Lysacek not true champion - Plushenko
By Gennady Fyodorov
MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Olympic men’s figure skating gold medallist Evan Lysacek is not a “true champion”, his predecessor and Vancouver runner-up Yevgeny Plushenko has told Russian media.
Plushenko, hoping to become the first man in almost six decades to win back-to-back titles, lost to the American by 1.31 points on Thursday.
“You can’t be considered a true men’s champion without a quad,” the 27-year-old told Russian state television RTR.
Lysacek did not attempt a quadruple jump, considered the most difficult in figure skating, in either Tuesday’s short or Thursday’s free programmes, instead wowing the judges with artistry and exquisite footwork.
“For someone to stand on top of the podium with the gold medal around his neck with just doing triple jumps, to me it’s not progress, it’s a regress because we’ve done triples 10 or even 20 years ago,” Plushenko said.
“Just doing nice transitions and being artistic is not enough because figure skating is a sport, not a show,” he said.
“Of all the men who had competed tonight, only two—myself and (Japan’s) Takahiro Kozuka (who finished eighth)—were able to land a clean quad.
“Later, when I saw Kozuka I shook his hand and congratulated him, saying ‘Well done’. I also have a lot of respect for (Japan’s bronze medallist) Daisuke Takahashi for trying to attempt a quad. That’s a sign of a (future) champion.”