Americans, it seems, dont understand Mishin's humor
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http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2013/10/20/63188258Motor City morsels: Yellow Trankov not so mellow
Recovering Plushenko works on 'Best of Plushenko' free skate.......
Plushenko on Sochi track, says MishinOne man who will likely not sport yellow this season, Evgeni Plushenko, isn't competing at Skate America, but reporters deluged his longtime coach, Alexei Mishin, with questions about the three-time world champion's chances to qualify for a fourth Olympic Games.
Plushenko won Olympic gold in 2006 and silver in 2002 and 2010. He, along with fellow Mishin pupil Artur Gachinski, Maxim Kovtun, Sergei Voronov and Konstantin Menshov, are generally considered to be vying for Russia's single men's spot in Sochi.
"He does now triple Axel and he does quad toe," Mishin said, quickly whipping out a smartphone to play a video of Plushenko landing a solid triple Axel. "He still has screws in his back, and with this it is not so simple to do jumps, but he is very powerfully charged to be a skater."
Plushenko, who withdrew from the 2013 European Figure Skating Championships after the short program due to a back injury, underwent spinal disc replacement surgery in Tel Aviv in January. Mishin wasn't sure when, or if, the screws would be removed, but work on his pupil's free skate -- a mélange of past programs, titled "The Best of Plushenko" -- continues apace in St. Petersburg.
"This [free skate] was my idea," Mishin said with pride. "I should love my own ideas. If I did not love myself, nobody would love me."
If Gachinski's performance at Skate America this week is any indication, Plushenko may be a step closer to Sochi. The 2011 world bronze medalist placed eighth, and last, after missing many of his jumps.
"Of course, Russian nationals will be a fight for him," said Mishin, who has trained Plushenko since the skater was 11 or 12. "All his life was a struggle for himself. Nobody ever awarded him any gold medals for free, just for the hard work."
As many hours as Plushenko puts in the rink, though, he still takes time out for fun.
"He is not crazy," Mishin said. "He loves golf. He loves hunting. He loves his children (one with a previous wife, one with his current wife and two stepchildren).
"Plushenko is not like a figure skating paranoid. He loves life also."