Plushenko Fan Thread - Road to Sochi

[lala]

very interesting documentary about Plush

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvpm59#.UMSi4qwdNN0

[Vash01]

I am a big Plushenko fan, but after watching the GPF, I am concerned that he may not be able to compete at such a high level, after so many injuries and procedures. It sounds like it will be a while before he can compete, and it won't be this year (that was my impression from Mishin's interview). I would love to see him compete, but only if he is a contender for an Olympic medal.

[caseyedwards]

Seems like from recent interviews he will do Russian nationals. Also some local competition. But outside Russia is definitely out for the remainder of this year.

Better watch out for Konstantin Menshov though!!!

[Cherub721]

What, no Europeans?

I understand what you're saying about GPF, Vash, but one thing that strikes me is that nobody skated two clean programs. Daisuke won on the strength of a good SP. Plush, when he's on, is one of the few guys capable of doing two clean programs with quads. That is the one thing that gives me a glimmer of hope for him. I don't know if his body will hold up to do it with the technical difficulty it requires now, though.

[yaya124]

Plushenko will most likely skate at EC2013. He mentioned it couple of times. IMO, he will miss Europeans only when he is really out of shape. I sincerely hope that will not be the case.

As for whether he will be a contender for OGM, well, he will certainly put his all to fight for it.

IMO he is still Nr. one in Russia, nobody can touch him at the moment, not even an on-Menshov.

[lala]

I am a big Plushenko fan, but after watching the GPF, I am concerned that he may not be able to compete at such a high level, after so many injuries and procedures. It sounds like it will be a while before he can compete, and it won't be this year (that was my impression from Mishin's interview). I would love to see him compete, but only if he is a contender for an Olympic medal.

Two weeks and we will see what is his shape.I agree Cherub, his power is he can do two perfect programs. In the past. Who knows? In 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBJtNXvyWbghis LP- 176.52 overall 261.23 only one quad, no quad combo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX6s8tRPP7Y SP- 84.71 he hadn't quad in Sp because of his injury

new LP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X8fQK-Io7A He plans quad combo and quad salchow.

GPF
1. Daisuke TAKAHASHI - 269.40
2. Yuzuru HANYU - 264.29
3. Patrick CHAN - 258.66
4. Javier FERNANDEZ - 258.62
5. Takahiko KOZUKA - 253.27
6. Tatsuki MACHIDA- 198.63

Who knows? )))))

Russian Chanpionships

December 24, 2012
training - The main arena
14.00 - 14.30 Men, Group 1
14.30 - 14.45 Preparation of ice
14.45 - 15.15 Men, Group 2
15.15 - 15.45 Men, Group 3
19.30 - 20.30 The draw participants

December 25, 2012
training - The main arena
11.30 - 12.05 Men SP 1 - 6
12.20 - 12.55 Men SP 7 - 12
12.55 - 13.30 Men SP 13 - 18
COMPETITION
18.45 - 21.15 Men Short Program

December 26, 2012
training - The main arena
10.00 - 10.40 Men FS 1 - 6
10.55 - 11.35 Men FS 7 - 12
11.35 - 12.15 Men FS 13 - 18
COMPETITION
16.45 - 19.45 Men Free Skating

December 27, 2012
13.15 - 13.45 Men - training for Gala (places 1 - 5)

December 28, 2012
09.00 - 09.30 Men training for Gala
14.00 - 14.30 Awarding
14.45 - 15.45 Gala

[Vash01]

Wow! The Russian nationals are just 2 weeks away.

[lala]

Wow! The Russian nationals are just 2 weeks away.

Yesssss! I'm excited, nervous, and... OMG! I will show live streems

[lala]

Sweet memories of ECH 2012--not mine

ONLY ONE WORD: PLUSHENKO

I tried in these days to find the right way to express how I felt but I always think to be trivial, repetitive,maybe because there have not been invented yet words to express for real the type of emotion that Evgeni Plushenko was capable to gift us all.

Evgeni has always made me happy. Every time I see him down on the ice skating, no matter if for a show or for a training, I experience a feeling of absolute harmony. But this was my first time in a competition with the presence of Evgeni, and was a long-cherished desire to be able to applaud him during a comp, be there to suffer, to wait, to exult. Never before like this particular time I realized that Evgeni has something more, a special indefinable “something” that can not be defined with only the talent, technique, even with artistic expression. Evgeni is will to succeed even when the obstacles seem too high, is the belief in himself without being let down by hasty or negative judgments, is the determination to face with courage the tests, the humility to make it even starting all over again.

Evgeni Plushenko in the European championships started from the qualification rounds, the skater who won everything put himself back into the sport from the lowest level, beginning with the first group. I arrived in Sheffield running without breathing just in time for the short program, with Elisabetta and Consuelo we crossed our fingers to be able to catch all flights and train transfers and at the end, when we finally entered the arena the first athlete of the first group was finishing his program. Just in time to sit back and to actually realize where are we and the heart starts beating furiously... Here we are, it's his turn to skate and my hands squeeze Elisabetta's one stronlgy. Triple toeloop triple toeloop combination, and the program goes on easily,with intensity, then a beautiful triple axel, the refined and elegant step sequence and Evgeni ends his routine while I still do not realize that it actually happened, I made it, I'm here! He didn't perform the quadruple toe-loop, but his followers are conscious that Evgeni is not in good shape. The left knee still hurts very much, and it's gonna be back to the hospital for another surgery soon. The only fact of his presence here is kind of a miracle, is the result of his steadfast determination. He finished the short program in second place,who did better than him was only Artur Gachinski, sharing an intense and well executed program. The following day we go to watch the practice, and Evgeni is really focused, he enters into the ice rink, begins to warm-up, try a few jumps. Then Mishin, from outside the ice, he raises his hand, waving his 4 fingers ... that's an indication to try the quad. Elisabetta understands the signal and make us to notice that so we are anxiously awaiting. Here is the preparation and the jump and the fast rotation, not a perfect landing, the fall. We tremble but Evgeni gets up quickly, takes up speed again and within seconds after he lands right in front of us a beautiful quad toe loop, and then one more, in combination with a triple toe-loop and again a beautiful triple axel. I reach the stars for happiness I feel in my heart that Evgeni will give us another demonstration of his greatness as an athlete during the free program, erasing in a minute, without too many words, doubts and criticisms that accompanied the last period of his career when heaters said: he is not gonna make it, he is too old than his opponents, he is gonna fail to catch up with the new regulations, he has no transitions skills and he is no longer as fast as he was in the past... I have always believed in him, because I am firmly convinced that Evgeni has a strong self confidence and never gives up. Everybody should be aware of it right now, after many years of career and many titles he won, but maybe someone needs one more demonstration about who is Plushenko.

Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. we are on the supertram that brings us to the arena. We go inside,in the air spreads the music program of one of the competing athletes. Our heart is flooded with emotion, we sit in the bleachers close to the rink and after a while Evgeni takes the ice: he wears a brand new costume, black, elegant, his face is serious, focused, we feel the tension for the cometition just like he does, because this is a turning point and a confirmation for him. Some laps around the rink, some jumps. We observe him in silence, quivering of his own emotions ... in a few hours on freeskate we will know if our feelings are real: we see him ready and truly motivated. At the end of the practice session he stopped for a moment staring at the ice, immersed in thoughts that maybe we can imagine... And finally, the competition begins, athletes succeed one by one, we applaud, we participate, but our minds and our hearts are all addressed to him. Here he is warming up outside the ice rink, my hands tight to Consuelo and Elisabetta, the heartbeat accelerated. The music begins as well as the magic. First jump, a perfect quadruple we scream all together, and immediately after a beautiful triple axel followed by a triple toeloop. The excitement never seems to end. These are the longest four and a half minutes I've ever experienced. Evgeni skates easily gifting us a jump after another with a confidence that leaves us breathless. The song is in its own strings, a passionate tango, burning just like his sight which catches all the arena's attention to him. The circular step sequence is so beautiful that my eyes fill with tears of emotion, but I have no time because the program is going forward, strong and fast ending in a thrilling finale in which we see all his grit, his desire to be there to make only one thing: winning. The arena is all standing up to cheer him. This is the establishment of a record that nobody can take him away. We have not seen the scores yet, but for us, for every person inside the arena, Evgeni is the winner.

What can I say? There is no need of scores – stellar, by the way - to make clear of what was this competition, and no doubts about who is Plushenko. So I steal the definition of him made by an old man met in the elevator of the hotel,who was listening me talking about Evgeni and who said smiling at me:"Only one word: Plushenko"

Thank you Evgeni.

N.B. Thanks to Elisabetta, Consuelo and Sara with whom I shared this extraordinary adventure.


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http://www.evgeniplushenko.it/index.php ... ercomments

[lala]

Bingo Boom Commercial (11.12.2012): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QigMQ9Vh668 cute!

[Vash01]

What, no Europeans?

I understand what you're saying about GPF, Vash, but one thing that strikes me is that nobody skated two clean programs. Daisuke won on the strength of a good SP. Plush, when he's on, is one of the few guys capable of doing two clean programs with quads. That is the one thing that gives me a glimmer of hope for him. I don't know if his body will hold up to do it with the technical difficulty it requires now, though.

He can do the jumps. The rest of the stuff is going to really going to challenge his knees. His biggest strength is will power. May be that will help.

[lala]

In Slovakia in this week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hP99ke6JaQ Storm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQkc1OSJIsc Saint-Saens medley

[Cherub721]

So I guess he's keeping the SP. I like the transition he added before (what I guess will be) the quad.

[yaya124]

So I guess he's keeping the SP. I like the transition he added before (what I guess will be) the quad.

Yes, he is keeping "Storm" as his SP for this season. He mentioned it in one of his interviews.

[lala]

Finale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jHUCTlXnYs

[lala]

So I guess he's keeping the SP. I like the transition he added before (what I guess will be) the quad.

I like better this SP by Camerlengo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NoZuWsorZ8

[Cherub721]

I like that one more too. Since we only see him once or twice a year it's nice to see something new. I wonder why he goes to the trouble of choreographing a new SP just to use the old. Seems like a waste of his time. I think he made two LPs also.

[Susan M]

Finale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jHUCTlXnYs

Thanks for the links. Anyone know who were the other skaters in this show? One of the tall guys sure moved like Ilia Kulik.

[lulu]

Thanks for the links. Anyone know who were the other skaters in this show? One of the tall guys sure moved like Ilia Kulik.

I haven't seen the video clip yet, but if its from Plushenko's B-Day special, than it probably is Kulik. Kulik, Plushenko, Yagudin and Lambiel on ice together-talk about an amazing event for fans.

[lala]

Thanks for the links. Anyone know who were the other skaters in this show? One of the tall guys sure moved like Ilia Kulik.

This was in Bratislava:

Cast:
- Evgeni Plushenko
- Irina Slutskaya – Olympic silver and bronze medalist, 2-time world champion, 7-time European champion
- Stephane Lambiel – Olympic silver medalist and 2-time world champion
- Tomas Verner – European champion
- Michal Březina – world junior silver medalist
- Laura Lepisto – European champion and world bronze medalist
- Sinead & John Kerr
- Fiona Zaldua & Dmitri Sukhanov – professional pair skaters
- Yukina Ota – world junior champion