Plushenko intends to restart career

[Mafke]

I've never been a fan of Plushenko but I hope for his own sake he rethinks this.

This is the dark side of the kind of drive that made his career so long and illustrious - inability to come to terms with the fact that he's going to be facing diminishing returns - far greater physical danger for little chance at a gold finish (and from everything we know nothing less that gold will satisfy him).

I second that idea that he could/should see a therapist to work out what the reasons are for him being unable to leave competitive skating behind despite the enormous risks and paltry potential rewards.

I think the ignominous withdrawal in Sochi is eating at him and he doesn't have any other coping mechanism than to try to make a come back.

 

[BlackPack]

Guys, just let him go for 2018. If not, he'll try again in 2022.

 

[4everchan]

Guys, just let him go for 2018. If not, he'll try again in 2022.

 

[LRK]

This is how I feel. He's been elite for 17+ years. He knows his body, and probably still wants the challenge of pushing his body to its limit. What else should he be doing? He has tons of money, doesn't need to settle down with a 9 to 5 job. If he wants to keep going. hopefully he'll be more about the components so that he'll have better programs, but maybe it's still all about the quad and jumps. He was in amazing shape last season, barring the injuries. If he can manage the injuries he still could be competitive possibly. Like someone upthread mentioned, look how badly the men's event in Sochi was. A clean Plushy could have given it a run for the money.

I think this may shed some light on that (it's from a fan Q&A online thing-y from mid-October last year - via Googletranslate):

"Hello, Eugene! Figure skating a multifaceted sport, I think it far more components than in many others. So why is it that the greatest attention is paid to jump? After what he did in his time Yagudin that now make Patrick Chan and Jeremy Abbott and other component skaters (saturated track elements, combined rotation, in addition to jumping), also very exhausting demands of hard training, and are capable of it, not all . How to determine what the main thing in figure skating, and whether this is important at all? Thank you for your response. Student

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When we went to the same Yagudin, we had a problem does not make the slightest error on the jumps. If someone made this mistake, then he lost. We were the first to enter into the program Lesha two quads. Then there was the machinery and paid little attention to the rotation, sliding, footwork. And if we now take these tracks steps, the program they take 30-40 seconds, and before we flew for 10-15 seconds. Now a completely different figure skating and it seems to me that it has become much more interesting. At least now began to pay attention and jump, and rotations, and tracks, and transitions, and outputs, and sliding. Now all the items involved in figure skating, and much earlier did not pay attention. Now you should be able to ride in different directions, and before all basically rolled to one side. Therefore, in my opinion, figure skating now much more interesting, even for a figure skater. As for jumping? How not to pay attention to them? This is one of the main components. And it's great that now all this has changed. And if before in Vancouver thought important to be able to ride, but now more and you should be able to jump. And I have a great respect and thanks to all the athletes who after 2010 began learning the quads. "


As for what he himself will/would do - I think tha to him, going clean is extremely important, and I believe that, to achieve that, if he feels he has to toss something out - he'll toss the transitions, not the jumps. But, I'd like to emphasise that this is only my guess, and only my own thoughts on the matter - I don't pretend to know anything.

 

[HanDomi]

I think this may shed some light on that (it's from a fan Q&A online thing-y from mid-October last year - via Googletranslate):

He is skater from diffrent era. I don't think he can improve in components side now if he didn't over all years to be honest. This all young guys now are developed with quads and with presentation side at the same time. He was in the era where there were race to get quad itself. Now quad for all this young boys is just normal jump that they just get and include in programs with complex choreo ( of course not in all cases......).
In Russia men skating it seems for me that they stopped in Plushenko/Yagudin era, and they still focus mainly on jumps, but to be fair he had no rea BIG talent since them. There was Gachinski, but as fast he went up, the same fast he went down and never got himself back.

 

[solani]

As for what he himself will/would do - I think tha to him, going clean is extremely important, and I believe that, to achieve that, if he feels he has to toss something out - he'll toss the transitions, not the jumps. But, I'd like to emphasise that this is only my guess, and only my own thoughts on the matter - I don't pretend to know anything.

I also think that he'll focus on the jumps. And his PCS are going to be good no matter what. Being Plushenko gives him a 10% bonus at least. And that's fine with me, I don't want a Plushenko competing for a top ten placement. He should be fighting for the medals.

EDIT: And I forgot: I want Yagudin back as well. I kind of miss him a lot lately, saw a photo of him in one of the fan fest threads. He looked fit.

 

[Skater Boy]

Maybe Plushy meant restart his pro career or a different look restart but really we have so may skaters who have trouble moving on. I really think that song Let it Go should be the song of so many.

 

[plushyfan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4OR8P8N8Jg Evgeni Plushenko Montage Welcome back Evgeni!

Plushenko's words: google translate
"I am ready together with Alexei Mishin, with whom we have been together in '21, and I was nowhere on it is not going away. Mishin we meet on Monday, discussing our plan preparation, move on. Be sure to be attracted new professionals, because I have a strong interest objectives on which I want to work with choreographers and coaches on physical training, "- said Plushenko on the phone."

 

[JayW]

Actually, "histrionic personality disorder" is a legit illness. "Histrionic personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing pattern of attention seeking behavior and extreme emotionality."

Or it is just another publicity stunt, but he needs better ideas than "comeback".

 

[Hyena]

Actually, "histrionic personality disorder" is a legit illness. "Histrionic personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing pattern of attention seeking behavior and extreme emotionality."

It's also a very serious and huge label to slap on a a person you've never even met. :shocked:

EDIT: Just saw you edited your post. Yeah, I'm not ruling out the idea that it's a publicity stunt.

 

[JayW]

It's also a very serious and huge label to slap on a a person you've never even met. :shocked:

EDIT: Just saw you edited your post. Yeah, I'm not ruling out the idea that it's a publicity stunt.

Yes, you are right. But Plushy is a public figure, and the words came out of his mouth. I am only speculating here.

 

[LRK]

o

Actually, "histrionic personality disorder" is a legit illness. "Histrionic personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing pattern of attention seeking behavior and extreme emotionality."

Or it is just another publicity stunt, but he needs better ideas than "comeback".

You mean, like the Snow King?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1cSePdfYK0

Contrary to what some may believe, he hasn't been sitting idly twiddling his thumbs since Sochi... (shrug)

 

[dress]

o

You mean, like the Snow King?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1cSePdfYK0

Contrary to what some may believe, he hasn't been sitting idly twiddling his thumbs since Sochi... (shrug)

It looks very different than the ice shows we have in NA.

 

[silverfoxes]

o

You mean, like the Snow King?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1cSePdfYK0

Contrary to what some may believe, he hasn't been sitting idly twiddling his thumbs since Sochi... (shrug)

+ Running physical education programs and master classes, playing golf, football, Airsoft, kickboxing...skating in other shows in Asia and Europe, etc.

 

[Sandpiper]

As for what he himself will/would do - I think tha to him, going clean is extremely important, and I believe that, to achieve that, if he feels he has to toss something out - he'll toss the transitions, not the jumps. But, I'd like to emphasise that this is only my guess, and only my own thoughts on the matter - I don't pretend to know anything.

Well, the truth is, you don't teach a 6.0 skater to rotate and fall. It's difficult to teach them to add transitions if it risks the jump itself. You can't convince them to skate ambitious with mistakes over skating simple and clean. Yes, they know a fallen 4T is worth more points than a clean 3T--but in the moment, in the air? You'll bet the 6.0 skater will seize up and do a 3T. It's the same thing with transitions--if the warm-up doesn't go well, the 6.0 skater will be thinking, "Hmm, maybe I should water down the transitions" (and not, "hmm, better be to prepared to come back after a mistake.")

But I think it's wrong that some people say Plushenko never paid attention to these things/never worked on them. His programs from the past three years were clearly designed with COP in mind. They weren't intricate/jam-packed programs to the level of the top skaters, but they had clear transitions, more backloading, more COP-friendly jumping passes (e.g. no need to stubbornly stick with 4T-3T in the LP). Only one of these LPs hit off perfectly (2012 Europeans), but I think we can say the same about many skaters' programs. By the time Sochi rolled around, he was too beat up and couldn't skate with either the ease/power of his younger days nor with the more COP-friendly programs he attempted in the two previous years. And, well... that was the last glimpse, and that's what people remember.

 

[Blades of Passion]

That show looks 100x better than anything in America.

 

[dress]

That show looks 100x better than anything in America.

I would like to see it. I don't usually go to ice shows because they look like easier gala programs.

 

[karne]

He mentioned maybe bringing it here. I want to see it. I don't want him to break himself permanently.

 

[Amei]

He's like the Brett Favre of figure skating. For non- American footballs fans, Brett Favre played for 20 years and had a hard time a) knowing when it was time to leave and b) realizing he was doing more damage to himself then good (whether it be physically or popularity with the fans).... And I think Plushenko is the same way.

 

[CarneAsada]

He mentioned maybe bringing it here. I want to see it. I don't want him to break himself permanently.

I don't get the negativity. There have been many recent advancements in medicine and just three years ago we had a double amputee competing in an the 400m at the Olympics. If Plushy wants to come back he has my full support as the first figure skater competing in the Olympics with fully artificial bones and joints from the ribs down.