Evgeny Plushenko - Jenia's Thread

[whisper]

Pentru fani Plushenko
http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/...kate_49691.jpg
Name: Evgeny Victorovitch Plushenko.

Nicknames: Zhenya, Plushy.

Date of birth: November 3, 1982.

Birthplace: Solnechni, Siberia (Russia).

Current residence: St Petersburg (Russia).

Heigth: 1m80.

Parents: Victor and Tatiana.

Sister: Elena.

Pets: An american bullgog named Golden and a persian cat.

Coach: Alexei Nickolaevich Mishin.

Former coach: Mikhael Makoveyev.

Home rink: Yubileyney rink, palace of sports (St Petersbourg).

Hobbies: Tennis, football, music, cars, computer games.

Idol: Viktor Petrenko.

Favourite food: Fried chicken.

Favourite movie: Romeo must die.

[irinaidu]

deci era pisica lui!

[peirsolgirl]

Plushy thread..wheee!
Cred ca ar trebui sa cititi asta, daca n-ati citit pana acum.....pe mine una m-a impresionat pana la lacrimi


This is the story of how Evgeni Plushenko
became the great figure skater he is today...

World champion, European Champion, Grand Prix Champion and National Champion. Evgeni has accomplished almost everything in figure skating at such a young age and he has always pushed figure skating into another level. He surprised everybody on his unexpected debut at the 1998 Worlds Championship where he won the bronze medal with just 15 years. Since then, most of us have followed his steps closely. However, Evgeni did not become the great figure skater he is from one day to another, actually the history on how he became a first class skater is one of the most dramatic that there is, which proves that dreams can come true but you need to work hard and make a lot of sacrifices.
Evgeni was born in November 3rd, 1982 in Solnechni, Khabarovsk region in the Russian far east, He calls his birthplace also "BAM" (Baikal-Amur Mainline railroad). He lived next to the railroad, in what was barely a village, simply one of the clusters of homes his father helped build. His parents worked for the railroad. Zhenya (Zhenya is the Russian short name for Evgeni) was a very ill child and the temperatures, where often very cold, caused him to develop a chronic cough and he spent three months in the hospital with double-side pneumonia. As a result his parents decided to move to another city where Zhenya could have a better climate and grow healthy, they moved to Volgograd.
First steps on ice

"Everything began with a present. As we where for a walk with Evgeni, we met an aquaintance who brought her daughter at home, the girl cried because she didn't wanted to skate anymore. My aquaintance saw Zhenya and asked him if he wants the skates. Zhenya said yes. "Ok, take them" and she gave him the skates of her daughter. "Everything happend totally by accident. In our family there is no sports traditions, no one of us ever did sports. Everything was just a coincident." Remembers his mom.
"But the main thing is, what he immediately stopped being ill. And... harden his organism" said his mom. That's how Evgeni started to skate, his mother Tatiana Vasilievna was really worry about his son's health, therefore his parents decided to make him do exercises, they signed him for skating, dance, they taught him how to ski, they bought him a bicycle and made him train at home with a ladder, an horizontal bar and a swing. Evgeni excelled at dance and a skating and because of that, he made one of the most important decision of his life:
"The dance coach said, 'You must dance, not skate, the skate coach said, 'You must skate, not dance.' His mother said, 'You must choose.'"
And luckily for all us, he choosed to skate.

"However, Zhenya always wanted to be a military man. I somehow always thought he would chose this career." said his mom. Also he really wanted to play hokey but after he skated a month, he wanted nothing else but skating.
Tatiana Nikolaevna Skala was the first teacher Zhenya had, she became his teacher when he was four years and two month old. Being the youngest of all in the skating group, it was very hard for him, he used to cry, hit hard the ice and not be able to get up, but he kept on going. Tatiana comforted him and she said: "Don't mention they laugh at you, work hard and you will be first." Maybe when she said it, she was just trying to encourage little Zhenya not to give up, little she knew that this advice has stick into his mind 'till today.
Then, Evgeni was trained by a former weightlifter, Mikhail Makoveyev. Eventhough he was not a figure skating coach, he felt a lot of passion for the sport and he decided to coach in an ice rink in Volgograd. He trained Evgeni for seven years (1986-1993) and in those seven years, he taught him a lot. Evgeni won his first competition at the age of seven at the Crystal Skate tournament in Samara.
Evgeni was what we can call a unpolished diamond, but at 1993, the rink where he skated was closed and it became an auto repair facility. His mom thought that that was the end of figure skating, but Evgeni thought another thing. He wanted to go to St. Petersburg or Moscow to train but his mom told him that they did not have any money for that. Mikhail Makoveyev saw in Evgeni a true figure skater and he sent him to St. Petersburg to a friend of his that would take care of him, and what a friend... no other than one of the finest figure skating coaches that there are: Alexei Nickolaevich Mishin.
Lonely in St. Petersburg
"I am trying to forget this time in my life now." said Evgeni thinking of his past.
Evgeni's career could have been over in 1993 when his ice rink in Volgograd was closed, however fate play in favor and brought little Zhenya to train with Alexei Mishin in St Petersburg. In order to have a first class training with Mishin, he had to pass another test, to live 1,000 miles away from home, to live by his own in St. Petersburg at 11 years old.

Evgeni remembers those times "I was little, I was afraid to be lost, I missed my parents. For the first time it was very hard, I had to go a lot from one part of the city to another by train."
Evgeni left his family, his home, his friends, everything, in order to pursue his dream. He left with his coach to meet Alexei Mishin. At first he lived with his former coach but that did not last that long, and so with only 11 years of age, he was all alone.
Evgeni had to live by his own for one year, he lived in a room in a communal flat in the Kamennoostrovski Prospect, where he shared the apartment with five entire families and other people. It was a scary thing since Evgeni remembers the drunks in the street and a lot of strangers coming in and out of the apartment. His "home" was composed by a room where he had a table, a chair and a couch where he slept on. His mom was supposed to live there with him, but when she arrived to St. Petersburg, she could not find a job there and the family needed the income from his mother and father in order that Evgeni could keep his training and live in St. Petersburg, so she had to come back to Volgograd. Before she left, she asked one of the neighbors to watch out after Evgeni, this neighbor also used to give him food but he also had to learn to cook his own meals "When my mom went home she used to ask the next door neighbor to look after me. But I've tried to do everything by myself, even cook, but it wasn't as good as my mom does"
Since his father work was not enough for Zhenya's needs, because his dad also had to maintain his older daughter, himself and his wife, Tatiana Vasilievna had to take another job, Evgeni said "My father tried to feed the family, and still there was not enough money. My mother had to take a hellish job - she had to cover streets with asphalt."
"No, mama, I know that it's hard for you, but I am staying here!" Tatiana Vasilievna heard that tons of times from his son, times that she could not take to be apart of him and because of that she went to St Petersburg, not to stay with him, but to persuade him to come back to Volgograd with her and his family; and yes, there were times where Zhenya accepted and they went to the train station to buy tickets to go back to Volgograd, but in that moment Zhenya remembered why he was there.
All the sacrifices, all the things that Evgeni never had, was worthy, Zhenya was in St. Petersburg to train with Alexei Mishin. "We didn’t want to let him off. We even didn’t think about he might moved somewhere. Then that question became very sharp, because of Zhenya couldn’t live without ice." said his mom.
Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin, a champion's coach

Every time Evgeni wins a competition, or it's recognize by something that he has done, he thanks everybody: God, his family, his friends, his fans but also, one of the most important person on his life, his coach. It's been years since Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin took him as his student, even so, Evgeni has never forget a thing about what Mr. Mishin did for him and what he represents to him. Evgeni says "I need him everyday at every practice, without him I would be maybe no one".
When Mr. Mishin received Evgeni in 1993, he already had what you can call a "champion's field", just to mention a few names he had Oleg Tataurov, Alexei Urmanov (who a year later would become Olympic champion) and Alexei Yagudin. To make it happen, took a couple of years. It's not like Mr. Mishin was not paying attention to Evgeni, but he had priorities, in this case his first priority was Alexei Urmanov.
The first years were really hard for Evgeni, if it was not hard enough his living conditions. Evgeni did not have friends in the ice rink, maybe because he was the new one, maybe because he was the youngest one. Miguel Alegre, now one of his good friends remembers those times: "It was very, very sad. He wanted to fit into the group, but he didn't have any friends." Alexei Nikolaevich also remembers how hard it was for Zhenya: "Not everything went well at the beginning but he has never complained to me. He probably already knew that work would be the most important thing for him."
Evgeni had a dream...

Since Zhenya wanted to fit in the group, he tried all the elements that the others did, at first unsuccessfully, but he did not give up. He tried to perform all the triple jumps so hard and so much that his nose would bleed. Why did he not give up? Very simple, it was his dream and he had always had on his mind what his family had to go through to make that dream happen. Miguel knew the reason too: "Even though he was so young, you could see how much he wanted to be the best, so he and his family could have a better life. Evgeni did whatever Mishin told him. He never complained. He had everything: Jumps, presentation, spins. And he was an extremely hard worker. He would do hundreds of triple jumps in practice and try more difficult quads and continue to push himself as far as he can."
As hard as the first years were, Alexei Nikolaevich found on Evgeni a unpolished diamond since day one "He was quite a gift!, Plushenko was brought to me by his first coach, Michael Khrisanovich Makoveev, and I am very thankful to him. It was immediately obvious that the boy had talent, but he came to me when he had already begun to grow. The difficulties of growth passed, and the diamond shone as it was supposed to."
Evgeni's abilities were shown to his teammates at the very beginning, he could perform all the triples jumps when he was 12; actually he already did triples by the age of 11, but you can hardly call them triples, Evgeni knows that too "Yes, I did have all the triples- from toe loop to axel, but you could only call them triples. There was no technique, no right execution. Only my natural ability to jump high. Then, it was Mishin who made me a World Champion." Evgeni landed his first quad at the age of 14 (a quad toe loop).
Evgeni's most famous trademark, the Biellmann spin

Evgeni also performed the very rare Biellmann spin, Mishin recalls about the Biellmann in particular "The others picked on him in practice and made him cry every day. He would do his Biellmann, and they'd bop him on the forehead with their fingers and tell him to stop. The other skaters were jealous of him."
And Evgeni remembers: "I told her, 'It's so much pain. I don't need this.' But we work and stretch hard. Now I say, 'Thank you, Mommy."
Zhenya is one of the very few male skaters that perform the Biellmann spin. It's true that some male skaters know this spin, but when they grow older, they don't use it anymore. Maybe for a good reason, Evgeni says now about the Biellmann spin: "I'm still very flexible. But from doing quads all the time, I'm getting some nagging injures-groin and back pain. Biellmann is not harder for me, it's more painful." but he also said that he is proud of it.
Therefore, since Evgeni has used it since he started skating until now, it has become his trademark. Especially because men very rarely do this spin and it is fascinating to see him doing it.
The Biellmann spin is a very hard spin, even for the ladies, it consist in lift a free leg, behind the back and held it over the head while spinning. Evgeni remembers: "In the first month there I saw a girl doing the Biellmann Spin, and I wanted to learn it, it was pure magic to me" Yes, it looked like magic but it was a hard thing to do, his mother wanted Zhenya to be unique, not just one more; therefore in order that he could learn it, they practice every night in their kitchen. Her mother stood behind him and pulled his leg up into the Biellmann position, first the left one, then the right. In the past Evgeni used to show us two Biellmann spin in his programs, now he just does it once, but he also perform the donut spin and the Biellmann spiral, two very unique elements for a male skater too.
The Biellmann spin is named after 1981 World Champion Denise Biellmann who invented the spin and said she never thought it would be ever executed by a man.
Alexei Mishin takes care of Evgeni
When Alexei Mishin found out the living conditions where Zhenya lived, he moved him to Miguel Alegre; later on when Alegre left to Spain, Evgeni lived with Mishin, there were also times when the group came back for some competition and Evgeni went to live with Sergei Serezhnikov. Finally, Mishin asked Evgeni's mom to come to St. Petersburg and then he paid for the rent in a better communal apartment where Zhenya and his mother could live. On the other hand, Olympic champion, Alexei Urmanov also helped little Zhenya, he used to drove him on his jeep to try on costumes and he always congratulated him for his performances.
But Mr. Mishin was not just his coach, was a lot more than that. Mr. Mishin is sometimes seen by outsiders like a cold man that just want to win, but that's not true. When Mishin accepted Zhenya, he was not only accepted a new student, but it was like he was adopting a son. He knew Evgeni had none in St. Petersburg and therefore he made him part of his family. He helped him with everything that he could, he taught him what's good and wrong, he taught him about life. So, a lot of credit goes to Alexei Nikolaevich that he was so gracious to take care of Evgeni.
Loyalty
That's why Evgeni Plushenko is so loyal to his coach, he represented everything that Evgeni did not have but needed and all the time he has been by his side, he has never forgot about that: "When I just come to St. Petersburg he took care of me like I was his own son. Alexei Nikolaevich was very kind to me, he helped me with everything - he was a second father to me. We communicate not only on the ice, together we play tennis, billiards, go bowling, often we meet up in the evenings. He is a very good coach and a very, very good, nice person. He helps me with everything not only at practice but also in life. He is advising me what is better and what is not good, simply at everything he helps me, without him, I don't know, I would be nothing" "He fed me when I had nothing to eat, gave me money. We've always been together. He took me with him to competitions in France and Germany."
Four, five years ago, no trainer wanted to "steal" Zhenya from Mishin, but that has changed some coaches had ask him to go with them and offered him a lot of money, but Zhenya does not even think about that for a second: "I am very happy to skate under Mishin in particular, and I'm not going to go anywhere from him! Alexei Nikolaevich pulled me out of the dirt, put me on my feet, and made me into a person. To pay him with rejection for kindness? I don't think so!"


First success at competitions In 1996, Evgeni started to participate in competitions. One of his first competitions was the 1997 Junior World Championship in Australia where he reached the 6th place. He earned $1,500 and he bought a TV-set and a costume for his mom. The Junior stage was already over for him where other skaters with that age still need some years to go over to the seniors. For Evgeni, it was time for him to prove how he would do against the seniors. In figure skating, if you want shine, you need to be good and if you are Russian, you better be very good. Why? The Soviet Union was really known for his strength when it comes to figure skating, as well as other sports. After the separation, that title went to Russia, especially when it comes to men. Russia has the strongest and the best male skaters in the world, to name a few: Victor Petrenko (Soviet Union then Ukraine), Alexei Urmanov, Ilia Kulik, Alexei Yagudin and Evgeni Plushenko, the first four are Olympic champions. Evgeni's first shot at an international event came with the 1998 European championship at Milan, this event ended up with a total sweep of medal by the Russian, at least in the men field. Evgeni won silver in this event with a program that included one quad and eight triples (a quad-triple combination). In the Russian Nationals Championship of 1998, they were not only competing for the World team, they were also competing for the Olympic team. Russia had only two entries for the Olympics (losing his third spot because of the injury that made Urmanov withdraw Worlds 1997), so the first two places at Russian Nationals would be sent to the Olympics. Evgeni ended up third because of a bad free skate where he ended up fourth after being second in the short program. So no Olympics for Zhenya this time. Then again with only 15 years of age, to be the third in the Russia nationals was not bad at all.
Surprise at Worlds 1998
The 1998 World championship in Minneapolis arrived and the World team consist on just-crowned Olympic Champion Ilia Kulik and the European champion Alexei Yagudin. Zhenya was there too, not to compete but as Evgeni remembers: "I went there to make everybody company." Still there were several rumors around Kulik not showing up at all, some say that he was going to turn pro after winning Olympics (which he did later), other said that his injury was back but probably the biggest reason why people though that Kulik was going to be a no-show was because they saw Evgeni there. The first day of the men's practice Zhenya was seen in the boards watching practice. Then rumors became true, Kulik was withdrawing and Evgeni was in. Evgeni was not old enough to compete in the World Championship, but since he was the Junior World Champion, the ISU allowed him to compete. Evgeni could not believe his luck: "I was simply in shock, one can only dream about making it to such a huge competition! It didn't quite sink into me." Then he shocked himself and everybody by winning the qualifying round "And when in the qualifying round I was able to beat Yagudin, I almost lost my mind: How did I do that?!" How did he do that was probably the question that the rest of the world was asking too. Most of the figure skating fans, judges, coaches were impressed by the lack of nervousness that Evgeni showed, he was throwing quads and triples like if they were the easiest thing in the world. They actually come to a point, that some thought that he could actually win this title, it's true that he did not have the artistry required (let's remember he was only 15) but that lack of artistry was filled by his excellent technical ability of jumping. After being second in the short program, he had an unsuccessful free skate where he fell three times, but that was still good enough for a medal. Evgeni earned at his first Worlds Championship the bronze medal which was a great success but he was not satisfied: "I'm not really happy because I had a very big chance to win Worlds. I watched the marks of the others and I understood that I had this chance. Well, of course this medal is a big success, but I could have done better."

The quick success didn't change him Success came quickly to Evgeni but it didn't change him. He also decided to stay in Russia till today even though most of the other Russian skaters left to have better training conditions. He also admitted that he almost got star fever one time but his mom was able to prevent him from that, Evgeni remembers: "Fortunately, I had it at the very beginning. At 15 I won bronze, and I even could win gold at Worlds. I came back home thinking that there's no need for me to work any longer. My mom cured me very fast. She just said: "You've got to get down." I understood. I saw a lot of examples of not so happy stories because people even didn't try to fight star disease." And since then he has been always a great sportsman and very humble. A success that made him even beat his long time idol Victor Petrenko: "I always loved Viktor Petrenko. I even tried to copy him in my childhood. I saw him for the first time in Petersburg, at the Goodwill Games, when I was 11 years old. I remember how much I liked his T-shirt, which had "Petrenko N. 1" written on it in huge black letters. Naturally, I got from him an autograph. Then, in four years Victor and I met at a competition, where I beat him completely accidentally. I felt so embarrassed in front of my idol, but he came up to me and comforted me by saying: Zhenya, everything happens in sports. You are younger than me - I am already a veteran." He was his idol since he saw him winning Olympic gold and since then it is his greatest dream winning Olympic gold too. But also this success brought happiness to his heart because it made him fulfill another dream , to get the family together once again. At the age of 17, Evgeni's told his parents to stop working, that from now on, he would take care of the family. "I told them: 'You've worked off!'. They gave me so much, that's why I want them to relax". He bought an apartment in St. Petersburg for him and his parents and another for his sister and niece. This is a lot of responsibilities at such a young age.
He made figure skating history with 4-3-2 and 4-3-3
Evgeni Plushenko is known for his great ability to jump, but he has always wanted to push figure skating a little bit more and to put new elements into his programs. In the 1999 NHK trophy at practice he did a 4 toeloop - 3 toeloop - 2 loop. When the time of the competition started and it was Evgeni's turn, his first jump which was usually a 4 toeloop - 3toeloop turn out to be a historic one, he added the double loop at the end, doing the first 4-3-2 in history of figure skating. Nobody could believe it, even though they saw it in practice, nobody though that he would actually do it. After that, that jump became Evgeni's trademark. Zhenya was happy with his combination jump but the plan was soon to do a 4-3-3. Although he landed in several practices (including during Europeans 2001) he did not attempted on competition until the Olympics where he had a step out in the last loop; but that mistake will not stop Evgeni for trying it again. Cup of Russia 2002 was the event selected to see a new historical jump. The day of the free skate when Evgeni was going to perform his first jump; he did history once again by doing a 4 toeloop - 3 toeloop - 3 loop!
"I have forbidden myself to think about medals"

Evgeni learnt that in the year 2000 and he learnt it the hard way. The 1999-2000 could have been the most successful season in Evgeni's career he won 7 competitions out of 9 and it started pretty well. He had two very good, and crowd-judges pleasant programs, he did not lose a competition trough the Grand Prix series.
He was the reigning and two times Russian champion, he won his first Grand prix Final and he won his first European title.
Everything was ready for the Worlds and he was in great condition, Evgeni arrived to Worlds as one of the very favorites for that title. The qualifying and short program showed that Zhenya could be worrying too much, since he ended up second in both. Still the chances for the title were not far at all. The day of the free skate, he was the last one to skate, Yagudin fell in his free skate so Evgeni had a lot of chances to win but everything went wrong, he planed the combination 4-3-2 but fell on it, then he messed up his skate and after all he finished only fourth...
That was the first time after a long time that he did not get any medal at a competition. (last time that he did not make the podium was in the Grand Slam of Skating 1998). After the competition he said: "My expectations weren't right for the free skate, I was already thinking of about what I was going to get if I win, I was already thinking about the Gold medal. Maybe that wasn't right. I was thinking too much about winning." The result was that he worked very hard on himself, especially he decided not to think about medals anymore. The shock about loosing the Worlds was too intense and he was determined to not let this happen again.
In the season 2000/2001 he won (almost) everything
That was the last time Zhenya though about winning that much, and it worked. The 2000/2001 is been one of the most successful season in his career so far, he just lost once in a pro-am competition. Zhenya showed great stability in this season, he didn't make any significant mistakes. He was the only skater who showed five different programs in this season ! Short program (Bolero), free skate (Once upon a time in America), qualification (Gypsy Dance) and two different exhibitions (Pasadena and Sexbomb). At the Grand Prix Final he showed the most difficult free skate of all time so far: Two quadruple-triple combinations, one with a double loop and five different triples! In this season he received 13 times the perfect mark 6.0!!
Then again, that season looked way too much like the last one, once again Zhenya was the Russian, European and Grand Prix final Champion, the difference was that this time Evgeni was physically and psychology in the right path. He said: "I am not thinking about winning or medals. I just skate. I do what I have to do. If it goes well - that’s good, if not - then I’ll win next time. Last year (1999/2000) I had felt stress before every competition. I was overwhelmed with a desire to win and it was a mistake."
Still there were many that thought that Zhenya could drown like he did last year, and Evgeni prove them wrong since day one, still when they asked him if he was going to win, Evgeni never answered that question: "So I do not want speak about this, because is for me bad luck, superstitiously but if I win for me of course is good, is my dream and my mother's dream." The Worlds gold medal was still missing in his large collection of gold medals and after 3 unsuccessful attempts, the pressure was big on him.
His happiest moment...

His Worlds performance was one for remember, since the qualifying round where he showed his old program "Gypsy Dance", the program that cost him the title a year ago. At the short program he skated to "Bolero", breathtaking beautiful and a totally clean skate. He was first after the short program. So he was in the best position for winning gold but still he may remembered what happened last year. But he was sure this time he was not thinking about gold, he thought about to skate clean and that worked off. At his free skate he skated his program "Once upon a time in America". After he did the 4-3-2 clean he probably knew that this time it will work out. Everything was totally clean with not the slightest mistake, he could even afford to leave out the second quad to not risk a fall. After the skate he pumped his fists into the air and he almost start to scream and cry, you could just see how happy he was. He won his first World title at the age of just 18 years! His dream finally became true. All the hard work paid off. Afterwards he said: "It has been my dream to become World Champion since I was four years old, when I started to skate. Now this dream has come true. My next dream is to become Olympic Champion!"
Asked about what his happiest moment in his career was, he answers: "Winning the World Championships."
Evgeni just fell twice in competitions that season, he nailed all his jumps as it was the easiest thing on earth, his artistry improved very much, the dream winning Olympic gold seemed to be very close and nothing seemed to stop him from that, he seemed unbeatable but....




The Olympic season...filled with injuries

2001/2002 season, also known as the Olympic season. This one, was not a very happy one, a season full of injuries (groin, ankle, knee and back pain) that made Zhenya not being able to perform at his 100% as he usually does. The season started very good with the Goodwill games, where he presented his new short program, a Michael Jackson medley and he ended up winning the event. When the Grand Prix series started, everyone were expecting Evgeni's new program, but he did not show it because the program was not ready. Shortly before the Sparkassen Cup he pulled his groin, nevertheless he skated well with no falls. If you would not know it, you wouldn't think he was injured.
At Cup of Russia he tried, even though he still had groin pain, the quad lutz but fell, he wanted to do figure skating history once again but with this injury it may not have been a wise decision. Later he needed to withdraw the NHK trophy due to his injury and it should be not his only withdraw...
When the Grand Prix Final arrived, once again the top contenders were Evgeni Plushenko and Alexei Yagudin. Everything seemed to go bad, if the groin pain was not enough, he injured his ankle in practice but really wanted to skate and he managed to perform his short program and his first free program clean winning both stages of the competition. It was amazing how he could skate clean with two injuries, just imagine how he would skate healthy.
Later we finally saw his new free program in the super final: "Story of an Artist" a very original program with an impressive technique content. It end up with 4:3 judges in favor of Yagudin, the decision was very, very close, and it could have happened at any other competition too. No matter the result, you have to remember, Evgeni had TWO injuries, but the judges told Mishin that the program was good but they did not "understand" it. Evgeni said: "The program caused a negative reaction from the public and judges. Why it happened, I don't know." So Mishin and Evgeni just decided to do a complete new program.

Shortly after GPF he earned his 4th National title with this program where he showed it one last time. In a Gala in Switzerland, he presented for the first time his new free skate "Carmen" and he was going to use it for the Euros, Olympics and Worlds. Once again, injuries will play against him and he had to withdrawn from the European Championship.
Olympics came, and Evgeni went there to fulfill one last dream, to become the Olympic Champion. Surprisingly he fell at his quad-triple combination at the beginning of his short program but was able to finish his program gratefully, even though he knew it was "over". He was just placed 4th, his dream was already over since winning the gold medal was almost impossible. Nevertheless, he bounced back at the free skate where he showed "Carmen" for the first time in competition. It was a great success, he went for the first time for the 4 toeloop-3toeloop-3loop but the loop was not landed clean. Later in the program he showed the very rare combination 3 axel-1/2 loop-3 flip. Artistically, the program was superior and made him earn the silver medal which wasn't bad at all for his very first participation at the Olympic Games.
On the question if the silver in Salt Lake City was devastating, he said:" It’s sport. I am able to win, but I am ready to lose. And this is not my first time losing."
After that the Worlds were still behind and Zhenya wanted to defend his world title but injuries play again and he had to withdrawn form that competition too. Evgeni reviewed this season: "An athlete can have fallbacks, after all. It’s difficult to always win, even if one really wants to, and even if everything seems to be set up for it. Somehow, the season went badly for me from the very beginning - our first free program was not at all valued by the judges. We had to redo everything. At the same time I was bogged down by injuries and illnesses. Due to an inflammation of my knee bone, I could not even go to the World Championship in Nagano."
He has fulfilled a lot of his dreams but he has still a lot ahead. He wants to play a hero in a movie. He was studying in the Lesgaft Academy to become a coach and got his diploma already. His skating future plans are not only winning Olympic Gold but also he wants to skate 10 more years. "I want to become Olympic, World and European Champion not only one time! Anton Sikharulidze, the pairs Olympic gold medalist and one of Evgeni's best friends said: "I think that in the next ten years we will loose count of all the medals which he owns." Evgeni's hard work, good sportsmanship, humility and love for the sport have not only made him earn a lot of medals, but also he is winning the people's hearts.....

[whisper]

And i supose to read all ?!?! Nu poti sa faci un rezumat.:ras-plans:
O sa citesc eu.
Da era pisica lui

[luma]

Multumesc Whisper!
Peirsolgirl, cred ca citesc maine.

Ii place tenisul!!!

[whisper]

Vezi stiai tu de ce tii cu el!

P.S.: Am observat ca la datele personale am scapat ceva : E casatorit si are un copil.

[peirsolgirl]

Adelina, dupa ce incepi sa-l citesti, iti spun io, n-o sa te mai poti opri....
Hm...da, are un baietel pe care l-a botezat Egor!! cand era atat de aproape sa se numeasca Christian....of...

[whisper]

Oricum suna mult mai mult A LA Plush!
Cred ca astazi o sa incerc sa citesc .

[whisper]

Cred ca ar trebui sa cititi asta, daca n-ati citit pana acum.....pe mine una m-a impresionat pana la lacrimi.

Ai dreptate,povestea e foarte emotionanta .De acum incolo o sa am mai mult respect(avem si inainte da') pentru evolutiile sale pentru ca intr-adevar a muncit mult pana sa ajung la nivelul asta.Da' nu o sa devina o fana Plushencko.

[whisper]

http://www.photosonice.com/images/Pl...P-14%20web.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi....plushenko.jpg
http://www.radio-canada.ca/Sports/im.../Plushenko.jpg
http://www.championsonice.com/images..._pleshenko.jpg
http://www.lesoir.be/mediastore/_200...ushenko_AP.jpg

[whisper]

Si uite cum fac eu posturi pe un thread pe care am zis ca nu o sa am prea multe. Da' am gasit ceva cu Plushy si cu YYYYYYY :
http://s15.quicksharing.com/v/510575...esult.wmv.html

[luma]

Whisper stiam ca este casatorit si are un copil. Este o poveste, care circula, despre cum si-a cunoscut sotia.
La cat mai multe posturi pe acest thread!!! Si multumesc, acum download-ez ce ai pus!

[whisper]

Ce poveste daca o stii (mai si intreb) spune-o ca nu stiu.
Daca mai gasesc ceva clip-uri cu el le postez si atunci bineinteles ca o sa am mai multe -da cred ca o sa fiu cam singura pe aici

[peirsolgirl]

Da, am auzit si eu ceva de genul:Mergea Plush cu masina pe strada si la un moment dat vede o fata frumoasahttp://yelims4.free.fr/MDR/MDR84.gif pe care o agata, daca-mi permiteti expresiahttp://yelims4.free.fr/MDR/MDR62.gif
Asa....si Masha nu stia ca el este marele si talentatul Plushenko, iar el venea mereu si o astepta la poarta facultatii asa ca prietenii ei l-au recunoscut si au informat-o si pe biata fata...http://yelims4.free.fr/MDR/MDR32.gif
Eu cam atat stiu...poate ne da Luma detalii

[luma]

Pai p'asta o stiu si eu doar ca, a urmarit-o cu masina prima data. Pana a reusit sa faca, virgula , cunostinta cu ea.

[whisper]

Interesant.Nu am stiut povestea. Nu credeam ca Plush ar face asa.

[luma]

Nu-l crezi atat de indraznet?

[whisper]

Uneori nu pare .Da' ma gandeam ca mai curand(pt ca exista si fane ale lui) il urmaresc pe el fetele . Stii ca in clipul ala al lui Tarkan . Asta inseamna ca dna Plushy nu prea urmareste patinajul daca nu l-o recunoscut.Sau poate nu era fana a lui

[luma]

Asta nu poate decat sa fie..incantator. Cred ca obosesti la un moment dat, sa tot auzi cat de magnific esti, cat de incantator este ultimul program, ultimul costum samd. Poate ca uneori, vrei sa fi un om obisnuit.
Oare ce-or discuta intre...doua scutece si biberoane?

[whisper]

Da ai dreptate. Da' pt Plush ar fi binevenite niste laude chiar daca vin din partea sotiei-pt. ca presupun ca nu primeste prea multe
Glumeam sunt sigura ca sunt destui care apreciaza stilul de patinaj mai tehnic .
Pai cred ca pana acum au discutat pe tema bebelusului -ce nume sa ii dea. Ca vad ca s-au decis cam greu,mie personal mi-ar fi placut mai mult Christian,da' eu sunt eu si ei sunt ei

[luma]

Si mie imi place Christian. Chiar i-am spus mamei mele ca ar fi facut o alegere buna daca mi-ar fi pus numele...Cristiana. Fara "h".