He may not be the beacon of sportsmanship, but he DID get robbed of the gold medal, and every reputable analyst has admitted this. If all we ask our athletes to do is maintain the status quo, how can we expect them to progress and reach new heights?

What reputable analysts are you speaking of? Most analysts (outside of Russia) agree that Evan, with the more complete, better skated program won.

Knowledgeable analysts and people in the media agree that Plushenko front loaded his program, and then did little else but strut and preen for the next 4 minutes as though the gold was his by default. He miscalculated. One quad jump does not a champion make, especially with all the other wonky landings and dead stop areas of his program. That a great champion could be such a poor sport is shocking. He demeaned himself with his un-sportsman like comments.

The only person I’ve heard agree with Plushenko who isn’t Russian is Elvis Stojko.

The overall quality of Plushenko’s skate was not nearly as good as Evan Lysacek’s. He barely landed one of his jumps and most of them were wonky in the air–plus, as the above poster and Scott Hamilton pointed out (which is significant because he was known for performing difficult jumps in the last minute of the four minute long program, when your legs feel like lead) Plushenko front-loaded his program, meaning he did fewer jumps in the bonus section which is the latter portion. He didn’t have a single jump in the final minute. He also had a pretty small lead after the short, only three tenths of a point. Not exactly glaring.

The fact is that the quadruple jump is not a required element, and if winning the gold medal could be boiled down to that one single task, it would be. The medal is awarded for the overall quality of the program, and it interests me that Plushenko blamed the new scoring system, because if anything the new system makes it more about individual elements rather than overall artistry, to avoid situations like the Kerrigan/Baiul incident of ’94.

Moreover, the reason that Evgeni Plushenko was the favorite going into Torino 2006–and by all accounts the reason he was awarded the gold medal–is the new ISU scoring system. The new system places stronger elements on completing elements and racking up points, rather than starting with a 6.0 and receiving deductions for errors. Therefore, in the new system, landing a quad counts MORE than it would have under the old system–one of the major flaws of the old system was that a fall was a fall, whether you fell attempting a quad or you fell on a much simpler jump, it was still the flat .3 deduction. So the new system awards more difficult elements and puts less emphasis on artistry than the old system did, and has provoked complaints by many ACTUALLY reputable analysts, like Dick Button, because it forces the competitors into boxes and makes each program less unique and less artistic. But no one is complaining that people aren’t receiving credit for being technically proficient; that was an old system problem. The fact that one of the first things out of Plushenko’s mouth was “it’s the new scoring system’s fault” is completely asinine when one considers the fact that he owes his Torino gold medal to the new scoring system.

“Grasping at straws” does not begin to cover it. Not only is he a poor sport, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on, Putin notwithstanding (he may be a great politician but he’s yet to establish himself as a “reputable analyst” when it comes to figure skating).

Sorry, that should have been “The new system places stronger emphasis on completing elements [...] .”

I am Evgeni’s fan. However, I gotta admit that he did not perform as well as Evan in the Olympics. That is not to say that he is anyhow a worst skater than Evan. It is just that he was not in the best state in that night. I don’t really like those unfair negative comments about quads and Evgeni before he went into the competition. He is old/he is not artistic/he could only jump…..Please….anyone who watches him from 2001 till now could not say that those are fair comments. If anyone has not noticed, Patrick Chan’s marks are inflated. 160 after he fell short of a jump….is that even possible? After his inflated FS marks, everyone else’s mark got alittle bit inflated too. This is where it comes to wreck Evgeni’s nerves. His seasonal best is not matched with Evan’s 268…However, I gotta say if Evgeni performs a perfect program, he would have won despite all the negative remarks about his skating. He doubled the last jump which was supposed to be a triple axel that worths 10 points when he does it perfectly. That will throw Evan way back behind him. To think that he only had one banana before the SP makes me wonder why there is no nutritionalists coming in with the skaters. Shouldn’t they be better prepared than to starve a skater before competition…. phew…
Anyhow, in my mind, Evgeni is the king on ice. His achievements in skating history is unmatched by anyone.
So he falters abit in Olympic, so what?
He is going to rise again in 2014.
Go, Evgeni!!

I miss his skating style way back in 2003 at his climax St. Peter’s borough 300….How I long to see that glory again… 4-3-3 combo….I hope I can see it again in 2014….

ps. I think the commentators/media….the things they say are just really not professional…
“Evgeni did not get as many Teddy bears….” –> he retired for 3 years…what do you expect….
“Evan is the judges’ favourite…” –> If this one flares up suspicions…I wouldn’t be suprised
“Thank goodness for the judging system…” –> this really pissed me off….they should keep it down to commenting the performance, the weakness in the program/performance itself
“Evgeni is intimidating blah blah” –> so you get intimidated….and?
“Evgeni is arrogant…” –> He said that he is willing to take a 2,3,4….
The media is portraying him as a arrogant bastard who can only jump but does nothing else…
that is infuriating…
The more you get intimidated….the more you intimidate others…

WHAT A COINCIDENCE!!! I awarded myself a Platinum Medal for Men’s Figure Skating at the Olympics TOO!! (I think it’s just a CD though).. oh well.. back to the looney bin.

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