Olympics SLC 2002 - What if ....

[Germanice]

..... Plushenko didn't fall in the SP, if he would've skated both of his programs clean? Do you think he would be Olympic Champion now?

I know this is just another senseless "What if"-thread, but I'm just curious?!

Anke

 

[JonnyCoop]

I think Yagudin was absolutely magical on both nights; I doubt that a clean Plushenko on both nights would have been much more than a strong, but clear, second; Alexei was just too much on another plane.

 

[Niza]

I think that Plushenko would win because he had more complex program and higher workmanship. But I d'not understand why it still now excites Alexey's fans . You can arrange votings but always there will be people which think differently.

 

[learnin']

I think Alexei needed to redeam himself for the year before.

 

[Kasey]

I think if Plush had skated a clean short, Yagudin would have upped the ante in the long, doing at least his second triple axel.

 

[BronzeisGolden]

I think a clean Yagudin would certainly have beaten a clean Evgeny. But, who knows how Yagudin would have skated if Plushenko was right on his heels. The added pressure might have caused him to make mistakes, or vice versa...it might have propelled him to increase the technical difficulty and give an even better performance than the one he gave. Either way, I'm glad he won. I really wanted to see him with the Gold medal.

 

[Vitacus]

It seems the board ate my post, so I'm going to try again. :scowl:

I voted: I have no idea - it would've been close, v-e-r-y close. Hard to tell!

They are both remarkable skaters. Truly, if Plushenko had skated two clean programms it could have gone either way. It all comes down to the judge's preferences -- and having said that, Yagudin's artistry is safer, thus easier to relate to, whereas Plushenko's "out-there" kind is not always understood, by everyone. Did the judges prefer Yagudin? Maybe. Yagudin had the better mental toughness, and physical strength, whereas Plushenko the better basic skating skills, jumping technique (now though, Plushenko has the mental toughness he lacked a little, as a young boy). They both has weaknesses, of course, but what skater is without faults? JMO, of course.

What if, indeed...

 

[screech]

It would have been extremely close, but IMO Yags was a much more well rounded and complete skater/athlete. He wouldn't have played it 'easy' in the LP. And that 2nd mark still would have given it to him; even if they were both the same technically, Yags' 2nd mark would have won it for him.

 

[CDMM1991]

Yagudin would have won it. He was the best competitor of his time.

 

[CzarinaAnya]

Alexei,. Like Jonny said, he was magical.

 

[Ptichka]

I voted "I don't know". One reason is we don't know how Alexei's nerves would have acted had he been in 2nd after the short. Neither do we know how Plush would have skated with a chance at gold.

 

[Dee4707]

I voted for Alexei, he had such wonderful programs and perfomed them like an Olympic Champion.

Dee

 

[Nana]

Re

I choose 1.

Zhenya is a king.

 

[FreeKatie]

I think Plushenko would have deserved to win in SLC with 2 clean skates, but I'm not so sure the judges would have actually given him the gold (It was Yagudin's coronation afterall!) I like Yagudin but I don't think the Olympic programs were his best ever, his best ever seemed to be at world championships - maybe too little pressure because of Plushenko making mistakes in the short program - there was not the usual "attack" from Yagudin that night, he seemed to be playing it safe.

 

[CzarinaAnya]

I miss Alexei SO much.

 

[Vash01]

If Evgeni had not fallen in the SP in 2002, it would have made a much closer match up in SLC. I believe that at that time Yagudin was the better skater, and a stronger competitor. Plushenko has developed since. I think Yagudin would have won by a smaller margin if EP had skated two clean programs in 2002. Yagudin won the GPF just before the 2002 Olympics, so it seemed like the judges liked him more too (Plushenko had a small mistake at the GPF in his LP, which made it easy for the judges to pick Yagudin, as it did in the Olympics).

Vash

 

[anniemg]

Yagudin, for me, had a more complete program. Plushenko's programs never do anything to me, and I definately didnt like his 2002 lp. So even if Plushenko had skated clean, Yagudin would still have the 6.0s on the second mark.

 

[#1Kerryfan]

I don't know - didn't watch men's in '02.

 

[Jaana]

I think that the result was decided already before the competition: If both are about equal, Yagudin will win. Plushenko was 3 years younger, he can wait until 2006...

Of course everything was much easier as Plushenko conveniently fell in the short programme!

 

[slutskayafan21]

Plushenko is obviously a huge judges pet and has been grossly overscored throughout his career. However Yagudin's overall skating is so far superior and he skated so well in 2002, the judges would have had no choice. Anyway Plushenko even with only a couple small mistakes was crushed by Yagudin in the long, even with the judges, so it would have been Yagudin, no doubt.