Idk what are everyone's thoughts on this? I know there was someone more "qualified" than Plushenko to go, but I feel that the criticism toward his decision to withdrawal is rather harsh. I mean, he knows his limits.
Plus, he did help them get the medal in the Team Event, so honestly... u_u
He should've stayed retired and let Kovtun represent Russia from the very start, especially since Kovtun beat him at Nationals. I think they're criticizing him for the wrong thing, but I don't feel sorry for him at all.
This is a lot of bullshit. The bottom line is that all these Russians quoted here are more concerned about winning a fucking medal than they are about understanding the decision of someone who has been in extreme pain for over a year but has continued to train to compete at the Sochi Olympics. I love Yags but I don't see HIM out here at the games. He's only 33 - just two years older than Plushy so he can shut right up. Plushenko's right about himself - he's not a robot and there's only so far a person can go. I don't think this was deliberately staged; he has more respect for his country than that. And honestly I'd rather him not skate than collapse halfway through the program anyway.
I'm also really angry that one cow had the gall to accuse Yana of "orchestrating" his pull-out. YANA is the reason he skated in Vancouver at all! >:( Her support is why he kept going! And that's in strong contrast to Masha, who probably didn't care about him at all when he was prepping for Torino. I don't remember hearing about her back then. Jeeze
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This is actually the first interview I've seen where they've framed Yagudin's words as unsupportive. Everything else I saw framed that quote as being Yagudin's way of supporting Plushenko's decision to try to compete in Sochi.
Anyway a lot of the criticism is overblown and stupid--like who the fuck would seriously compete and risk serious spinal cord damage?--but that calls into question why he competed at all then. By competing in the team event, Plushy opened that door and made it look like competing through pain was possible for him. He withdrew, and now people are confused. He took a gamble and if it went well he would have gotten one more medal, or at the very least one last heroic hurrah. It didn't go well, so now people feel that he overstayed his welcome. His choices aren't hard to understand, but that doesn't mean the charge of hubris (both on his part and the part of the federation) is unwarranted.
The thing about Yagudin is they always snipe at each other, so it was a veiled insult. I don't hold it against him, though; that's just how Yagudin is
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Dude, Yagudin retired in 2003 so I think he's pretty much the last person who should be criticizing here. It's not like he's still here competing against 20 year olds.
Russia is not in a good place with men's figure skating right now. Their young guys are well-known headcases and it's absolutely not a surprise at all that they stuck with their most reliable skater for the past 15 years over some kid who splats everywhere.
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Plus, he did help them get the medal in the Team Event, so honestly... u_u
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I'm also really angry that one cow had the gall to accuse Yana of "orchestrating" his pull-out. YANA is the reason he skated in Vancouver at all! >:( Her support is why he kept going! And that's in strong contrast to Masha, who probably didn't care about him at all when he was prepping for Torino. I don't remember hearing about her back then. Jeeze ( ... )
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Anyway a lot of the criticism is overblown and stupid--like who the fuck would seriously compete and risk serious spinal cord damage?--but that calls into question why he competed at all then. By competing in the team event, Plushy opened that door and made it look like competing through pain was possible for him. He withdrew, and now people are confused. He took a gamble and if it went well he would have gotten one more medal, or at the very least one last heroic hurrah. It didn't go well, so now people feel that he overstayed his welcome. His choices aren't hard to understand, but that doesn't mean the charge of hubris (both on his part and the part of the federation) is unwarranted.
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Russia is not in a good place with men's figure skating right now. Their young guys are well-known headcases and it's absolutely not a surprise at all that they stuck with their most reliable skater for the past 15 years over some kid who splats everywhere.
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