Evgeni Plushenko

[Sandpiper]

I was there at that night,
and I still think he could be able to succeed combination jumps,
if the link was bigger than that.
The link was so small that everyone had trouble to get enough speed, for my eyes.

I hope you had fun! I'm still curious about the other performances, especially Honda, who looked in great shape in the opening.

Yeah, from the video, looks like the combination jump was perfectly fine. He just ran out of room. Kudos to Plushy for putting a hand down instead of going full-on splat.

Has Plushy had any board run-ins in his career? :think: I remember there was a close call with a lutz once, but he was able to bring the toe pick in to avoid the wall.

 

[Meoima]

I hope you had fun! I'm still curious about the other performances, especially Honda, who looked in great shape in the opening.

Yeah, from the video, looks like the combination jump was perfectly fine. He just ran out of room. Kudos to Plushy for putting a hand down instead of going full-on splat.

Has Plushy had any board run-ins in his career? :think: I remember there was a close call with a lutz once, but he was able to bring the toe pick in to avoid the wall.

Plushy is the master of saving jumps, I would even bet my life on a healthy Plushy that he can land all the jumps perfectly.

Anyways the arena was mainly for other sport like ping pong and volley ball so it's kinda narrow. Yuzuru said so in the interview. Once of many reasons skaters don't show their best at the ice show might be because the made-up rinks are not ideal. So kudos to all of them to perform so well with that condition.:agree:

Anyways I am so exciting for his performance at DOI this weekend. Will they jump 3A side by side? Kinda worried but thrilled at the same time.

 

[plushyfan]

Plushenko news retweeted these posts.

Jackie ‏@DreamyPopLover

all the people who've impacted me, made me laugh and cry, I don't think I'd cried more (for good & bad times) than I had for Plushenko

I like the Plushenko fans :yes:


Plushy in Tokyo, today ... RT @sr_2270: え、まってwwww 秋葉原のヨドバシでプルシェンコなうなんだがwwww RT @bentouya: 後ろ姿だけ 隣の人は通訳してた https://twitter.com/bentouya/status/481292746632597504

Vasu Kulkarni @VasuKulkarni · 18h

@HODINKEE Ben, finally got my hands on that @ulysse_nardin Plushenko diver I told u about. Maybe only one in the US! https://twitter.com/VasuKulkarni/status/481610789409669120/photo/1

Do you know his watch? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvj_7HJVmRA This is a Swiss hand made watch "Champion's Diver Plushenko" Limited Edition

 

[Sandpiper]

Close call with the lutz here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40BhOQKf3DQ&t=4m20s How would they treat it under 6.0 if a skater landed the jump but hit the wall? Does it count as a fall on an element, or something similar to Sale/Pelletier falling on their final pose in the SLC SP? (Heading off to the stupid questions thread now).

Rink-size + difficulty of performing under spotlights probably contributes to why skaters don't always try/land the hardest elements. Not to mention, the audience probably doesn't care too much about quad vs. triple axel vs. triple toe. Falling likely ruins the performance more in shows. But I have noticed a recent trend of people performing hard jumps in shows. I remember very few people doing this back during the Yagudin-Plushy days. :think: Did Goebel do quads in exhibitions?

Lol, can Yuzu and Plush jump side-by-side triple axels in that little rink? Hope they don't go crashing into each other/the audience (thankfully, they both have great height rather than distance on their jumps. Now, if Han Yan were in that rink... Wait, Plushy will meet up with Han Yan at Artistry on Ice. Oh boy...)

Do you know his watch? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvj_7HJVmRA

Such power in every movement. :yes:

 

[Meoima]

I am wondering at which age Plushy got the quad? Was he practicing quads at the age of 15 or earlier?
I am very curious about this matter. Since Plushy has gone through dozen of surgeries, does it has anything to do with the quad?

 

[silverfoxes]

Rink-size + difficulty of performing under spotlights probably contributes to why skaters don't always try/land the hardest elements. Not to mention, the audience probably doesn't care too much about quad vs. triple axel vs. triple toe. Falling likely ruins the performance more in shows. But I have noticed a recent trend of people performing hard jumps in shows. I remember very few people doing this back during the Yagudin-Plushy days. :think: Did Goebel do quads in exhibitions?

The only Goebel ex I remember watching was "American Pie" from Salt Lake...no quad. The Eurosport guys said something like he skates around looking lost when he doesn't have any quads to do.

I think that practicing quads certainly contributed to some of his injuries (the back issues in particular), but I don't know if his number of surgeries is really out of the norm for an elite skater, since so few have ever competed as long as he has. So many others have to cut their career short because of injuries, even without attempting quads.

 

[Sandpiper]

I remember an article that said Plush landed his first quad at 13? I seem to have lost the link... Here's an interview where he says he landed his first quad at 14: http://www.kingonice.com/interview25.htm He's probably correct, give or take a year (He said he ended his Biellmann at 21, but my stalker data says 22, so I'd say he's about 90% trustworthy ). He first landed quad in competition at 15, when he moved into seniors.

But yeah, it's probably more than just "doing quads" that caused injuries (though he did start them awfully young and that can't have helped). Bad rink/training space when he was young, lack of rehabilitation, pressure of staying on top and maintaining his peak through a good six years (2000-2006). And of course, as Gallavich said, there are many skaters who have sustained comparable injuries. They just chose to retire. Plush is the only one who keeps fighting to come back.

Quite a few Russian skaters sustained pretty bad injuries. Plush is hardly unique. Urmanov's knocked him out of Nagano, Fadeev had declined by Calgary, and of course Yagudin... Urmanov and Fadeev weren't attempting quads anymore by the tail end of their amateur careers, but injuries nonetheless.

The Eurosport guys said something like he skates around looking lost when he doesn't have any quads to do.

Yowch, that's a tad harsh. Well, the Eurosport guys did admit (during the 2003 Worlds gala, the only Goebel EX I remember--no quad, generic ballad) that they aren't his biggest fans. I do respect Goebel for his incredible quad salchow though. If anyone's a victim of quad-jumping, it's him. He retired before Torino and doesn't skate all anymore...

 

[lady_bee]

Jealous!

I'm curious, did Johnny, Tomas, Javier, etc. only have one individual performance apiece? The tv program seemed heavily edited. How much did they leave out?

Here is the program of the night. (a copy of my post in Yuzuru's fan thread.)

Part 1
1. Opening: All the skaters except Plushy
2. Yamato Tamura
3. Music performance by Rake.
4. Takeshi Honda with Rake
5. Johnny, Bolywood. The queen of the night, who got the first standing ovation.
6. Javi, Black Betty. That was a cool program
7. Music performance by Panda-Lion
8. Verner with Panda-Lion. He was sooooo good, with so many jumps!
9. Yuzuru, White Legend. Simply beautiful.
10. Flower Ceremony from Plushy to Yuzuru.

Part 2
1. Girls from Sendai’s local skate club, Let It Go.
2. Music performance by BREATHE
3. Javi with BREATHE. He looked little nervous, as he said in the video message “It is the first time to perform with live music.
4. Johnny, Schindler’s list. He was wearing simple black out fit and black shoes with red soles.
5. Honda, Talking to the Moon. Excellent performance by my emotional favorite skater, who are from Fukushima, and so am I
6. Verner, New York New York. Excellent. Veteran skateｒs know how to use the link, very well.
7. Plushy. He was on! It was Plushenko. People were so excited and he looked happy.
8. Music performance by Monkey Majic.
9. Yuzuru, Change. It was very exciting performance, even with a fall at steps. He said it’s a killer program, which requires so much stamina to perform.
10. Yuzuru’s speech. He looked more than happy.
11. All skaters with Panda-Lion’s music, no Plushy
12. Emerging of Russian Emperor! He did triple jump with Yuzuru, side by side.
13. Farewell with Monkey Majic’s music.

Takeshi, Tomas and Javi, all of them had two performances, with and without live music.
Takeshi and Javi were much better in the programs with recorded music which were not broadcasted.
Tomas did very good with Panda-Lion, as the band tweeted they truly enjoyed collaboration with him, though I still prefer NY.

 

[plushyfan]

I remember an article that said Plush landed his first quad at 13? I seem to have lost the link... Here's an interview where he says he landed his first quad at 14: http://www.kingonice.com/interview25.htm He's probably correct, give or take a year (He said he ended his Biellmann at 21, but my stalker data says 22, so I'd say he's about 90% trustworthy ). He first landed quad in competition at 15, when he moved into seniors.

But yeah, it's probably more than just "doing quads" that caused injuries (though he did start them awfully young and that can't have helped). Bad rink/training space when he was young, lack of rehabilitation, pressure of staying on top and maintaining his peak through a good six years (2000-2006). And of course, as Gallavich said, there are many skaters who have sustained comparable injuries. They just chose to retire. Plush is the only one who keeps fighting to come back.

Quite a few Russian skaters sustained pretty bad injuries. Plush is hardly unique. Urmanov's knocked him out of Nagano, Fadeev had declined by Calgary, and of course Yagudin... Urmanov and Fadeev weren't attempting quads anymore by the tail end of their amateur careers, but injuries nonetheless.


Yowch, that's a tad harsh. Well, the Eurosport guys did admit (during the 2003 Worlds gala, the only Goebel EX I remember--no quad, generic ballad) that they aren't his biggest fans. I do respect Goebel for his incredible quad salchow though. If anyone's a victim of quad-jumping, it's him. He retired before Torino and doesn't skate all anymore...

Yes, Plushy was 22 when he ended his Bielmann. His last Bielmann was in GPF 2004/2005. He was injured in ECH and WCH too. At ECH he won, but Moscow WCH he had to withdraw. OMG! The Russian media attacked him very hard!!!

If I right remember he landed in first quad when he was 14. But he landed in first 3A when he was 13.

Thank you for the link http://www.kingonice.com/interview25.htm I read this interview a long time ago. They didn't know the rules thus he lost his 5th GPF title to Sandu. He did more jumping combo what the rules allowed.

the jumps are very harmful to the knees and spine. The ice is very hard the blades are very thin, everything is very stiff..

Christy Krall "The quad four revolution : you need up to 300 pounds of centrifugal force to hold in their arms and legs when they jump, And when they come down, the force on the landing leg is up to 8 à 14 times their body weight,.. punishing their bone, muscles, tendons…"

And Plushy was very young when he begun to jump quads. His body wasn't strong enough but he adored it so he jumped jumped and jumped.. plus lack of rehabilitation. I no wonder because he had many injuries.

 

[silverfoxes]

Thank you so much lady_bee! I wish there was some way for the other performances to be put online.

Plushy posted some adorable photos of himself with Elena Radionova & the rest of the Dreams on Ice cast. http://instagram.com/plushenkoofficial

 

[plushyfan]

Here is the program of the night. (a copy of my post in Yuzuru's fan thread.)

Thank you! I'm so envy!!

 

[Sandpiper]

Yes, Plushy was 22 when he ended his Bielmann. His last Bielmann was in GPF 2004/2005. He was injured in ECH and WCH too. At ECH he won, but Moscow WCH he had to withdraw. OMG! The Russian media attacked him very hard!!!

If I right remember he landed in first quad when he was 14. But he landed in first 3A when he was 13.

Thank you for the link http://www.kingonice.com/interview25.htm I read this interview a long time ago. They didn't know the rules thus he lost his 5th GPF title to Sandu. He did more jumping combo what the rules allowed.

the jumps are very harmful to the knees and spine. The ice is very hard the blades are very thin, everything is very stiff..

Actually, I'm quite sure his last Biellmann was 2005 Worlds SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iHS9Dt1qp0 Right before withdrawing for groin surgery. I think he was trying to make it up to the home crowd after falling on the quad. He probably could've won Worlds with a clean long even considering the short, considering how Lambiel skated, but at that point he was jeopardizing the Olympics if he did any more.

Didn't Plush have all his triples at 11, before he even went to Mishin? Of course, that could mean sans the axel, since axel is technically 3.5.

Regarding quads: Not to mention they didn't know about the long-term damage back then, and just threw themselves into the jumps with the daring and thoughtlessness of youth. Timothy Goebel talked about this extensively on his interview with TSL. (How he's sometimes do 80 quads a day, how the thought of going on the ice and doing a double jump these days horrifies him). Not sure how Plush managed to stay in one piece for so long--combination of Mishin's technique and his own crazy fortitude?

There's lots of interesting old interviews from the site. My favourite quote, from this interview (regarding Godfather):

This is not the first mafia theme for me. There are many jokes about that. That happens. I skated to Michael Jackson, so does it means I think about him constantly? Or Nijinski? There were tons of characters, and here are the two programs with the criminal theme and immediately, “Is that close to him? He probably socializes with the criminals”. Think what you want.

 

[Meoima]

Plushy with Radionova, they are so cute: http://instagram.com/p/ptYJmomy9g/
Dream on ice shows will start tomorrow! :yay:

 

[plushyfan]

Actually, I'm quite sure his last Biellmann was 2005 Worlds SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iHS9Dt1qp0 Right before withdrawing for groin surgery. I think he was trying to make it up to the home crowd after falling on the quad. He probably could've won Worlds with a clean long even considering the short, considering how Lambiel skated, but at that point he was jeopardizing the Olympics if he did any more.

Oops...you are right..I forgot it :

 

[plushyfan]

There's lots of interesting old interviews from the site. My favourite quote, from this interview (regarding Godfather):

:thumbsup:

 

[Sandpiper]

Yes! Achievement unlocked: I've out-trivia'ed Plushyfan! This is cause for celebration. (Seriously though, I'm obsessed with the Moonlight Sonata SP, so I know all the performances of it quite well. ).

 

[silverfoxes]

I could easily get lost in an internet black hole for hours reading his old interviews. I like the one where he's at the circus with his parents...aw.

Does he still communicate with his father? I see photos of him with his mom and he talks about her fairly often, but I'm curious what his relationship is like with his dad...especially since Mishin has more or less been a surrogate father to him for the past 2 decades. Is there some resentment there or maybe they just don't have anything in common?

 

[plushyfan]

Plushy has good relationship with his father, but nothing special. However, the relationship with his mother, is very special and strong.

 

[plushyfan]

Sandpiper, if your favorite SP is the Moonlight Sonata you know this video on GPF. His skating is so beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlGVCUwzb7I I like these comments to this video:

linzi1234567

"This is a lesser known program compared with his other more famous ones, probably because he did not compete much that season due to injuries. But what a haunting and stunningly beautiful program! A modern interpretation of Beethoven's timeless music, so demure and subtle, and yet with heart-felt passion and sensitivity. It gave us glimpse of longing, bewilderment and vulnerability, combined with the loftiness and sweetness. Only the genius knows how to interpret another genius."

and

47issa

Beautiful programme,i love how he skates, it always makes me laugh when people say Plushenko is not artistic, he is a true artist, he doesn't give the false shallow glittery so called artistry that people seem to want now( where everyone is the same and just do what they are told to do) he feels, he expresses and he has such great simple touches (like the iconic pose in Nijinsky) that some people don't even get, he inhabits his music,

MrEvan75

There is something metaphysical in his skating...

LutzDeluxe

This is probably one of his best short programs. Though he was perfect here, I think he skated this better at Europeans that season where he was actually imperfect. He had a turn out on the Quad, but he seemed to have more speed and emotion at Europeans than here. Though he's very good here too. Anyway, the footwork and arm movements were very interesting in this program. I liked that he didn't do all his jumps back to back too. I wished he would've explored a different jump layout more often later in his career. Nevertheless, he's great as always.
·

 

[Sandpiper]

I agree, GPF 2004-05 version was the most perfect. Cameraman needs to be fired for focusing on his feet when he's doing the Biellmann though.

However, there are things to admire about all the versions: Russian Nationals version had faster spins and really passionate interpretation--like he'd lost himself in the music. Europeans had probably the best "projection to the audience." And he rescued the Worlds version brilliantly--did both full-on donut (not the catch-foot thing he did in the other performances) and Biellmann, fantastic step sequence as usual, and the "look of defiance" as described for Eurosport.

I wonder, if we took a survey about "best versions of each program," how much would we agree? For instance, I consider 04-05 GPF Godfather the best version by a mile, but seems like some people prefer 2006 Europeans. (I feel like making a huge list about this, but I'm probably the only one interested in debating it).

Plush actually always put the lutz after the first step sequence until the 2005-06 season. I much preferred that layout as well. Probably the only criticism I have for Aranjuez is the back-to-back jumps (the reason I'd put it slightly behind Moonlight Sonata on most days ).