Whistler British Columbia Canada

Russian has its bear to beat in this year’s Olympic Games for men’s figure skating. Evgeny Plushenko is in a class all by himself, having created a stir with his gold medal Olympic battle for men’s figure skating with his rivalry with fellow Russian countryman Victor Potrenko. The lithe, agile skater challenged Plushenko for the gold many times, and when the pinnacle of Olympics success had been reached Plushenko predictably stepped down to enjoy his retirement as an Olympic sports superstar. Plushenko’s advantage will be that his technical skills may be unflagging while the performance anxiety of a first Olympics will be absent for him.

Plushenko’s visible presentation is a tall thin blonde man capable of energetic spins, speed over the ice, emotive storytelling and popular, crowd-pleasing showmanship. If the other contenders veer too conservatively in Olympic competition in their skating performances, they might fall below the charismatic bar Plushenko sets at the top of his game. Plushenko skipped ‘unimportant” ISU meets this year and nailed the Euros to cement his Olympic berth. Only a training injury or a very unfortunate short program will rob Plushenko not just of any medal in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics, but the gold, to be precise.

Born in Solnecchny, russia Evgeny Plushenko might very well be the Michelle Kwan of men’s Russian figure skating,except he has capped his golden locks with two Olympic gold medals against the toughest competition come down the pike since Scott Hamilton, namely Victor Potrenko and Alexei Yegudin. But Plushenko, born in 1982, is the grand old man of Vancouver 2010.

Plushenko’s Turin gold medal in 2006 came with the help of legendary Russian coach Alexei Mishin. The Russian coach turned down coaching Switzerland’s Stefan Lambiel and France’s Brian Joubert, which would have taken both those athletes to the gold. Mishin awaited Plushenko’s re-entry into sports after Turin for Evgeny to enjoy a critical break after an obsessive career.

Plushenko did not win a gold medal in 2002 Salt Lake City, and from an American Olympic games studded with question marks over its figure skating judging, was victorious in Turin. Plushenko’s lifelong association with a legendary coach and his will to prove himself still the best over a field of relatively inferior skaters may mean another disappointing Olympics for many international skaters.

Vancouver Olympics Placement Estimation:
Plushenko can take every trophy in Vancouver unless judges decide he has had his day in the sun and score him conservatively. The new points system may yet award Plushenko bonus Olympic gold, unless a bravura performance by one of the ‘ingenues” steals the show. If Plushenko becomes injured, falls or under-performs in Vancouver, he deteriorates his own championship mantle, an expensive career risk.

Dream Routine: the “Flash Gordon” song by Queen and matching routine.

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