| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's figure skating | ||
| Competitor for Russia | ||
| Gold | 2006 Turin | Singles |
| Silver | 2002 Salt Lake City | Singles |
| Silver | 2010 Vancouver | Singles |
Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko (, Yevgeny Viktorovich Plyushchenko; born November 3, 1982) is a Russian figure skater. He is the 2006 Winter Olympics Gold Medalist, 2002 Winter Olympics Silver Medalist, and 2010 Winter Olympics Silver Medalist, three-time (2001, 2003, 2004) World Champion, six-time (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010) European Champion, a four-time Grand Prix Final champion and an nine-time (1999–2002, 2004–2006, 2010, 2012) Russian national champion.
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Plushenko was born in Solnechny, Khabarovsk Krai, Soviet Union. He started skating at age four. When he was eleven years old, his ice rink in Volgograd closed. He was then sent to Saint Petersburg to train under the tutelage of Alexei Mishin.
Plushenko made quick progress on the international scene under Mishin's tutelage. As a 14-year-old, he won the 1997 World Junior Championships. The following year, at 15, he finished third at the senior 1998 World Championships.
At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Plushenko and Yagudin were considered co-favorites.[1] Plushenko finished 4th in the short program. He skated a strong free skate to "Carmen" and pulled up to finish in 2nd place overall;
Plushenko won most of the competitions he entered in the following four years.[2] He finished second only twice. The first time was to Emanuel Sandhu at the 2003–2004 Grand Prix Final. The second was the 2004 European Championships, where he lost to Brian Joubert. He had a difficult 2004-2005 season. At the 2005 World Championships in Moscow, an injury forced him to withdraw after the short program. He eventually required groin surgery. He underwent groin surgery to correct the problem in Munich, Germany in spring 2005.
Going into the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Plushenko was the overwhelming favorite because of his past success under the new ISU Judging System which was now in use.[3] Plushenko skated two solid programs and became the Olympic champion. He finished the short program ten points ahead of his closest rival, setting a new ISU record for the short program.[4] His free skate was just as strong, and also set a new ISU record.[5] Plushenko's free skating music was specially arranged for him by violinist Edvin Marton.
Plushenko took a break from competitive skating following the 2006 Olympic season. He has said the off season has helped him rest and recover from past knee injuries he has battled.
After seeing the poor results of Russian skaters at the 2007 World Championships (the worst since 1960), Plushenko was worried about Russia losing its status as a dominant force in figure skating, and was also concerned that Russia might even lose berths for its skaters in the 2010 Winter Olympics. He announced in April 2007 that he decided to return to competitive skating for the 2007–2008 season to keep Russia at a competitive level with other countries until the next generation of Russian skaters could take over but a return to the ice did not materialize. Plushenko also stated that he planned to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics.[6]
In 2008 Plushenko, together with violinist Edvin Marton, accompanied Dima Bilan on stage as part of the winning Eurovision Song Contest performance "Believe" in Belgrade, Serbia. Plushenko skated on stage as part of the performance.
In March 2009, Plushenko announced that he had returned to training with longtime coach Alexei Mishin in order to prepare for the 2010 Olympics.[7]
Plushenko led the short program in his return to skating at the 2009 Cup of Russia on October 23, 2009.[8] He earned 82.25 points for the short, and also won the free skate with a score of 158.40. Overall, he won the gold in his comeback with a total of 240.65 points.
In December 2009, Plushenko signed a partnership agreement with the international management agency FlashLight led by the sports agent Andreas Goller.
At the 2010 Russian Championships, Plushenko earned 100.09 points for his short program.[9] He received 171.50 points in the free skate to win his eighth Russian Championship with 271.59 points.[10]
At the 2010 European Championships Plushenko set a new world record score in the short program by scoring 91.30 points,[11] and went on to win the event for a sixth time with a total score of 255.39 points.[12]
He skated at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, and received a score of 90.85 for his short program performance, breaking the Olympic record and leading all competitors. Following his skate, Plushenko said "Without a quad it's not men's figure skating. I will do the quad in any case. I believe that the quad is the future of figure skating. The quad is necessary, that is my opinion."[13]
Plushenko finished second in the free skating and second overall, ultimately winning the silver medal with a total score of 256.36, 1.31 points behind the winner Evan Lysacek.[14] In the free skating, he landed a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination but left a planned double loop out of a combination jump.[15] He and Lysacek received a similar total score for program components, but Plushenko had a lower total technical elements score than Lysacek. He said of the gold medal winner, Evan Lysacek, "I think we need to change the judging system – a quad is a quad. If an Olympic champion doesn't do a quad, well I don't know..."[16] In an interview to Russian newspaper Izvestia, Plushenko brought attention to the fact that, following his short program, three judges placed him 21st and 22nd for skating skills. He said, "Strangely, the computer did not drop any one of the three. But what it did instead was to drop those judges who awarded me first place. Under the current system, if this is the way judges' marks are awarded, you can win, and you can just as equally lose. Don't get me wrong. I don’t want to criticize the new rules; they are not bad. But they do need further refinement." He also expressed dismay over the Russian Figure Skating Federation not standing up for one of their athletes. "After the short program, I should have had at least a 5 point lead over my competitors. In the end, however, the gap amounted to a mere 0.55 to which our Federation did not react at all."[17] Fellow Russian skating champion Irina Rodnina said that although she had hoped he would win, Lysacek had a stronger overall performance.[18] At the same time, a number of well-known skaters and coaches said they supported Plushenko and believe he deserved the gold. Among them were figure skater Elvis Stojko[19] and the coaches Reinhardt Ketterer,[20] Tatiana Tarasova,[21] and Galina Zmievskaya.[22]
Plushenko became the only living singles skater to have medaled at three Olympics.[23] He withdrew from the 2010 World Championships citing injury.[24]
Plushenko skated in exhibitions soon after his withdrawal from Worlds.[25] On June 28, 2010, the International Skating Union announced that Plushenko had lost his eligibility due to participating in skating shows in March and April without the Russian skating federation's authorization.[26] He was given 21 days to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport[27] which he did not do. As a result, his loss of eligibility became final as announced by the ISU on August 23, 2010.[28] However, a request for reinstatement could be made in line with ISU regulations subject to a review and decision by the ISU Council.[29] In September 2010, he stated his goal of competing at the 2014 Winter Olympics.[30] In October 2010, he competed in the Japan Open 2010 as part of the European team. Each team was allowed to have an "ineligible" member. He placed third in the men's event.[31]
Plushenko skated in ice shows around the world while continuing to train for a possible return to competition by practicing quad salchows and quad loops.[32] In April 2011, he sent a letter to the Russian skating federation president, Aleksandr Gorshkov, seeking reinstatement.[33] Plushenko said he hoped the ban was not a retaliation of his criticism of the judging at the Olympics and that he would like to return to competition with a clean slate.[34] Although he would have liked to compete at the 2011 World Championships if the ban had been lifted, he did not feel he would have been ready due to lost training time as a result of injury.[34] On June 12, it was announced that the ISU had reinstated him by a unanimous vote.[35][25]
On June 12, Plushenko said that he had undergone knee surgery due to a meniscus problem but would be back on track within two weeks.[25] Although his left knee continued to bother him, he resumed training in Mishin's group, alongside Artur Gachinski, saying "Competition is always good; remember there was a time when (Alexei) Urmanov, (Alexei) Yagudin and I all trained together. We pushed each other. With Artur in the group, I have a sparring partner. He does a quad and I have to do a quad as well."[23]
In December 2011, Plushenko competed at the 2012 Russian Championships. He won the short program with a score of 88.24 and then the free skate with a score of 171.43, to win his ninth national title. He was named to the Russian team for the 2012 European Championships, although he had not competed internationally recently enough to have the minimum technical elements scores (20 in the short program, 35 in the free). The Russian skating federation asked the ISU to allow him to compete, with Aleksandr Gorshkov saying that the minimum scores were designed to filter out weak skaters.[36] In January 2012, the ISU released a statement confirming that Plushenko had been allowed to participate in the 2012 European Championships.[37][38]
Plushenko's technical achievements are numerous. He is one of the few male skaters to perform the Biellmann spin. He was the first skater in the world to perform a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop jump (4–3–2) combination in competition, at the 1999 NHK Trophy (he has since landed his 4–3–2 combination 26 times so far). He is the first skater to have landed a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-triple loop (4–3–3) combination in competition, at the Cup of Russia 2002 (he has since landed his 4–3–3 combination four times so far). Plushenko is also the first skater to land a triple toe loop-triple toe loop-triple loop-double loop (3–3–3–2) combination, which was at the 2005 "Ard Gala". At the European Championships, he landed a six jump combination (3–3–2–2–2–2) in his exhibition program. He has landed a four jump combination; 4 toe loop-3 toe loop-2 loop-2 loop, at the World Championships in 2001. Plushenko has landed a consistent quadruple toe loop in competition, and has also landed a quadruple salchow in Samara, Russia at the 2004 "Second stage of Cup of Russia". It is estimated that he has landed a total of about 100 quads in competition.
At the age of 16, Plushenko was the youngest male skater to ever receive a perfect score of 6.0. He received a total of seventy five 6.0s before the new Code of Points judging system was introduced.
Plushenko is the only male figure skater in the modern history of the sport to have won three Olympic medals in singles (Gillis Grafström won four in the early years of the sport, from 1920–1932).[39]
In 2006, Plushenko joined the political party A Just Russia and in March 2007, he was elected to the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly.[40] Following the 2010 Olympics, he announced his intention to quit politics. In April 2010, he came under fire for poor attendance, having attended only 11 of 123 parliamentary sessions since his election.[41] In December 2011, he announced he was leaving politics to train for the 2014 Olympics.[40] He quit A Just Russia and said he had no plans to join another political party.[42]
On June 18, 2005, Plushenko married Maria Ermak, a sociology student at the University of St. Petersburg, in a lavish ceremony at the Hotel Astoria in St. Petersburg. Their child, a son named Egor Evgenievich (originally Kristian), was born on June 15, 2006. They separated, however, not long afterwards and divorced in February 2008.[43]
In August 2009, Plushenko announced he was engaged to marry Yana Rudkovskaya, Dima Bilan's record producer.[44] They were married on 12 September 2009.[45] Plushenko said he is interested in coaching when he ends his competitive career.[32] He hopes to open his own skating school in Saint Petersburg.[23]
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-2012 | Storm by Yanni | El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge! Soundtrack by Mariano Mores performed by Edvin Marton |
|
| 2010-2011 | Did not compete this season |
||
| 2009–2010 | Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo |
Tango Amore by Edvin Marton |
Je Suis Malade by Serge Lama |
2008–2009 2007–2008 2006–2007 |
Did not compete these seasons |
Did not compete these seasons |
Did not compete these seasons |
| 2005–2006 | Tosca by Giacomo Puccini Once Upon a Time in Mexico soundtrack by Robert Rodriguez |
The Godfather by Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola performed by Edvin Marton |
Tosca by Giacomo Puccini performed by Edvin Marton Caruso by L. Pavarotti Sex Bomb by Tom Jones and Mousse T |
| 2004–2005 | Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven |
The Godfather by Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola performed by Edvin Marton |
The Godfather by Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola performed by Edvin Marton |
| 2003–2004 | Tango Flamenco by Paco de Lucia Nyah by Hans Zimmer |
Tribute to Vaslav Nijinsky Art on Ice Magic Stradivarius King of the Forrest by Edvin Marton |
Logical Song by Supertramp |
| 2002–2003 | Adagio by Tomaso Albinoni and Remo Giazotto |
St. Petersburg 300 by Igor Korniliuk |
Carmen Suite by Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin Only You by The Platters |
| 2001–2002 | Earth Song Childhood Billie Jean They Don't Care About Us by Michael Jackson |
Carmen by Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin Fixe; Eclipse by Cirque du Soleil El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge! Soundtrack by Mariano Mores La Petite Fille de la Mer by Vangelis Papathanassiou |
Carmen Suite by Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin Sex Bomb by Tom Jones and Mousse T |
| 2000–2001 | Bolero by Maurice Ravel |
Xotica by Rene Dupere Tango from Hasta que te Conoci by Raúl di Blasio Once Upon A Time In America by Ennio Morricone Cotton Club by Duke Ellington Mortal Kombat by George S. Clinton |
Sex Bomb by Tom Jones and Mousse T Pasadena: Maywood lyrics. |
| 1999–2000 | The Sabre Dance by Aram Ilich Khachaturian |
Dark Eyes Russian folk song Coachmen Don't Drive the Horse Concierto Madrigal for Two Guitars by Joaquin Rodrigo |
Two Step Nadya
Ciocarlia |
| 1998–1999 | Hava Nagila by various artists |
Chronologie 2, 3; Zoolookologie by Jean Michel Jarre |
Two Step Nadya
Ciocircla |
| 1997–1998 | Concierto de Aranjuez & El Gato Montes by Joaquin Rodrigo |
Chronologie 2, 3; Zoolookologie by Jean Michel Jarre |
Chronologie 2, 3
Zoolookologie Enigma |
| 1996–1997 | Tarantella by Witold Lutosławski Santa Lucia by Luigi Gordigiani |
William Tell Overture The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini |
|
| 1995–1996 | Don Quixote by Leon Minkus |
| Event | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999-00 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2009–10 | 2011-12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | ||||||||||
| World Championships | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 1st | 1st | 1st | WD | ||||||
| European Championships | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | TBD | |||
| World Junior Championships | 6th | 1st | |||||||||||
| Russian Championships | 6th | 4th | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Grand Prix Final | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | |||||
| Skate America | 2nd | ||||||||||||
| Skate Canada International | 1st | 1st | |||||||||||
| Bofrost Cup on Ice | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||||||||
| Trophée Lalique | 1st | ||||||||||||
| Cup of Russia | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||
| NHK Trophy | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||||||||||
| Finlandia Trophy | 7th | 3rd | 1st | ||||||||||
| Campbells FS Classic | 2nd | 1st | |||||||||||
| Blue Swords | 1st | ||||||||||||
| European Youth Olympics | 1st | ||||||||||||
| Goodwill Games | 3rd | 1st |
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