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MOSCOW -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent a telegram of encouragement to Evgeny Plushenko on Friday.
"Your 'silver' is as good as 'the gold,'" Putin's telegram published on his official Web site read. "You managed to overcome all difficulties and stumbling blocks; you committed a brave, a resolute act by returning to the big sports with splendor and showing a most complicated program on the ice of Vancouver."
Earlier in the day, Sergei Mironov, the chairman of the Russian parliament's upper house, implied the refereeing in Vancouver men's ice skating was biased.
"If we pass it over in silence we will forever remain in the backyard," Mironov said in an interview with Russian radio station Vesti FM. "We need to put the question bluntly why there was such refereeing.... We need to get to the bottom of it."
Photo: Evgeny Plushenko reacts after his silver-medal performance Thursday. (Yuri Kabodnov/AFP/Getty)
"When a person performs a quadruple jump, which is contested by a triple, and (both contenders) gain the same points, it raises questions," he said.
Tatiana Tarasova, a noted Russian ice skating coach who has said she helped to train gold medalist Evan Lysacek last year, complained in an interview to Vesti FM radio station that the high evaluation of the components of Lysacek's program in Vancouver was "simply hooliganism," adding that in Plushenko's gold medal "was taken away from him."
Plushenko said in a video interview to Sovetsky Sport, a popular Russian sports daily: "Lysacek skated the way they skated 20 years ago."
"I can explain why it happened the way it did," he added. "Figure skating in America is dying. Business in figure skating is dying. And naturally they need new names."
The web in Russia was boiling with indignation over the skating decision. The story published on the Russian sports daily Sovetsky Sport Web site headlined "The judges took away Plushenko's Olympic gold" drew hundreds of infuriated comments by Russian readers, many of them tinged with anger at the United States:
"America has all the money and they are interested only in victories of their own," commented the user nicknamed Silver. "They are not interested in foreign skaters."
Nikolay1 wrote: "Plushenko is absolutely right. Thanks to the Americans, in the near future one-turn jumps will be valued the highest."
Eldarrr wrote: "The Olympic Games take place in North America, so why should we be surprised. Such things already happened in Salt Lake City before."
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From a skater:
Here's why Plushenko got the silver and Lysacek got the gold: it's the points, baby.
Plushenko skated an old-school program, and can blame his choreographer. Under the old 6.0 system, skaters put their more-difficult elements in the beginning half of their program in order to get them out of the way and leave the easier elements in the second half, when they know they'll be tired.
Lysacek, who is in fantastic physical condition and has lots of stamina, back-loaded his program with more difficult elements, including two jump combinations. Jumps in the back half of your program get a ten percent bonus in addition to their base score. THAT is what made the difference.
Furthermore....figure skating is NOT all about jumps. It's about spins and edges and choreography. Plushenko loaded his program with jumps, but had easier spins combinations and fewer connecting steps. Thus...lower marks.
To the person below who said Paul Wylie was robbed of gold in Lillehammer: Not true. I am a huge fan, and his performance that night had me in tears, but his program was easier than Viktor Petrenko's, and he made three major mistakes. He had turnouts in between elements in both his jump combinations (thus invalidating them as jump combinations) and two-footed the landing on his triple salchow. I agree that he would have won had he not made those three crucial mistakes.....his performance that night, even with those glitches, was breathtaking.
I wish people would take nationalism out of skating. The skaters may say the right things about "representing their country".....but deep down, they're not. Let's be realistic. You can bet *I* didn't skate for politics back when I was still competing, either.
OK, now. I'm a guy from Russia. I didn't watch the competition & could care less about the figure-skating. But ever since the American athlete has won, the whole thing is blown out of proportion by Russian media & politicians! The Games are over already, but Plyuschenko supposed "robbery" is like a frigging breaking news here. One day we hear his wife is referring to him as platinum Olympic champion (pathetic!), the next day the Government wants to present him with the order. Now we hear that the gold medal with a huge diamond in its center is going to presented to Plyuschenko by some politicians (supposedly made on tax-payers' money!). How stupid can this get! This whole situation is ridiculous! Russia is a joke! I'm happy the US won.
In fairness, had the Olympics handed out gold medals for being the best Delusional, Arrogant, Whiny Crybaby Bitch, Plushenko would have won hands down! The top three women skaters last night blew Plushenko's pitiful performance away. He sucks so bad right now that he couldn't even compete against the Ladies.
His final act as the Ultimate Sore Loser Who Believes He Doesn't Suck greatly diminishes his past accomplishments. Way to demonstrate good sportsmanship and the Olympic Spirit, you Russian has-been. You should have stayed away and let people remember you when you were at your best.
First of all, Plushenko was NOT robbed. Lysacek beat him fair and square. It's true that Plushenko (shakily) landed his quad jump, but so what? He has no artistic ability, he doesn't flow over the ice, his footwork is crappy, his spins need work, and even his triple jumps were sloppy (off-kilter) in the air. The ONLY thing he did was manage to land the quad. I'm shocked that the judges awarded him as many points as they did because he clearly did not deserve them -- I think they gave him a break because of his performance four years ago. Well, guess what? If Plushenko is so arrogant that he thought he could train for 6 months, while the other top contenders were training for 4 years, he has no one but himself to blame for his shabby performance.
Truly great Russian male skating champions: Alexander Urmanov, Ilia Kulik and Alexei Yagudin. Plushenko would have never even won the gold in Torino had Yagudin not retired. He used to be a great skater, but he never matched up with the truly magnificent ones. He is nowhere near as good as he thinks he is. If it were up to me, I would have rated the bronze medalist from Japan and Stefane Lambiel of Switzerland ahead of Plushenko in Vancouver. He deserved 4th place, not 2nd.
Plushenko won this Olympics,but corrupted judges gived GOLD medal to medium skater Lesacek,because he is US citizen .Eugeny don`t worry ,your skating is best at this moment.
Gold medal is nothing,believe me.
It `s hard to compare Toyota and any chinese car,but some judges can do it easily
the statement about "the entire package", oh please, I am pretty sure the 25 contestants have the entire package, all of them have footwork, spins, jumps, everything, that s why they are in the Olympics.
What is the difference between them? not the package, it s who is able to do something extraordinary different, who is able to do something that nobody does, and both nights, Plushenko was the only one who did quads, for the audience, for the judges, for the other skaters, for the whole world, we watched it.
Even with his shaky lands Evgeni is so far the best. He deserved the gold medal for everything, there is something wrong with the judge and score system, is simple not fair and perfect, but it is like that because they are humans.
Olympics is to see the incredible, break records, extraordinary men and women to accomplish incredible performances, and what Evegni did in BOTH programs was far superior than what Evan did, nor that Evan is not a good skater, he is good, but not as Plushenko is.
In other words, is not Evan's fault to be acredited unfairly, is the system.
Why is that we value copies such as Ivan instead of diamonds such as Plushenko? Ivan just pretends to be another Sex in the City hollywood actor. Evgeniy is natural and being himself. He is a real person. He has his own style and manner of skating. Why our world became so corrupt that we value copies of everything? We do not need real good women or men anymore. We just need one night stand. We don't need good sportmen any more. We just need smart political actors. We know we will win anyway.
Lysacek deserved the gold. He had the entire package of technique and artistry, whereas Plushenko was a robot. All his jumps were shaky, and his program was lifeless, exemplified with his callous reaction at the end of his skate. Russians are just bitter that Plushenko couldn't deliver and need to get over it! Such crybabies...
First of all, Plushenko should be attacking the judges, not Lysacek. Lysacek skated his heart out; it's not his fault what the judges decide. Same to all of Plushenko's lemming-like fans.
Plushenko's performance, on the other hand, was not his best. After he landed the quad (which, in itself is amazing), many of his other landings were shaky, and because he front-loaded his program, the end was relatively lackluster. If he skated the way he did during the short program, he would've surely won--but you can't just land a quad and skate a non-gold-worthy performance for the rest of the show. Don't get me wrong; I thought Plushenko was going to win after his SP. I'm not the biggest fan of him, but while he did not get the gold, he is still the greatest active skater--he just didn't show it when he needed to.
Myself, I'm a Lambiel fan.
Some say it is the end of figure skating, while I think it is a new beginning. Finally, merit is rewarded to the mastery of all techniques, not just jumping with the most revolutions. Plushenko has ALWAYS been an arrogant jerk--check out some of his pre-Olympic game quotes in 2002. Thank goodness he was put in his place by the great Alexi Yagoudin. Plushenko is the type of person that will ALWAYS have a chip on his shoulder. I doubt he will ever be content--he is the type of person that will "fester" for the rest of his life. Go on, try to comeback in 2014--maybe then when you lose again you will finally be humbled...jerk.
To Terri:
> And one more revolution in a jump, while indeed difficult, is not the only way to advance skating.
According to your logic, one second is not the way to advance 100 metres sprint. However, it took one century to reduce the record time just by one second (from 10.6 sec by Don Lippincott in 1912 to 9.6 sec by Usain Bolt in 2009). One second separates champions from hundreds of mediocre athletes.
For ignorant people it is just "one more revolution". However, the difference between triple and quadruple jumps is the same as the difference between 10.6 and 9.6 sec in sprint.
Yes, I remember Paul Wylie a wonderful skater who was heartbreakingly robbed of gold. I also remember that the year the French and Russians were caught trading votes ,was the year Irina Slutskaya (milking a blood disease for all the sympathy it was worth and two footing her landings) won over Michelle Kwan. Did America or Michelle protest? No Michelle behaved well and went on to skate her silver medal exhibition program with tears running down her cheeks. Wylie and Kwan were both coached by Carroll. What a vindication for Carroll.
Plushenko was arrogant. He thought he owned the ice and the gold. In both his short and long programs he seemed to think that artistry meant flailing around in footwork sections and leering at the judges, If he was arrogant enought to ignore the new system, why should Evan be criticized because Plushenko lost?
Americans have always had to be twice as good as the Russians to get their medals due to perception and cheating. The Americans have always kept their chins up and tried harder. Now we have a Russian who ignores the system, doesn't skate up to his own potential and whines like a child who didn't get a toy at Walmart. If you can't get what you want; make sure the guy who earned it doesn't get to enjoy it.
Bottom line is Evan will always have that gold medal. No amount of whining can take that away from him.
I DIDN'T HEAR OF PUTIN SENDING A TELEGRAM TO THE '72 U.S.MENS OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAM. ROBBED 3 TIMES.MAKES U WONDER HOW MANY MORE CHANCES THE RUSSIANS WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IF HE WOULD HAVE MISSED THE LAYUP AFTER THE 3RD TIME.....
Were Canadians called "sore losers" "crying for a gold", etc. in US, Canada? Not according to my memory. They were awarded, ha ha ha, the second gold medal. They got to be the second firsts.
Why now Plyuschenko get to be labeled "sore loser"? Because he refuses to swallow the insult? Oh, to my mind he is the man. He risks a lot in his protest, yet he is not afraid. Not like Evan, he is clearly a risk averse type.
Get real people. This "my guy is always right" approach is disgusting and will not earn you any new friends in the world.
American: Skated a clean and simple programm
Russian: Skated a very complex program with 2 landings not being perfect. Could he skate cleaner if he chose a simpler program. Most probably - yes, given his more than impressive track record in figure skating. He chose to me a man and take risk.
Result: American gets the gold.
Reasonable people are puzzled and disgusted.
Evan had a cleaner performance; a better performance. I don't understand why Plushenko feels the need to go and whine about him winning the silver. What a sore loser. You don't see Takahashi whining about being third. And even though Weir deserved better than sixth, he isn't openly complaining about it. I think Plushenko should just accept that he got the silver (which is just TERRIBLE, mind you...) and he should be more respectful. Because what he is doing is rude, and it makes me have less respect for Russians as a whole... because Lysacek deserved the gold fair and square.
Next time, Evan, don't even attempt triples, just skate and move your arms, you will have the cleanest performance ever! Way to go, Olympic champ. Typical American - mediocre and calculating!
This comes down to one thing pure and simple, poor sportsmanship. Rather than be a graceful silver medalist he cries about how he deserved more. Sorry, but for years I have watched the Russians dominate in graded events like gymnastics and figure skating, whether or not they were truly the best. Does anyone remember Paul Wiley? Skated to near perfection only to be beaten by the "favorite" who fell in his program. Wiley wasn't even on the judges radar at the beginning of the competion so even though his performance was beautiful and better he was not the gold medalist.
That is the chance you take when participating in a judged sport.
I understand the sport has to grow but I don't feel it should be at the expense of grace and beauty. Watching skaters fall all over the ice doing jumps is not appealing at all.
Well said, Jeri. I completely agree!
Plushenko blew his wad in the 1st half of his performance and faded into obscurity in the second half. Showboating before the judges will get you... oh yeah, second place.
USA is always winner by hook or crook .big bully threat to the Olympic movement. Russian won American lost but in American language its collateral damage for Russian sportsmen.
This is hilarious, indeed. Plushenko's performance was as ridiculous as his interview after it. Quads? Oh, please. He should've adjusted to the new system, man. He could've jumped doubles (or whatever thy re called) at the end of his performance, move your ass faster and cry in the end - that would earn you more kudos. Or, better, he could have called that gay-looking singer he performed with at Eurovision. That would deliver.
And Russians will not bark. They just don't do it. Expressing their resentment in words is the best they will do. Which is good, though. The US put on a more embarrassing conduct when they robbed the Russian pair of their gold medal in Salt Lake. It was low. Much worse than what Russians do now.
Why do we care what Russia, their politicians, or their FIGURE SKATERS have to say about anything? They can bash the United States all they want but 99.999% of Americans could care less. Russia, here's a thought: Americans stopped caring what you all say and/or do back in 1991; maybe check back with us when you matter again.
The judging system is obviously biased. Just look at Johnny Weir, it still beats me how Patrick Chan or Stephane Lambiel ended up in a higher ranking than Weir.
As for Plushenko, he deserves more credit than what the media gives him. Many criticize him for not being artistic enough or lacking fluidity between his components, well his impressive number of gold medals prove otherwise.
Give me a break!!! The better skater won the gold!!! Way to go Evan!!! Plushenko and vladimir (whatever their names are..) suck it up!! You are both losers!!!!!!! Whining like a bunch of babies!!! When you act like jerks you will be treated like jerks!!! GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!!!!!!!!! and GOD BLESS EVAN!!!!!
Give me a break!!! The better skater won the gold!!! Way to go Evan!!! Plushenko and vladimir (whatever their names are..) suck it up!! You are both losers!!!!!!! Whining like a bunch of babies!!! When you act like jerks you will be treated like jerks!!! GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!!!!!!!!! and GOD BLESS EVAN!!!!!
I guess the RUSSIANS were probably trying to give payback for that incident an OLYMPICS or 2 ago where the pair skaters were given a co-medal with the RUSSIAN pair after folks over in NORTH AMERICA whined about how they should have won. I have to admit I didn't agree with that decision at the time and so TURNABOUT would be FAIRPLAY.
Plushenko.Was.Robbed period.
Lysacek is a boring robot who likes to play it safe. His performance will never be remembered! Plushenko should have won the gold.
I was born in Russia but now am a US citizen. I love this country and I worry about every medal America wins. I have been rooting for Americans for the past 5 Olympics ever since I was a little girl. But, I do have to say Plushenko had a more complicated program, and as happy as I am that Evan won I do think that Plushenko deserved it more.
I was upset about some comments that Plushenko made, but also it was played out in the media more than it happened in reality. I saw an interview with Evan, where he said Plushenko is a great guy, Evan's role model and he congratulated Evan after the win.
As for some comments made above hinting that Russia is not as advanced as US, it's sad. I didn't grow up with all of the luxuries as kids see here. I am lucky to be here, but Russia is not a third world country. They do have e-mail, fax, etc. A telegram is more official. They are both very talented people. I cried when Evan won, I am happy for him but sad for Plushenko at the same time.
Saying that Canada is America is at least based on the fact that it is a part of American Continent. Thinking that Russia is all Siberia (like most Americans do) is much more ridiculous :)) Ha-ha.
Saying that Canada is America is at least based on the fact that it is a part of American Continent. Thinking that Russia is all Siberia (like most Americans do) is much more ridiculous :)) Ha-ha.
as much as i was rooting for evan being an american in arizona, i was also rooting for plushenko as i liked him too. sooo, i expected him to win and was disappointed that they gave evan the gold when he couldn't and wouldn't do the quad. i was embarrassed and felt sorry for the russian. that said, i have watched olympics since the seventies and have been not happy with who won countless times. i didn't like it when everybody fell and when people won even though they fell. subjective judged sports frost me, heh, gymnastics too. but, that said, it comes into play with the so called more clear winner ones, since the referee can blow or not blow the whistle on violations and so on. oh, and since when is canada america, although it is north america, i think they don't get the difference like you said. it isn't ALL our fault favoritism. maybe they expected more of the olympic champ, and don't like his big ego and nose?
Seriously, who cares?
The Russians complain about our money, but half their citizens are coming here by plane, train or bus to get their share, and they're taking over all our criminal activity. You can bet your house that Plushenko will be here next year in an American ice show collecting American cash. I only hope all the boobs who follow this ice dancing will greet him with a resounding BOO.
1) It's not about the money. It was stupid for that Russian to claim that America's money has something to do with the judging system. People are just carried away sometimes
2) Specifically for Lindseykp: Apparently, you are so naïve to follow everything that the national propaganda had to say about judging at Salt Lake City. Just to remind you. First, it was in favor of the Canadian pair that the scores had been changed AFTER the victory ceremony. The move so outrageous, that the Chinese, who won the bronze, even refused to participate in the recurring medal ceremony. We may be certain that being the contestants, the Chinese knew the real situation better than we do, so this say something. Second, it was a Russian woman Slutskaya, who was robbed of her deserved gold in Salt Lake City. Third, even in ice dancing the Russians were only silver, losing a fraction to the French Anissina/Peizerat. So it's at least strange to think that the Russians cheated in Salt Lake City.
3) It is certainly disappointing that figure skating is stagnating in technical elements. However, it's fair to say that the existing judging system is well known to everyone. Plushenko has already won Olympic gold under this scoring system. So there's no reason to complain. Frankly, I think Plushenko's trainer Mishin didn't do a good job and didn't accounted for the other elements in the program. Plushenko's program was not flawless, neither was Lysacek's. Yet, it's stupid to suggest that just doing one quadruple can outweigh the other components. Lysacek won fairly according to the existing scoring system. Whether it is beneficial for the future of the figure skating or not – it's another story.
4) Speaking about Putin and other Russian officials making comments about the situation. Frankly, I cannot help but admire them. It's great of them to support their compatriot, especially given the accomplishment that he has achieved. It's not that he lost by ten points. So it's quite understandable why Putin says "this silver is like gold for us".
5) And to conclude: I agree with a few comments here below that it is doubtful that Lysacek will be remembered for this Olympic performance. Plushenko and Yagudin, who pushed figure skating further than it has ever been before them, will be remembered in decades. This is something to reflect upon when deciding whether to change the existing scoring system or not.
If you look at the marks, Lysacek beat Plushenko on the TECHNICAL elements. They got identical Program Components scores. In spite of his quad (and he did get big points for that), Pluschenko only beat Lysacek by 0.3 points in the jumps, and Lysacek got higher scores for his spins and footwork, plus he got credit for having the strength to do several jumps later in the program, while Pluschenko front-loaded his.
And one more revolution in a jump, while indeed difficult, is not the only way to advance skating. With the new PCS system, skaters are improving the difficulty of their spin positions and technique along with their footwork, because more than jumps are rewarded. Tip on watching/evaluating footwork: watch the feet, not the upper body.
Judges are not paid, they have worked their way up to this level through countless volunteer hours judging at testing and skating events. They are there to support the skaters. And skaters are not out there competing merely for your enjoyment; if you want to understand the scoring, try to educate yourself more rather than just crying "robbed" if it's not readily apparent to you.
Plushenko was not robbed. He lost the gold because his program was inferior. He did all of his jumps early in the program. His body position in the air was poor and his landings were shaky. His spins were also not up to the quality of the other top skaters. Hip shaking and blowing kisses - immature and hokey. One quad does not fill a skating program of over four minutes. Maybe if Plushenko worked as hard as Evan does on the ice and spent less time flapping his lips, the results may have been different. Actually, I am surprised the weight of Plushenko's ego allowed him to get off the ice at all. He should fix his program, work hard, and learn to be a gracious person on and off the ice. Maybe then people will be able to respect his character as well as his athleticism.
What happens when everyone forgets about the olympics in a week and a half? Will he still have his panties in a bunch? And when did Americans care about figure skating? Can't we stick that sport with, I don't know, soccer and cricket?
I don't care about skating. However I think it is hilarious that Putin sent a "telegram". Apparently Russia doesn't have email or texting yet.
I don't get what they are fussing about...the last time I checked, Canada isn't the United States....in fact they boo'ed our national anthem during hockey games in the past.
So why are the Russians so upset that "america has the money..blah blah" when the olympics aren't even in the US?
Lysacek just took advantage of the new scoring system..Plushenko is living in the early 2000's....its a pity that he has to run his mouth now
I watched both skating. Plushenko was the best although the music was lamer. But he deserves the gold. Judging was biased.
Ha, what money is that person talking about? We do not have all the money. We are in a recession. And from what I recall.. RUSSIA was caught cheating in Salt Lake City. Oh the cries of a disgraceed country. Accept the defeat with honor and grace. Plushenko's program was sloppy and poorly executed. He wobbled on most landings and his spins were far from good. His footwork was awful. It shouldn't be about one jump. It should be about how a skater can make it through the program as a whole. Lysacek obviously did a better job.
Go here to review the scores by each element
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-figure-skating/schedule-and-results/men-free-skating_fsm010101eh.html
scroll down and click on the blue/white buttons to see how each jump, spin, and step sequence was graded. You'll be surprised to see Plushenko received higher scores for his straightline footwork. But he really hurt himself with poor spins, and failing to put more jumps in the second half of his program.
The new CoP benefits skaters who try, even if they fall early, because the totality of what you complete and the quality determines your score. The old system was if you skated clean, and did the biggest jumps, you won - but the quality was not taken into consideration.
Plushenko is living in the old world, but he was fine with CoP in 2006 when it helped him win. Gotta know the rules and design your program to make it work for you. A shame he didn't have Tarasova choreograph for him, she is a genius at making CoP work for her skaters (Shizuka Arakawa in 2006 and Lysacek in 2009).
These sorts of differing opinions happen in sports all of the time. In every olympics also.
The only thing that counts is the judges score. If you don't like the judges work to change them.
One person wins gold , one wins silver. Both are great accomplishments !
Complicity of performance Plushenko and Lysacek are incomparable and for that reason can not be treated at the same level. I agree that Plushenko was robbed of his gold. Where figure skating is leading to, to improvement or downhill? I don’t think that Lysacek will be remembered as a champion, but Plushenko will - because he did his quads perfectly and will be a model for them in the future competitions. I am sure that he spent a lot of time to make those quads perfect, speaking about persistence…
Screw Plushenko and the classless Russians. Plushenko's performance was FLAWED. Lysacek's wasn't. Plain and simple.
Had Plushenko skated CLEANLY he likely would've won, BUT HE DIDN'T. His jumps were over-tilted in the air and his footwork was absolutely, undeniably INFERIOR to Lysacek's.
What an effing cry-baby sore loser, supported by nation with a Dictator who goes around posing for photos with his shirt off.
Russia is as effed up now as it's ever been.
Pluschenko should have won the gold. More technically advanced programs have to be rewarded if figure skating to remain a sports competition. He complains and he is right to do so: withouth feedback one cannot revise the judging system. The US skaters and sports officials complain all the time.
If the Flying Tomato competed by adding an extra rotation to one trick, while landing poorly and generally looking sloppy, while his competition landing all their maneuvers with grace and style, with one less rotation on a single maneuver, but a better compilation of maneuvers, one after another, then Shaun would be wearing Silver today instead of Gold. Simple as that. Plushenko didn't cut it, Quad or no Quad. When he can land the Quad and make the rest of his routine as tight and neat as his competitor's - then and only then will he deserve the Gold. If it ever happens, perhaps the Silver Medal winner that year will respond with more grace and sportsmanship.
And what's the correlation between those who can't distinguish between a mediocre performance with a poorly landed Quad and a stellar performance with a greater sequence of maneuvers and their inability to spell? Must be in inability to discern sloppiness.
The Rusiian figure skater was robbed, plain and simple.
Not fair!
Your Right JJ what there wearing is funny,But Plushenko cries that the americans skated this way 20 years ago and that we are still skating the same now. Well Plushenko MULLET'S went out over 20 years ago so get with it. Lysacek Looked Great.. Quit crying Plushy. U.S. Pride.
Little
Plushenko has been so busy with his tantrum, he's ignoring two points:
1) Evan has landed quads before. He's not doing them now because they injured his foot.
2) He didn't skate cleanly. Had he landed his jumps cleanly, or at the very least backloaded a couple, he would've won.
Regardless, I believe that this was the correct decision because I find the current performances an improvement over the old jump-jump-jump-jump-do nothing for 3+ more minutes model. The current system is putting back a bit of the precision that got dropped when tracings were dropped. A jump-barely holding on is not the same as a jump-clean landing with smooth flow out. The latter should be rewarded more than the former. It is now, which is an improvement.
Seriously, if they want to make it entirely about athletics, skip the costumes, skip the artistic score, and just do jump offs, like ski jumping or 3 point shooting contests.
JMO
It's not like Plushenko skated a perfect program. A lot of his jumps were crooked in the air and didn't have perfect landings.
There is an equal weight on footwork and spins, which Lysacek did far better than Pluchenko. How many times must he be told it is not ALL about the darn quad??
Such a cry baby.
If you look at the scoring details (on the official Olympic site), Lysacek had the better program and almost flawless execution. Lysacek's program included better spins and several jumps late in the program, which give you bonus points. If it was just about one jump, they wouldn't be out there for 4-1/2 minutes. Congrats to Lysacek; he deserved the gold.
It's not about Russia vs America, it's about a fantastic programme vs a clean but mediocre one. Anyone could see Plushenko was the better skater, his programme was harder, faster, more stylish and brilliantly executed. Lysacek was good and squeaky clean but no where near as difficult or impressive. Ridiculous judgment and a setback for the whole sport.
Proud American from Denver, CO believes Plushenko was robbed. Sure, it's nice to have all the gold, but is it worth it when robbing more talented athletes? If the Flying Tomato can pull off his amazing stunts in the half-pipe, why shouldn't other Americans rise to the challenge in other events? If you can't preform the most amazing stunts, how can you consider yourself to be an Olympic-level athlete? I'd be fired if I wasn't at the top of my game - why shouldn't that apply to all levels of competition?
I find it hilarious that while deriding the gold medalist for being womanly for not doing a quad, Both Putin and Plushenko seem unaware of how totally un-masculine having a tantrum like a jealous pre-teen girl really is.
Didn't we get screwed by the same Soviets in basketball one Olympics? Give it a rest-how can you bitch about a totally subjective sport with no scoreboard or specific point system. They should all lose points for fashion.
The fidure skating just waas killed that night. it'not about russians. It's about sport and the progress in it.
who cares who won...as a man i was embarrassed for what these "guys" were wearing.
He was robbed. It was a terrible defeat for the sport as a whole more than just Plushenko.