Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek

  • 11 replies
  • 7349 views
*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« on: February 17, 2010, 06:18:02 AM »
By Martin Rogers

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – If gold medals were handed out for winning mind games, Evgeni Plushenko would already be headed to the Vancouver airport, ready to jump on a flight to Russia with another Olympic title stashed safely in his baggage.

After surging into the lead after the short program in the men’s figure-skating competition, Plushenko proceeded to turn up the heat on American rival Evan Lysacek with a series of barbed comments that will further fuel a heated showdown set for Thursday night.

Plushenko gleefully poked fun at Lysacek’s refusal to incorporate the quad jump – figure skating’s toughest and most exciting maneuver – into his program. Lysacek suffered a stress fracture in his foot attempting the move last year and will not try it in his long program.

“I believe the future of figure skating lies in the quad jumps,” said Plushenko, with the hint of a sneer dancing across his face. “We can discuss a lot whether it is good or not or whether it is good to focus on other things, but by doing so we are going backward in time.”

It’s not as if any Olympic battle between the U.S. and Russia needs any extra electricity, but Plushenko appeared determined to pick open some psychological wounds on Lysacek before the figure-skating version of a Cold War recommences on the ice at the Pacific Coliseum.

Their news conference shaped up as a verbal boxing match, which quickly turned into a one-sided smackdown reminiscent of Ivan Drago vs. Rocky Balboa in “Rocky IV” – without the fighting back.

Lysacek’s night had gone perfectly to that point. Skating in the final group, he produced one of the finest performances of his career, arguably even better than the one that won him gold at the 2009 world championships.

His 90.30 score puts him in second place at the midway point, just behind the indomitable Plushenko’s 90.85 and well in contention to score the first American men’s gold since Brian Boitano in Calgary in 1988.

However, it remains to be seen whether his low-risk policy of ditching the quad, a move he has performed successfully in the past, will come back to haunt him.

“For me, I have spent a lot of time working on every aspect of my routine,” said Lysacek. “If you ask a speedskater if one stroke is more important than another, they wouldn’t say that it was. It is easy to take the simpler moves for granted, but I am not going to do that and I will maximize the points and importance of them.”

By now, though, Plushenko was starting to warm to his theme and began to play to his audience like a musical conductor. The Russian was quick to pour scorn on Lysacek’s explanation, laughing and joking with reporters and scoring an undeniable psychological lift before eventually giggling to himself as he exited stage right.

“Of course we need transition and spins and steps, harder and harder,” he said. “But I don’t know, I was making triples in 1994. I know in speedskating they have timing [world records], it gets better. Biathlon, they have new timing. I think we stopped. Some people are going to say it is wrong. But that’s my point.”

American Johnny Weir will provide another dose of shock value with his outrageous and extravagant performance in the long program, but he sits in sixth place and seems well out of contention.

Lysacek, though, has a real chance, at least statistically speaking. However, he looked like a lost little boy once Plushenko got his claws out. The Los Angeles-based 25-year-old needs a confidence pick-me-up before Thursday.

Often too much is made of mind games and psychology, but Plushenko enjoys such a standing in the sport that his personality has the ability to overwhelm and crush prospective challengers.

Unless Lysacek steels himself like never before and comes up with the display of a lifetime on Thursday night, he could find himself swatted aside like so many hopefuls before him.

*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2010, 06:21:35 AM »
Evan Lysacek


*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2010, 06:25:12 AM »
Evgeni Plushenko photos




*

Babat

  • *****
  • Global Moderator
  • 16571
  • "Feel the LOVE today"
    • View Profile
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2010, 03:19:08 PM »
johnny weir for me  :o

My Life with Tennis click link 4 details:    http://www.alotbagotchay.blogspot.com

"Some people need "LOVE" spelled out for them."..... including me.. =)

http://www.mikeygatal.com/connect/index.php

*

Kristel

  • *****
  • 19773
    • View Profile
    • My Blog
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2010, 04:33:04 PM »
johnny weir for me  :o



very graceful and a beautiful skater .  ;D
« Last Edit: February 18, 2010, 11:08:03 PM by mikey_gatal »

*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2010, 10:59:39 PM »
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA(AP) —Evan Lysacek has won the men’s figure skating gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics, upsetting defending champion Evgeni Plushenko.



Daisuke Takahashi of Japan won the bronze Thursday night.



Lysacek’s flawless, if somewhat conservative, performance earned him the first U.S. men’s gold since Brian Boitano in 1988. Plushenko, trying to become the first repeat men’s gold medalist since Dick Button in 1952, couldn’t top him. Some sloppy landings on jumps and one weak spin were enough to drop him to silver.



When Plushenko’s scores were announced, Lysacek, the current world champion, jumped in elation backstage. Plushenko simply smiled and walked out of the kiss-and-cry area.


*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #6 on: February 18, 2010, 11:00:53 PM »


Johnny Weir goes furless for free skate and he finished in sixth place, but seemed pleased with his performance.

By Maggie Hendricks



As promised, Johnny Weir did not wear fur for the free skate as he did at the U.S. championships, which drew the ire of animal rights groups. Instead of the controversial costume with a fox fur trim, Weir wore a costume that he wore to Grand Prix events, including the Cup of Russia and the Grand Prix Final.





In this outfit, Weir skated an excellent routine. He did not throw a quadruple jump as he had mentioned that he might, but the skate was technically and artistically sound.


*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2010, 11:01:41 PM »
Daisuke Takahashi won the bronze, the first Japanese man to win a figure skating medal at the Olympic Games.




*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2010, 11:04:53 PM »
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)—Evan Lysacek brought down the champion.

Lysacek became the first U.S. man to win the Olympic gold medal since Brian Boitano in 1988, shocking everyone—maybe even himself—by upsetting defending champion Evgeni Plushenko on Thursday night. Plushenko came out of retirement with the sole purpose of making a little history of his own with a second straight gold medal.

Plushenko, the last to skate, held up both index fingers when he finished, as if to say, “Was there ever any question?” As it turned out, yes.



And it wasn’t really that close.

When Plushenko’s scores were posted, someone in the arena screamed out, “Evan Lysacek has won the gold!” Backstage, surrounded by longtime coach Frank Carroll and pairs gold medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, Lysacek threw back his head in disbelief and utter elation.

Lysacek, the reigning world champion, finished with a career-best 257.67, 1.31 ahead of the Russian. Daisuke Takahashi won the bronze, the first Japanese man to win a figure skating medal at the Olympic Games.



Lysacek was the first of the big guns to skate in the last group, and he played it safe for the first three minutes of his 4 1/2 -minute program. He had long decided against doing a quad, not wanting to risk further damage to the left foot he’d broken last spring. But everything he did was technically perfect. His jumps were done with the control and dependability of a fine Swiss timepiece, and his spins were so well-centered you could see the tight little circle of his tracings clear across the ice.



He didn’t skate with all his usual flair and charisma. But when he landed his last jump, a double axel, Lysacek let loose. His face was so expressive budding actors should take note, and he fixed the judges with a kingly glare during his circular steps. Fans were roaring their approval as he finished his final spin.

The last note of his music was still fading when Lysacek pumped his fists and screamed, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” He clapped his hands and skated to center ice, throwing his arms out wide to the crowd and blowing kisses. He put his arm around Carroll, who had yet to coach a gold medalist despite a list of past and present skaters that read’s like a Who’s Who on Ice.

*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
Re: Evgeni Plushenko disses U.S. Olympic rival Evan Lysacek
« Reply #9 on: February 18, 2010, 11:08:24 PM »


Japan's Nobunari Oda competes in the Men's Figure Skating free program at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver during the XXI Winter Olympics on February 18, 2010. AFP PHOTO / Saeed KHAN (Photo credit should read SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)