunderkind, who burned all his rivals in the flames of his talent, turned into Plushenko-champion - a calculating killer, who always knew exactly how many shots he needed to make.
So the young man, who could not always cope with his strength, turned into a man who lost only two starts in four seasons.
Two starts. For four years.
feat number 8. Gave the world a great program "Dedication to Vaclav Nijinsky"
“The favor of fate to the hero, among other things, is manifested through contact with great ancestors. The predecessor gives the hero a key or points him on the way. ”
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
“We have penetrated into the image, imbued with the tragic fate of this brilliant and unhappy man. Eugene on ice transmits the path of Nijinsky in art, and, if you look closely, his life path. After all, Nijinsky died, going crazy. "
Alexey Mishin
“I’m scared, I see the greatest actor in the world.”
Sarah Bernhard about Wenceslas Nijinsky
The grandiose figure skater has a grandiose goal: to embody the image of a man who could dance the scent of a flower on ice; a genius whose mind fell in an unequal battle with a great gift ...
There is something otherworldly, sacred in this program. Something that undoubtedly took place a century earlier, when an ungainly slowed-down phlegmatic young man with a half-open mouth and an absent glance, when he stepped onto the stage, suddenly turned into the Eighth Wonder of the World, into a graceful God of dance, who could wrap into darkness.
“The favor of fate to the hero, among other things, is manifested through contact with great ancestors. The predecessor gives the hero a key or points him on the way. ”
William Indyk Tandem of the Two Kings of the Air allowed us to see the new Eugene - the figure skater, who fought not only with rivals and with himself, but also with unprecedented power in an artistic way.
The most surprising thing about this story is how timely Mishin and his pupil visited the idea of devoting the program to Nijinsky. After all, if it is necessary to choose a certain Plushenko for the House of Weights and Measures, Plushenko will be 2004. That Eugene combined technical perfection in himself (his health allowed him to jump two quadruple and make a Billman) with a meaningful and more serious approach to programs than at the dawn of his career. Charisma and the merits of Eugene have not yet drowned out the images embodied in the productions.
If Nizhinsky had “come” earlier, he would not have been so deep and mystical. If he came later, there would be a disproportionate amount in the program from Evgeni Plushenko himself. But he appeared on time - figure skating is not often so lucky.
By the way, Plushenko himself is also well aware of how lucky he is with this production - not without reason over time “Dedication to Nijinsky” more and more often rides on various shows and demonstrations. Not without reason for the key part in the Sochi arbitrary “Best of Plushenko” was chosen “Scheherazade”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=SEJXkfMYTX4 - the Nijinsky at Rus Nat
feat number 9. Winning the Olympic Games in Turin with an incredible margin
“The ease with which the main feat is accomplished proves that the hero is above the common man, he is of royal blood. Many tales and all the legends describing the feats of the incarnate gods describe this lightness. Where an ordinary hero would have encountered difficulties, the chosen one does not encounter any obstacles and does not make any mistakes. ”
Joseph Campbell "The Thousand-Years Hero"
“He is untouchable. The rest can forget about gold. ”
British Eurosport commentator a minute and a half after the start of a free program
For the ease with which the Games ’gold was won, there was a most difficult period in Plushenko’s career: less than a year before the Turin Games, Eugene again failed his health - withdrawing from the Moscow World Championship, an operation. And the beginning of the Olympic season, even if it was “golden” from and to, left, nevertheless, a number of questions concerning readiness for the main start of the four-year period.
All the more striking is the final table of the Games, in which Eugene brought the silver medalist Lambiel twenty-seven points (twenty-seven, Karl! It's just like two flawless fours! Or one well-worn out double Axel of Jason Brown!).
The feat here lies precisely in how correctly the peak of the form of Eugene was brought to the Games. At the Olympiad itself, the sensation of heroism did not arise - the unconditional best skater of the world took what was rightfully his and waited for him for four years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajp5xglwb0k - The Godfather 2006 with ES commentary ( I have changed
)Eugene left figure skating winner. As it seemed then - left completely.
feat number 10. Brilliantly returned to the big sport after a four-year absence
“When the hero has completed his journey, he, an adventurer, has yet to return to everyday life with the priceless treasure that he has acquired and which brings life to all things. But it so happens that the hero refuses to return. ”
Joseph Campbell "The Thousand-Years Hero"
"If at first the hero refuses to hear the call of the world of adventure, now he does not want to return to the world of everyday life."
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
Michael Jordan, Michael Schumacher, Mohammed Ali, Evgeni Plushenko and many other great athletes returned to the “world of adventure” after leaving. Such is the character of genuine champions, such is their mentality - the eternal thirst for victories, in the name of which health is invariably sacrificed (Ali here, of course, is the most obvious example). And each such return, regardless of its outcome, always contains a bit of incredibly dreary awareness of the transience of sports life ...
A lot was said about Plushenko’s return to sport, including critical things. But it was the very case when the motives faded before the results of re-entering the river.
The fact that Plushenko returned incredibly strong was superimposed by one more amusing fact - in four years a new king did not appear in the men's single. Someone, like Lambiel and Takahashi, was prevented by serious health problems, someone, like Joubert, was unable to count and deficit in the second assessment ... Moreover, there was a clear regress in men's figure skating: in 2006 Lambiel became the world champion by performing two quadruple in an arbitrary one; Joubert had only one in a year, and Battle and Lysacek won their titles in 2008 and 2009, respectively, without using the fourths at all.
Against this background, the 4-3 cascade became, if not fundamental, then an extremely weighty argument in the fight for the gold of the Games in Vancouver. The victory at the European Championships confirmed the seriousness of Plushenko's intentions - he went to the Olympiad in the status of a favorite. It seemed that there was no absence at all for four years.
So, I rested for a week, winning Eurovision on the way, and back to the Games ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6vml3Nicr8 ECH 2010
What comes to mind when you hear the words "Plushenko" and "Vancouver"? Scandalous results of the Games? Purest 4-3 in both programs from Eugene? His peerless demonstration number, which he skated as if someone's life depended on it? Or maybe the same episode at the Award Ceremony, when Plushenko first stood on the top step of the pedestal and only then moved on to the second ..?
For me, Plushenko in Vancouver is his view after the completion of an arbitrary program. The look of an insanely tired man who gave all of himself to his beloved work.
The look of a wounded beast who will forgive himself and injustice, and meanness, but never forgive pity.
I have nothing more to say on this topic.
feat number 11. Became a link for several generations of skaters
“The hero becomes the lord of two worlds. He is honored for his accomplishments, and the legend about him should inspire future generations to exploits. ”
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
Do you know what unites Todd Eldridge, who turned 47 this year, and twenty-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya? That's right - they competed on the same ice with Plushenko.
Eugene's sporty longevity for some became a true delight and joy, and for others - a nightmare. Someone thoughtlessly copied Plushenko, someone (for example, Hania) took over his mind wisely, adding his own ... I sent Plushenko to retire (and then left the sport before Eugene himself).
Nobody inspired skaters like Plushenko. And no one was annoyed. Yes, in recent years, Eugene’s career has been criticized for taking someone else’s place, not giving way to young people, and in general is becoming obsolete. But there are facts, and the facts show that Plushenko came to figure skating, when any clean quadruple toe loop was for “wow!”, And left him when people started jumping quadruple lutz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOIDCHO-V3Y - Evgeni Plushenko vs. Boyang Jin【Tango Amore 】@ Amazing on Ice 2016
Took Rome brick, and left marble.
feat number 12. Four Olympics - four medals
“The path changed the hero. What he wanted was done, but that is why much more serious dangers fell to him on the way home. Since his entire personality now corresponded to the forces and the forms of measurement, where time did not exist, the forces and forms of time fell devastatingly upon him. ”
Joseph Campbell "The Thousand-Years Hero"
“The journey must end with a return home. The hero is helped to return back - often he is literally brought home on his hands. Returning home, the hero loses divine power and becomes mortal again. ”
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
After Eugene took the seventh European gold in 2012, it became clear that “Plushenko at the Games in Sochi” is not a utopia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBJtNXvyWbg - ECH 2012 LP
According to all the laws of the genre, the hero must complete his journey, returning home. It was embarrassing that at the end of the journey the hero had to become a mere mortal ...
Conversations that Plushenko occupies someone else’s place (let's be honest, not unreasonable conversations) broke out with a new force. And again, Plushenko silenced everyone. In the short program, he yielded only to the young Japanese prince Yuzuru Hania - he passed, as it were, to that power and scepter. The rest, young and modern, were left behind. Among them was Patrick Chan - he never beat Plushenko. Neither the Quad, nor with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhUR3yGFrLc - Evgeni Plushenko Sochi 2014 team SP - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajaY90WZG_E - 2014 Olympics Team Men SP 10 JPN Yuzuru HANYU
Joseph
And now a minute of author vanity =)
Long before the Games in Sochi, I guessed that the latest program Plushenko would be a variation on the theme “The best I've done”. It would be strange if a figure skater with a career so rich in events and programs neglected such an opportunity.
In general, there was no other way out for Eugene - he became a living legend in sports. Any acting mask on his face would simply crumble - in any image he was doomed to remain himself. Therefore, "Plushenko in the image of Plushenko" is the right decision. And very symbolic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeMoig-AJzk - Evgeny Plyushchenko Wows His Home Crowd - Figure Skating Team Event | Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics
Team competitions were won brilliantly. Plushenko in both programs beat direct competitors from Canada. And won the fourth medal at the Olympics. Moreover, Eugene - just think about it - won victories at the main starts in three (!!!) different decades. It is not even space. This is a different dimension.
And then ... Then the hero appeared before his compatriots as a mere mortal, losing superpower, holding on to iron will and titanium screws.
Great power always implies great pay.
The hero of the myth is obliged to sacrifice himself for the cause for which he fought, and he is also the hero of the myth. Happy ends were invented much later ...
However, the final of this story is still ahead. Do you know why?
The whole career of Eugene is easily divided into four Olympic cycles. And in each of these four years he appeared before us in a new incarnation: Plushenko-wunderkind replaced Plushenko-champion, and he, in turn, was replaced after 2006 by Plushenko, a cultural phenomenon. The latter eventually grew into a Plushenko myth ...
So here. There is another hypostasis to which Eugene has been trying on for several years. Attempts are perceived by the figurative world in different ways, but they all agree on one thing: Plushenko, a mentor, sounds very, very intriguing.
P.S.
“Now that his journey has almost come to an end, he must give up his place to a new hero, instructing and supporting his pupil. At the end of the journey, every great hero must become a teacher, the character with whom he identified himself first. ”
William Indyk "Psychology for Scriptwriters"
Funny someone should say that, I was just thinking today watching Liza and Med at Skate Canada that Plushy fans had the best of both worlds, a skater with textbook technique and amazing consistency! I really do wonder if Plushy could teach his mindset to the other Russian skaters...
Speaking of the kids I would be so distracted if Plushy was learning choreo near me and forget to skate 
They don't mention him among the 5 best skaters...
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