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[cekoni]

Not so bad...
http://winter.sport-express.ru/figuresk ... ews/26565/

Без мужчин
Елена ВАЙЦЕХОВСКАЯ

Завершившийся вчера в Японии 6-й этап определил шестерки финалистов "Гран-при", которые с 5 по 9 декабря разыграют главный трофей на олимпийском катке в Сочи.

Для России розыгрыш получился удачным: в финал пробились три спортивные и две танцевальные пары, а также две одиночницы. В сравнении с прошлогодним розыгрышем прогресс налицо: в Квебеке-2011 представительство России в этих видах составляло 2-1-2. А вот мужской финал и год назад, и сейчас пройдет без участия наших фигуристов. Об этом, собственно, и хочется поговорить.
..............

Видимо, как раз поэтому все разговоры о российском мужском одиночном катании специалистов, журналистов и просто неравнодушных к этому виду спорта людей давно уже сводятся к единственной теме: выступит ли Евгений Плющенко на Олимпийских играх в Сочи, и если да, на что он сможет там претендовать.

Рассуждая об этом в недавнем интервью "СЭ", Мишин заметил, что главную опасность в Сочи будут представлять не те, кто сейчас на слуху, а те, чьи имена только начинают появляться в верхних строчках протоколов. Под этой фразой я с удовольствием готова подписаться. Розыгрыш "Гран-при" достаточно наглядно показал, что даже чемпион зрительских симпатий, чемпион мира-2010 Дайсуке Такахаси далеко не всегда оказывается способен унести ноги от гораздо более юных соотечественников: в Китае он проиграл 22-летнему Тацуки Мачиде, в Японии его обошел 17-летний Юдзуру Ханю.

При этом шансы Плющенко завоевать в Сочи медаль, на мой взгляд, достаточно высоки. Да, он уже сейчас заведомо проигрывает полудюжине соперников как техническим наполнением программы, так и постановками, но в отличие от них, может с уверенностью записать на свой счет умение соревноваться. В обстановке олимпийского пекла Евгений - прекрасен. В то время как о способности всех остальных выдерживать накал Игр нам только предстоит узнать.

Другой вопрос, что гордиться всем этим может разве что сам Плющенко и его супруга Яна, благодаря которой Евгений всерьез заболел темой очередного возвращения на олимпийский уровень. Поясню, почему так считаю: с моей точки зрения, все, что сейчас делает олимпийский чемпион Турина, - это стремление вернуться к тому, что уже когда-то было. В Турине-2006, в Солт-Лейк-Сити-2002. Это невероятно сложно, и возвращение Плющенко в спорт на уровень почти прежних технических качеств - с учетом его возраста и всех пережитых травм - можно безо всякой натяжки считать его личным героизмом. А вот назвать все это новым словом в фигурном катании - нельзя при всем желании.
....

[cekoni]

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article. ... y=ice_news

Kim's return turns Dortmund event into fan frenzy
Olympic champion looking to gain ISU minimum points; Plushenko withdraws

(12/04/2012) - This time of year, all eyes in the figure skating world are usually glued to the Grand Prix Final, which will be held in Sochi, Russia, at the venue for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, beginning Thursday.

But Yu-Na Kim had other ideas.
.....

The tiny Dortmund event almost gained a second Olympic champion, Russia's Evgeni Plushenko, who considered entering to help prepare for the Russian championships, to be held late this month. Those hopes ended last week when Plushenko's coach, Alexei Mishin, told the Russian agency R-Sport that his skater was not yet fit enough. Favorites in the men's event are now Czech Michal Brezina, Peter Liebers of Germany and two Russians, Artur Gachinski and Konstantin Menshov.

[cekoni]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/figureska ... on-dimanno
Published on Wednesday December 05, 2012

Evgeni Plushenko won’t bother with figure skating Grand Prix season: DiManno



SOCHI, RUSSIA — There are 119 figure skaters here for the 2012 Grand Prix final. And one who isn’t.

Not present yet casting a long shadow: Evgeni Plushenko.

The tall blond Russian, as compelling a character as any invented by Leo Tolstoy — vain, disdainful, imperious — considers himself too good to bother with the Grand Prix season whilst on a selective comeback trail aimed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He will deign to defend his seventh European title in January and compete as well at nationals late this month. But he’s already declared himself skater-non-interested for the worlds in London, Ont., in March, as indeed Plushenko has given globals a pass every year since 2005, whether by choice, injury or impermanent retirement.

He won’t go away yet he won’t do the full season heavy lifting either.

“The main thing is my fourth Olympics,’’ the 2006 Winter Games gold medalist declared earlier in the fall. “That’s my goal. The big fighting will be there. That will be my last competition. I’m gonna be 31 and I’m gonna be finished.’’

Plushenko’s swanning act — now-you-see him, mostly-you-don’t — has become something of an irritation for Canada’s Patrick Chan, two-time world titlist and defending Grand Prix champion. They had a rare on-ice confrontation at the Japan Open in October, where Chan was seriously off his jumping game and Plushenko, while nailing a couple of quads, still managed no better than fourth overall.

“I think I feared him at the beginning,’’ admits Chan, who arrived in Sochi in the wee hours Tuesday after an exhausting trek from Colorado via Frankfurt and Moscow. “In Japan, on the ice with him, that was almost like being in a time capsule. I was actually more impressed with him in practice than in the competition. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, he’s doing a lot better than I had expected.’ He can still do all his jumps, which is pretty good for someone who’s — what? — 36, 37 years old.’’

Ba-da-bing.

Plushenko used to sneer at Chan, before the Toronto skater finally inserted a quad into his programs, the Russian turning up his aquiline nose at a younger generation of males who were winning without four-rotation jumps, un-bold, maximizing points for style and technique under the new scoring system. Yet Plushenko — Zhenya, as he’s known, to adoring domestic fans — couldn’t turn those signature quads into repeat gold at the Vancouver Olympics, all but contemptuous of the silver he earned, critical of judges and sniffing with disapproval at the winning performance of American Evan Lysacek.

Lysacek also intends to reverse his retirement (never formalized anyway) for Sochi in just over a year’s time and was kept off the Grand Prix circuit this year because of injury. Apart from those likely additions, Plushenko and Lysacek, the half-dozen men’s finalists here will likely compose the final flight of skaters at the next Olympic Games: Chan, a Japanese quartet of Daisuke Takahashi, the soaring teenager Yuzuru Hanyu, Takahiko Kozuka, and Tatsuki Machida, and Skate Canada victor Javier Fernandez of Spain. The men’s short competition goes Friday, following by women’s short (Canada didn’t qualify any entrant) and the short ice dance.
....

As for Chan, he spent the off-day in Sochi, playing ping-pong at the athletes’ hotel and taking a tourist jaunt into the distant city centre. “We walked down to the water. It’s just nice to see water after being in Colorado. Then we went to look at the Olympic clock. It’s kind of weird because that’s the only Olympic-y thing in the city. It doesn’t really feel like a Winter Olympics city, with the beautiful weather and all the palm trees.”

And, only because he was queried about it, Chan pondered the rival who isn’t here — Plushenko.

Asked if he could kick the elusive Russian’s butt, given half a chance, Chan opted for a diplomatic answer: “I’d like to think so.”

[Phrazey]

Wow. I think Chan is quite rude here. As expected from Chanadian media. Well, at least for me it's kinda interesting to see how desperate their PR machine to paint Plushy as evil Russian villain.

[lovplush]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/figureskating/article/1297407--evgeni-plushenko-won-t-bother-with-figure-skating-grand-prix-season-dimanno
Published on Wednesday December 05, 2012

Evgeni Plushenko won’t bother with figure skating Grand Prix season: DiManno

Too bad that the comments field is closed. These Canadian, really something, right?

Besides, I think it was Chan who said Plushy's skills were outdated before Vancouver, not the other way around. And though Mishin criticized about the judging regarding Chan's multiple falls but still winning, they never "sneered at" Chan because at that time he could not jump Quads.

They really should pay Plushenko for using his name attracting readers. Maybe they are whining because Plushenko fails to become a cash attractor for London Ca.?

[let`s talk]

Maybe they are whining because Plushenko fails to become a cash attractor for London Ca.?

...and they are stupid enough not to realize that by this they admit that Chan in his Canada is not a cash cow. They need Plu!

I agree it's all Canadaian PR work. Plu is practically the only one besides Japanese who can take a Gold in Men from Canada. Against Japanese Dore&Canada found a new trick- Hanyuflation: to promote (for now) the yougest by overscoring him in order to "neutralize" those J-guys who are indeed a real threat, like Dai and Kozuka. But when the time comes, they will show Hanyu (in case JSF will keep singing Orser flute) where they thinks he belongs to- off the Olympic podium or bronze at least. I don't believe that they will give the teen a Gold over Chan. But with Plu they have no weapon except PR- to bash him some Russian evil. They really hope it will work. Yeah, Russian evil stuff in Russia. Classic idiocy.

[whitebamboo]

Plushenko, like every other skater, has the right to decide, based on his own competitive interests, what competitions to enter or not to enter. And given his age and injuries, every competition carries its risk.

But then again...LOL, why am I even trying to reply to Ms. DiManno's "point"? As far as I can see, there is no content to her article other than various not-so-subtle personal attacks, and against a character that's completely imagined by her own mind. I don't even know if it's possible to "defend" Evgeni against this, because it's like some sort of fiction, really.

(And btw, speaking of fiction, why did she have to drop Tolstoy's name in this article? If she'd actually understood anything about Tolstoy, she'd have know that the characters in his books actually have inner motivations and human depths and are actually not "vain, disdainful, imperious" caricatures.)

[lala630312]

I have one wish, the Russian media to be rude and ruthless to Chan, as he was to Plushy.

[Дарина]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/figureskating/article/1297407--evgeni-plushenko-won-t-bother-with-figure-skating-grand-prix-season-dimanno
Published on Wednesday December 05, 2012

Evgeni Plushenko won’t bother with figure skating Grand Prix season: DiManno

Мда, Патрик и канадские сми в своём репертуаре.
Патрик:

“I think I feared him at the beginning,’’ admits Chan, who arrived in Sochi in the wee hours Tuesday after an exhausting trek from Colorado via Frankfurt and Moscow. “In Japan, on the ice with him, that was almost like being in a time capsule. I was actually more impressed with him in practice than in the competition. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, he’s doing a lot better than I had expected.’ He can still do all his jumps, which is pretty good for someone who’s — what? — 36, 37 years old.’’

"Мне кажется, я сначала его боялся", - признаёт Чан, который прибыл в Сочи... "В Японии, с ним на льду, это было почти так, словно находишься в капсуле времени. Я на самом деле был больше им впечатлён на тренировке, чем на соревнованиях. Я подумал про себя: "Вот это да, он намного лучше, чем я ожидал". Он всё ещё может делать все эти прыжки, что очень хорошо для того, кому - сколько? -36, 37 лет"

Вообще-то всего лишь 30, Патрик!

[cekoni]

... As expected from Chanadian media. Well, at least for me it's kinda interesting to see how desperate their PR machine to paint Plushy as evil Russian villain.

For me is more interesting transformation of the once great journalist, what once was Rosie DiManno, in an ordinary offensive tabloid "patriotic" blotter