Men Free Program

[colleen o'neill]

Plushy , that was a treat ! The guy is phenomenal. And so much of what I've objected to in his material over the years , was missing , or toned way down. Good luck to him with his operation.

Glad to see Gachinsky deliver. I love this program for him ( even though they've changed one of my favourite choreographic touches)

Javier ( sob..) Hope to see him fight back at world's..( you can do it, Javi ).

 

[snowflake]

evgeni brought the arena down, skated far far better than olys and made ant a fan! (Although he told me not to say anywhere)

I'm sure all 8000 at the arena became fans if they weren't already. I can't stop thinking about his performance. Thrilled to have it recorded on my computer. It will be one of the classics

 

[Trewyn]

We celebrate with Ant before going to the ladies!!! I cried my eyes out!!!

Yes chan can beat him but who cares!!! evgeni brought the arena down, skated far far better than olys and made ant a fan! (Although he told me not to say anywhere)

I'm so happy you were there to witness that!!! Even I became a bit of a fan of Plushenko and I was definitely rooting for him to win here! That *was* beter than Olys

Btw; about Kevin; there seem to be a lot of conflicting reports as to the reason of his withdrawal so far I've heard/read toe injury, broken wrist, back and knee problems... Was it all of that combined? or did he just not feel up to the task?

Belgian newspaper says he's going to Nice.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

.... Love him, dislike him, you can't be indifferent to him. Plushenko is a skating machine. My goodness. I'm really rooting for Chan at the Olympics, and I hope he ups his game in a big way, otherwise it'll be Plushenko's to take. Man's a legend.

 

[emma]

Wow, Plushy, wow! congrats! And congrats to all the medalists.

 

[skatinginbc]

I was never a fan of Plushenko. Out of curiosity, I watched the footage and was surprised that I actually liked both of his performances. Something has changed about his style and I cannot pinpoint what it is. Anyway, I hope he keeps training and earning medals in his competitive career.

 

[Spun Silver]

Plushenko - what???? How is that even thinkable for an old man like him, let alone possible? I'm a fan now too. One has to salute such greatness of will and immensity of talent.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

One has to salute such greatness of will and immensity of talent.

Perfect summation.

 

[3T3T]

Not a big fan of Plushenko but I really enjoyed yesterdays performance. You have to hand it to him, a few years out of the sport, injured, little competitive practice and comes out and blows everyone away. The performance didn't seem as OTT as usual, things were toned down. A very commanding performance.

Happy for Gachinski, jumps were good but he needs to work on everything else but he is definitely moving in the right direction. Would have preferred Brezina on the podium instead of Amodio

 

[Spun Silver]

Perfect summation.

Thanks. : ) I forgot to add sheer love of figure skating. He won't let it go! But by golly he's not going to be one of those who slowly slip down and out of the sport.

 

[Nadine]

Late last night I watched an interesting special about Joe Namath (think it was a brand new Biography Special), but was sooo tired from watching the US Ladies FS on NBC from 9-11PM PST that unfortunately I kept dozing off, but the ONE thing I do recall was this:

when Joe was in his 20's his doctor told his mother that by the time he was 40 yrs. old he would have the body of a 73 yr. old., and today at 69 yrs. old he walks on two artificial knees, not to mention his lifelong struggle with alcoholism due to the pain he sustained from all his injuries during football.

Why do I bring this up? Because it makes me think of Evgeni Plushenko, and alll those that paid with their life to become the greatest of all time; that's what it takes, and for that they have my total respect & utmost admiration & love. They love their sport so much they would die for it. And that's what makes a truly Great Champion imho. They go above & beyond and pay the ultimate sacrifice ~ their life. And as with Lucinda Ruh, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes because to me it encompasses The Great Evgeni Plushenko, 3-time Olympic Medalist, 9-time Russian National Champion, 7-time European Champion, 3-Time World Champion, etc. etc. etc. (and he's not done yet!):


“There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the moment it leaves the nest it searches for a thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one. Then, singing among the savage branches, it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine. And, dying, it rises above its own agony to outcarol the lark and the nightingale. One superlative song, existence the price. But the whole world stills to listen, and God in His heaven smiles. For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain.”

 

[verte76]

Yeah it froze!

 

[ivy]

Plushenko for sure deserved this win, but I feel like skating has passed him by. Jumps are still looking really strong, but I just didn't see the quality elsewhere, spins, footwork, transitions, expression all ok but not great. Didn't feel the connection to the music from him either. It is impressive to perform at this level at this age, but it's not world beating anymore

 

[Kinga]

Not a big fan of Plushenko but I really enjoyed yesterdays performance. You have to hand it to him, a few years out of the sport, injured, little competitive practice and comes out and blows everyone away. The performance didn't seem as OTT as usual, things were toned down. A very commanding performance.

This is exactly how I feel as well. I am very impressed. I did not expect to enjoy him so much. Finally a 'toned down' program!

Verner - what is wrong with him? He used to be my favourite skater, but now he lacks energy, he is slow, he does not express the music with his body like he used to do and his programs are simply... boring and unoriginal.

Brezina - I hope he will reach his potential soon. Maybe coaching change would do him good? He has really a bad luck with all these 4th places

Gachinsky - everyone else said it already. He needs tones of polishing.

Amodio - I am not a fan, but he deserved his 3rd place.

Contesti - where everyone else sees a great program, I just see sloppines, slow skating, terrible posture, lack of quality in every single element. He has great personality, and to me he could totally sell his programs, if not all the factos mentioned above. Sorry.

 

[skatinginbc]

One has to salute such greatness of will and immensity of talent.

sheer love of figure skating

My attitude toward him as a skater has changed dramatically. He has gained my highest respect. He is a true role model in the sports in terms of his love, his skills and his will. I'll give him the "best athlete of the year" award for that.
A child prodigy comes at least once in a decade, but a persistent champion that overcomes age and body constraints, that never stops improving himself, and that still sets a high bar in technical standard comes only once in a life time.

 

[claphappy]

Verner - what is wrong with him? He used to be my favourite skater, but now he lacks energy, he is slow, he does not express the music with his body like he used to do and his programs are simply... boring and unoriginal.

Contesti - where everyone else sees a great program, I just see sloppines, slow skating, terrible posture, lack of quality in every single element. He has great personality, and to me he could totally sell his programs, if not all the factos mentioned above. Sorry.

Verner - Yeah, I feel the same way. Mostly, I'm disappointed that he hasn't really pushed himself to develop his interpretation. He's always been a great performer, but I wish he would strive to be more because I really feel he could be. I know he's always tried to perform for the audience, but at a certain point you've gone into pandering territory & that's doing yourself a disservice

Contesti - Perhaps I missed something, but I don't remember anyone calling his program great. I wouldn't be surprised if someone said the program was great for him, but I never got the sense that anyone thought the program great in general. I'd say your analysis is spot on & it was my impression that that was about what most everyone else thought. But, maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Blades of Passion]

Amodio - I am not a fan, but he deserved his 3rd place.

Brezina deserved 3rd! He did more Triples and had a better program. I'm not sure how Amodio's terrible music cuts and lack of content got him on the podium.

 

[claphappy]

Brezina deserved 3rd! He did more Triples and had a better program. I'm not sure how Amodio's terrible music cuts and lack of content got him on the podium.

I think it was mainly by virtue of being cleaner & not skating directly after Plushenko.

On the topic of Florent's music cuts: I think the new cuts are a lot weirder than before, but at least they're less obnoxious & grating. Mind you, the music & the program itself both remain sufficiently obnoxious & grating. Mr. Amodio is not one to disappoint.

 

[Macassar88]

Under the TES scores Chan would probably still have a 10 point lead....Even accounting for individual scores and tastes Chans transition scores would be much higher. At this comp they even put Plushys transitions scores down. You also have to remember that Plushy has a front loaded program so he is giving up 10% bonus after the halfway mark.

Yeah Plush should at least try to get either the 3A or the 3A 3t combo into the second half of the program.

 

[seniorita]

Ah, I m still flying, what a weekend! The one who commented about I/K fd music, it was so repetitive it burnt your brain cells, but I found myself singing it in the plane today! Toni Ant gave me an autograph, you wanna bid for it?