Plinko Don't Make Me Hate You
Putin attacks Plushenko judging
MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin climbed into the controversy surrounding Yevgeny Plushenko’s surprise defeat in the Olympics figure skating by claiming on Friday that he should have been awarded gold.
Plushenko, hoping to become the first man in almost six decades to win back-to-back Games titles, lost to American Evan Lysacek by 1.31 points on Thursday.
It was an extremely controversial decision as Plushenko performed the highly demanding quad jump in which the skater spins four times in the air before landing while Lysacek did not. It is considered the toughest manoeuvre in figure skating.
“I would like to sincerely congratulate you on the wonderful Olympic performance-your silver is worth gold,” Putin said in a telegramme addressed to the skater.
“You were able to overcome all the obstacles in your brave comeback and performed the most accomplished programme on the Vancouver ice.”
BEEN ROBBED
“All Russian figure skating fans admire your brilliance, true fighting spirit, courage and the will to win. Well done!”
Plushenko put a brave face in post-competition news conferences but later told Russian media he felt he had been robbed of a landmark second gold after his triumph in the 2006 Turin Olympics.
“You can’t be considered a true men’s champion without a quad,” the 27-year-old told Russian state television RTR.
Lysacek did not attempt a quadruple jump in either Tuesday’s short or Thursday’s free programmes, instead wowing the judges with artistry and exquisite footwork.
“For someone to stand on top of the podium with the gold medal around his neck by just doing triple jumps, to me it’s not progress, it’s a regress because we’ve done triples 10 or even 20 years ago,” Plushenko said.
“Just doing nice transitions and being artistic is not enough because figure skating is a sport, not a show,” he said.
“Of all the men who had competed tonight, only two-myself and (Japan’s) Takahiko Kozuka (who finished eighth)-were able to land a clean quad.
“Later, when I saw Kozuka I shook his hand and congratulated him, saying ‘Well done’. I also have a lot of respect for (Japan’s bronze medallist) Daisuke Takahashi for trying to attempt a quad. That’s a sign of a (future) champion.”
DESERVED GOLD
Plushenko, who came out of a 3-1/2-year retirement last month, said he was a victim of poor judging.
“I did a great short programme but didn’t get the marks I deserved. When I asked why they told me I was skating early and they had to retain top marks for the last group,” he said.
“Then, in the free programme I was the last to skate, did everything clean and still didn’t get the marks. I thought I had done enough to get the gold but the judges gave it to someone else.”
Most Russian TV analysts and commentators said Plushenko was robbed of a deserved gold by the judges.
When Plushenko walked into the RTR studio in Vancouver, host Alexei Popov presented him with a symbolic medal.
“You already have one gold and one silver so here’s a platinum medal for you,” Popov told the skater. “You are the real champion.”
Another commentator called the decision scandalous, in the same mould as judging controversies at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
“We’d seen this before. In 2002 Irina Slutskaya unfairly was placed second in the short programme so that Sarah Hughes could get a better shot at winning the gold,” Alexei Vasilyev said.
Russia’s Slutskaya, a favourite for the women’s title in Salt Lake City, finished second behind American Hughes.
Incensed by what they thought was poor and biased judging, the Russians filed a protest, arguing Slutskaya had skated as well as, if not better than, Hughes. It was rejected.
“So what if Slutskaya lost?” asked the commentator.
“Who now remembers Hughes? Similarly, in a few years’ time nobody will remember Lysacek while Plushenko would go down in history as one of the greatest of all time.” - wrong bitch everyone will remember Evan just like veryone remembers Brian Boitano and Scott Hamilton
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THIS SHIT BETTER NOT TURN INTO A SALE/PELTIER THING AGAIN!
PLINKO YOU LOST GET OVER IT YOU HAVE 3 FUCKING OLYMPIC MEDALS NOW STOP BEING A BITCH
AND ANYONE HATING ON EVAN CAN SO FUCK OFF CUZ HE DESERVED THAT WIN
also PLushenko you should have done more jumps in the second have where you get the 10% extra points like Evan did so it's you're fault you lost
AMERICA ALWAYS WIN BITCHES RUSSIA YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS BY NOW!