Zhenya Plushenko
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Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko (, born 3 November 1982) is a Russian former
figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
. He is a four-time Olympic medalist (2006 gold, 2014 team gold, 2002 & 2010 silver), a three-time
World champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
(2001, 2003, 2004), a seven-time European champion (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05), and a ten-time Russian national champion (1999–2002, 2004–2006, 2010, 2012–2013). Plushenko's four Olympic medals once tied with Sweden's Gillis Grafström's record for most Olympic medals in figure skating, which has since been surpassed by
Scott Moir Scott Patrick Moir OLY ( ; born September 2, 1987) is a Canadian retired ice dancer and coach. With ice dance partner Tessa Virtue, he is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2010, ...
and Tessa Virtue. He also won a record total of 22 titles on the
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
circuit.


Early life and education

Plushenko was born on 3 November 1982 in Dzhamku,
Solnechny District Solnechny District (russian: Со́лнечный райо́н) is an administrativeResolution #143-pr and municipalLaw #194 district (raion), one of the seventeen in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located in the center of the krai. The area of th ...
,
Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai ( rus, Хабаровский край, r=Khabarovsky kray, p=xɐˈbarəfskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District ...
, Soviet Union. His mother was originally from Volgograd, Russian SFSR, and his father, a
carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...
, was born in
Donetsk, Russia Donetsk (russian: Доне́цк) is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River on the border with Ukraine. By road it is located west of Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p ...
. He has an older sister. Plushenko lived in Volgograd before moving to
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in 1994. His mother died on 10 July 2015. A 1998 graduate of school No. 91 in
Petrogradsky District Petrogradsky District (russian: Петрогра́дский райо́н) is a district of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia. It borders the Bolshaya Nevka River in the north and in the east, the Neva River in the south, and area ...
, he began studying at the Lesgaft University in 2000, graduating in 2005, and at the Faculty of tourism and hospitality of the
Saint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics The Saint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics was a public university in Russia , which was known as ENGECON (Russian: ''ИНЖЭКОН''). It is now a part of Saint Petersburg State University of Economics, which was created ...
in 2004. His surname is most commonly
romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as ''Plushenko'' but other variations exist. The
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
shcha Shcha (Щ щ; italics: ), Shta or Sha with descender is a letter of the Cyrillic script. In Russian, it represents the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative , similar to the pronunciation of in ''sheep'' (but longer). In Ukrainian and Rusy ...
("щ") may be transliterated as 'shch' (scholarly šč), but the simplified variant 'sh' is often used for convention. The letter "ю" is pronounced "yu", so a more accurate transliteration would be "Plyushchenko". His given name is romanized as Evgeni or Yevgeny.


Skating career


Early career

Since Plushenko frequently suffered from colds, his mother decided he needed exercise and enrolled him in figure skating lessons at age four. His first coach was Tatiana Skala. He trained in Volgograd, Russia until his ice rink closed when he was 11 years old. In 1994, his mother took him to Saint Petersburg to train under the guidance of
Alexei Mishin Alexei Nikolayevich Mishin (russian: link=no, Алексей Николаевич Мишин; born 8 March 1941) is a Russian figure skating coach and former pair skater. With partner Tamara Moskvina, he is the 1969 World silver medalist and ...
. Plushenko made quick progress on the international scene. He became the youngest ever World Junior Champion and World medalist at age 14, winning the 1997 World Junior Championships. The following year, at age 15, he won the bronze medal at the 1998 World Championships.


1999–2001

Plushenko developed a rivalry with
Alexei Yagudin Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin ( rus, Алексей Константинович Ягудин, , ɐlʲɪˈksʲeɪ̯ kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪt͡ɕ ɪ̯ɪˈɡudʲɪn, Ru-Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin.ogg; 18 March 1980) is a Russian former co ...
, with whom he trained under Mishin until Yagudin left in 1998. In 2000, Plushenko defeated Yagudin at the 2000 European Championships, but finished fourth at the 2000 World Championships. Plushenko had a very successful 2000–01 season, winning every event he entered, including his first World title.


2002–2006

At the
2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
, Plushenko and Yagudin were considered co-favorites. Plushenko finished 4th in the short program after falling on his quadruple toe loop, but skated a free skating to "Carmen" and pulled up to finish in 2nd place overall. Plushenko won most of the competitions he entered in the following four years. He finished second only twice. The first time was to
Emanuel Sandhu Emanuel Sandhu (born November 18, 1980) is a Canadian figure skater and dancer. He is the 2004 Grand Prix Final champion and a three-time Canadian national champion. Personal life Sandhu was born on November 18, 1980 in Toronto, Ontario, Canad ...
at the 2003–04 Grand Prix Final for misunderstanding the new
ISU Judging System The ISU Judging System (or the International Judging System (IJS)), occasionally referred to as the Code of Points (COP) system, is the scoring system that has been used since 2004 to judge the figure skating disciplines of men's and ladies' sin ...
which was now in use. The second was the 2004 European Championships, where he lost to Brian Joubert. He had a difficult 2004–05 season. At the 2005 World Championships in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Russia, an injury forced him to withdraw after the short program. He eventually required groin surgery. He underwent surgery to correct the problem in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Germany in spring 2005. Going into the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, Italy, Plushenko was the overwhelming favorite because of his past success under the new judging system. Plushenko skated two solid programs and became the Olympic champion. He finished the short program ten points ahead of his closest rival, setting a new ISU record for the short program. His free skating was just as strong, and also set a new ISU record. Plushenko's free skating music was specially arranged for him by violinist
Edvin Marton Edvin Marton (born Lajos Edvin Csűry, 17 February 1974, Vylok, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian-born Hungarian composer and violinist. He became known as the violinist of the skaters, mainly because Evgeni Plushenko, Stéphane Lambiel, Yuzuru Hanyu (a ...
.


2006–2008: Hiatus

Plushenko took a break from competitive skating following the 2006 Olympic season. He has said the off-season helped him rest and recover from past knee injuries he has battled. After seeing the poor results of Russian skaters at the 2007 World Championships (the worst since 1960), Plushenko was worried about Russia losing its status as a dominant force in figure skating, and was also concerned that Russia might even lose confidence for its skaters for the
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
. He announced in April 2007 that he decided to return to competitive skating for the 2007–08 season to keep Russia at a competitive level with other countries until the next generation of Russian skaters could take over but a return to the ice did not materialize. Plushenko also stated that he planned to compete in the
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
. In 2008, Plushenko, together with violinist
Edvin Marton Edvin Marton (born Lajos Edvin Csűry, 17 February 1974, Vylok, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian-born Hungarian composer and violinist. He became known as the violinist of the skaters, mainly because Evgeni Plushenko, Stéphane Lambiel, Yuzuru Hanyu (a ...
, accompanied Dima Bilan on stage as part of the winning
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
performance "
Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...
" in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, Serbia. Plushenko skated on stage as part of the performance.


2009–2010: Return to competition

In March 2009, Plushenko announced that he had returned to training with longtime coach
Alexei Mishin Alexei Nikolayevich Mishin (russian: link=no, Алексей Николаевич Мишин; born 8 March 1941) is a Russian figure skating coach and former pair skater. With partner Tamara Moskvina, he is the 1969 World silver medalist and ...
in order to prepare for the 2010 Olympics. Plushenko led the short program in his return to skating at the
2009 Cup of Russia The 2009 Rostelecom Cup was the second event of six in the 2009–10 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on October 22–25. Medals were awar ...
on 23 October 2009. He earned 82.25 points for the short, and won the free skating with a score of 158.40. Overall, he won the gold in his comeback with a total of 240.65 points. In December 2009, Plushenko signed a partnership agreement with the international management agency FlashLight led by the sports agent
Andreas Goller Andreas Goller (born 15 March 1976 in Bolzano) is an Italian sports manager and football players' agent. Career In winter season 2002/2003, the German multiple times World Champion and Olympic Medalist skier Martina Ertl became his first client ...
. At the 2010 Russian Championships, Plushenko earned 100.09 points for his short program. He received 171.50 points in the free skating to win his eighth Russian Championship with 271.59 points. At the 2010 European Championships, Plushenko set a new world record score in the short program by scoring 91.30 points, and went on to win the event for a sixth time with a total score of 255.39 points. He skated at the
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and received a score of 90.85 for his short program performance, breaking the Olympic record and leading all competitors. Following his skate, Plushenko said "Without a quad it's not men's figure skating. I will do the quad in any case. I believe that the quad is the future of figure skating. The quad is necessary, that is my opinion." Plushenko finished second in the free skating and second overall, ultimately winning the silver medal with a total score of 256.36, 1.31 points behind the winner Evan Lysacek. In the free skating, he landed a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination but left a planned double loop out of a combination jump. He and Lysacek received a similar total score for program components, but Plushenko had a lower total technical elements score than Lysacek. He said of the gold medal winner, Evan Lysacek, "I think we need to change the judging system – a quad is a quad. If an Olympic champion doesn't do a quad, well I don't know..." In an interview to Russian newspaper Izvestia, Plushenko brought attention to the fact that, following his short program, three judges placed him 21st and 22nd for skating skills. He said, "Strangely, the computer did not drop any one of the three. But what it did instead was to drop those judges who awarded me first place. Under the current system, if this is the way judges' marks are awarded, you can win, and you can just as equally lose. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to criticize the new rules, they are not bad. But they do need further refinement." He also expressed dismay over the Russian Figure Skating Federation not standing up for one of their athletes. "After the short program, I should have had at least a 5 point lead over my competitors. In the end, however, the gap amounted to a mere 0.55 to which our Federation did not react at all." Russian skating champion Irina Rodnina said that although she had hoped he would win, Lysacek had a stronger overall performance. At the same time, a number of well-known skaters and coaches said they supported Plushenko and believe he deserved the gold medal. Among them were figure skater Elvis Stojko and the coaches Reinhardt Ketterer,
Tatiana Tarasova Tatiana Anatolyevna Tarasova (; born 13 February 1947) is a Russian figure skating coach and national figure skating team adviser. Tarasova has been coach to more world and Olympic champions than any other coach in skating history. Her students h ...
, and
Galina Zmievskaya Galina Yakovlevna Zmievskaya (russian: Галина Яковлевна Змиевская, uk, Галина Яківна Змієвська, ''Halyna Yakivna Zmievs'ka'') (born 1952) is a Ukrainian-American figure skating coach in the United Stat ...
. Plushenko became the only living single skater to have won medals at three Olympics. He withdrew from the 2010 World Championships citing injury.


Loss of eligibility and reinstatement

Plushenko skated in exhibitions soon after his withdrawal from Worlds. On 28 June 2010, the International Skating Union announced that Plushenko had lost his eligibility due to participating in skating shows in March and April without the Russian figure skating federation's authorization. He was given 21 days to appeal this decision to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
, which he did not do. As a result, his loss of eligibility became final as announced by the ISU on 23 August 2010. However, a request for reinstatement could be made in line with ISU regulations subject to a review and decision by the ISU Council. In September 2010, he stated his goal of competing at the
2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
. In October 2010, he competed in the Japan Open 2010 as part of the European team. Each team was allowed to have an "ineligible" member. He placed third in the men's event. Plushenko skated in ice shows around the world while continuing to train for a possible return to competition by practicing quad Salchows and quad loops. In April 2011, he sent a letter to the Russian figure skating federation president, Aleksandr Gorshkov, seeking reinstatement. Plushenko said he hoped the ban was not a retaliation of his criticism of the judging at the Olympics and that he would like to return to competition with a clean slate. Although he said he would have liked to compete at the 2011 World Championships if the ban had been lifted, he did not feel he would have been ready due to lost training time as a result of injury. On 12 June 2011, it was announced that the ISU had reinstated him by a unanimous vote.


2011–2012 season: Return to competition

On 12 June 2011, Plushenko said that he had undergone knee surgery due to a meniscus problem but would be back on track within two weeks. Although his left knee continued bothering him, he resumed training in Mishin's group, alongside Artur Gachinski, saying "Competition is always good, remember there was a time when
Alexei Urmanov Alexei Yevgenyevich Urmanov (; born 17 November 1973) is a Russian figure skating coach and former competitor. He is the 1994 Olympic champion, the 1993 World bronze medalist, the 1997 European champion, the 1995–96 Champions Series Final ...
,
Alexei Yagudin Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin ( rus, Алексей Константинович Ягудин, , ɐlʲɪˈksʲeɪ̯ kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪt͡ɕ ɪ̯ɪˈɡudʲɪn, Ru-Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin.ogg; 18 March 1980) is a Russian former co ...
and I all trained together. We pushed each other. With Artur in the group, I have a sparring partner. He does a quad and I have to do a quad as well." He declined an offer to skate in a 50-show tour in order to train. In December 2011, Plushenko competed at the 2012 Russian Championships. He won the short program with a score of 88.24 and then won the free skating with a score of 171.43, to win his ninth national title. He was named to the Russian team for the 2012 European Championships, although he had not competed internationally recently enough to have the minimum technical elements scores (20 in the short program, 35 in the free). The Russian figure skating federation asked the ISU to allow him to compete, with Aleksandr Gorshkov saying that the minimum scores were designed to filter out weak skaters. In January 2012, the ISU released a statement confirming that Plushenko had been allowed to participate in the 2012 European Championships. On 26 January 2012, Plushenko confirmed that he would undergo additional surgery on his meniscus after the competition and would be unable to compete at the 2012 World Championships. Plushenko competed at the 2012 European Championships, his first international competition since 2010. He earned a score of 84.71 for his short program and a personal-best score of 176.52 for free skating. His overall competition score of 261.23 points was also a personal best and earned him his seventh European title. He became only the third men's skater to capture seven European titles and the only one to do so in modern history. He is surpassed only by two skaters from the early history of the sport, Sweden's Ulrich Salchow, who won nine titles from 1898 to 1913, and Austria's Karl Schafer, who won eight from 1929 to 1936. In a post-Europeans interview, Plushenko said that he had not planned to compete after 2010 but found he missed the adrenaline of competition. He underwent surgery on his left knee to clean up the meniscus and repair a cartilage on 23 February 2012 in Germany. In February 2012, Plushenko also mentioned a back problem due to spinal disc herniation. It was later determined that back surgery would not be necessary. Mishin clarified that Plushenko was in good health overall.


2012–2013

In April and July 2012, Plushenko worked with Italian
choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
Pasquale Camerlengo Pasquale Camerlengo (born 14 April 1966) is an Italian former competitive ice dancer who is now a coach and choreographer. With Stefania Calegari, he won gold medals at Skate America, Skate Canada, and the International de Paris, and placed fifth ...
on a new short program. In late June 2012, he also worked with Japanese choreographer Kenji Miyamoto on his free skating for the following season. His work on quad Salchows and Lutzes aggravated his spinal problem and he flew to
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Germany for surgery, which involved searing a disk hernia with a liquid. Although doctors recommended he stay off the ice for a month, Plushenko returned in seven days, explaining "I felt that I need to run fast in order to defend my position. I had the National Championships coming up, so, not only did I start to train too early, but I started to train too intensely." His decision led to complications and he received an injection, a block, in Saint Petersburg. He lost some of his jumps but got them back before the 2013 Russian Championships in
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
, Russia. Plushenko won his 10th national title at the event. He said his plan was to compete at the 2013 European and World Championships if his health allowed him. Plushenko withdrew from the 2013 European Championships after the short program due to his back problem. He underwent surgery on 31 January 2013 in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, Israel to replace a spinal disk with a synthetic one.


2013–2014

As part of his preparation for the 2013–2014 season, Plushenko planned summer training camps in
Pinzolo Pinzolo ( Lombard: ''Pinsöl'') is a small town and ''comune'' situated in Val Rendena in Trentino in the northern Italian Alps at an elevation of . The Church of Saint Vigilius of Trent stands in the town. It is mainly known as a ski resort du ...
, Italy and
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, Estonia, followed by training in Saint Petersburg and Sochi. On 7 November 2013, Plushenko returned to competition at the 22nd
Volvo Open Cup Volvo Open Cup is a figure skating competition held in Riga, Latvia. It was part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season. The competition may include men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing at various levels. ...
in
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, Latvia where he won the gold medal with an overall score of 263.25 points. He landed a 4T, 3A, 3A-3T in the free skating and obtained the minimum TES needed to compete at the
2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
. He had one Grand Prix assignment, the
2013 Rostelecom Cup The 2013 Rostelecom Cup was the final event of six in the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena in Moscow on November 22–24. Medal ...
, but withdrew due to a minor knee injury. At the 2014 Russian Championships, Plushenko placed first in the short program and second in the free skating. He finished second overall behind Maxim Kovtun, his first loss at Nationals since placing third in 1998. On 22 January 2014, it was announced that Plushenko had been awarded Russia's men's spot for the
2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
. It was his fourth Olympics appearance. Offered the opportunity to be Russia's flagbearer, he said it was a great honor but he could not accept due to the competition schedule. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Plushenko competed in both the short and free skating segments of the team figure skating competition. He placed second in the short program with a personal best score of 91.39 behind Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. He placed first in the free skating portion with a score of 168.20, garnering 19 points for his team. Russia won gold, ten points ahead of Canada who got silver. This was Plushenko's second Olympic gold medal, giving him a total of four Olympic medals, and he became one of the oldest figure skating Olympic champions. This tied him with Sweden's Gillis Grafström for the record of the most Olympic medals by a figure skater, since surpassed by the ice dance team of
Scott Moir Scott Patrick Moir OLY ( ; born September 2, 1987) is a Canadian retired ice dancer and coach. With ice dance partner Tessa Virtue, he is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2010, ...
and Tessa Virtue. This was also Russia's first gold at the games. After struggling with a back injury during practice, Plushenko decided to withdraw from the men’s singles competition following his pre-short program warm up on 13 February 2014. It was announced shortly after that he would be retiring from competitive skating, but was "not ruling out" the possibility of returning for the
2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...
in South Korea. On 2 March 2014, Plushenko announced that he was going to have another back surgery citing a snapped pin in his back, and ended any plans for a return to professional competition.


After Sochi Olympics

Plushenko expressed interest in coaching when he ended his skating career. After retiring officially from competition in March 2017, he opened his own skating school. He was the coach of Adelina Sotnikova, the 2014 Olympic champion, from April 2017 until she retired in 2020. He is also the coach of Stanislava Konstantinova and Ekaterina Ryabova.


Records and achievements

Evgeni Plushenko has won four Olympic medals, which, at the time, tied with Gillis Grafström's record for most Olympic medals in figure skating. Plushenko is known for his dynamic performances, and technical advancement of the sport. Plushenko is the first male skater to perform the Biellmann spin in the senior competitions. At the
1999 NHK Trophy The 1999 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 1999–2000 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Rainbow Ice Arena in Nagoya on December 2–5. Medals were award ...
, he became the first skater to perform a 4T–3T–2Lo combination in competition. He has since landed the combination 26 times. Plushenko is also the first to land 4T–3T–3Lo and 3A-1Lo-3F in competition. He first landed the combination at the 2002 Cup of Russia and has since landed it four times. He is the first skater to complete the 3A-3F combination. Plushenko is also the first to perform a 3T–3T–3Lo–2Lo combination, which he first did at the 2001 ARD Gala. At the 2006 Russian Championships, he landed a six jump combination (3T–3T–2Lo–2Lo–2Lo–2Lo) in his exhibition program. He performed a 3A-3T-3Lo combination at the exhibition finale of the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
. Plushenko has consistently landed 4T in competitions and landed a 4S in
Samara, Russia Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population of ...
during the 2004 Russian Cup series. It is estimated that he has landed a total of about 100 quads in competition. Plushenko has worked on and landed 4Lo and 4Lz in practice, but has never completed any of them in competition. He has also worked on a 3A-4T combination. At the age of 16, Plushenko became the youngest male skater to ever receive a perfect score of 6.0. He received a total of seventy five 6.0's before the new Code of Points judging system was introduced. Under the Code of Points system, he has set 13 world record scores (5 in the short program, 4 in free skating, and 4 in the combined total).


Coaching career

Plushenko's current students include: *
Sofia Muravieva Sofia Andreevna Muravieva (russian: Софья Андреевна Муравьёва; born 4 August 2006) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2021 JGP Cup of Austria champion, the 2021 JGP Slovakia silver medalist, the 2024 Russian natio ...
→ Champion 2021 JGP Austria, finished 6th at 2022 Russian Nationals *
Anastasia Zinina Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...
*
Veronika Zhilina Veronika Vladislavovna Zhilina (russian: Вероника Владиславовна Жилина; born 15 May 2008) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2021 JGP Slovakia champion. Personal life Zhilina was born on 15 May 2008 in Arkhan ...
→ from May 2020 – present *
Sofia Titova Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has ...
→ from May 2020 – present *
Sofia Shifrina Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has ...
→ from June 2022 – present *
Alena Zhilina Alena is a feminine given name from the origins Russia and Czechia. People Alena is a variant of Helen. People with this name include: * Saint Alena (died 640), born in Dilbeek, Belgium, and martyred c. 640 * Alena Douhan, Belarusian diplomat ...
→ from May 2020 – present Former students include: *
Alexandra Trusova Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Trusova ( rus, Александра Вячеславовна Трусова, , ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈtrusəvə; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, the 2021 Wor ...
→ From May 2020 – May 2021. *
Alena Kostornaia Alena Sergeyevna Kostornaia (russian: Алёна Сергеевна Косторная; born 24 August 2003) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2020 European champion, the 2019–20 Grand Prix Final champion, a six-time Grand Prix medal ...
→ from July 2020 – March 2021. * Ekaterina Ryabova → Finished 13th at 2019 Worlds and 6th at 2020 Europeans. * Stanislava Konstantinova → from February 2020 to January 2021. *
Anastasia Tarakanova Anastasia Anatolyevna Tarakanova (russian: Анастасия Анатольевна Тараканова; born 14 April 2004) is a Russian retired figure skater. She is the 2017 JGP Austria and 2018 JGP Slovenia champion, and the 2017–18 J ...
→ 4th at 2018 JGP Final, 7th 2019 Russian Jr. Nationals *
Serafima Sakhanovich Serafima "Sima" Andreyevna Sakhanovich (russian: Серафима Андреевна Саханович; born 9 February 2000) is a retired Russian figure skater. She has won six medals on the ISU Challenger Series circuit, and is the 2017 C.S ...
→ Champion 2019 CS Tallinn Trophy


List of Plushenko's world record scores

Plushenko has broken 13 world records in his career:


Advancement of skating competition

Plushenko has taken a strong position opposing the current official ban on quad jumps in the women's short program stating: “When Usain Bolt runs faster than everyone else, should he run with weights? Why should ladies skating be held back? It is not fair to them. There should be equality”, referring to men not being restricted as to the use of quad jumps in competition. Plushenko has advocated the position that both men and women should be equally allowed to use the quad jump in skating competition without gender discrimination."EVGENI PLUSHENKO FULFILLS LIFELONG DREAM" by Tatjana Flade, 24 February 2021. International Figure Skating journal

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Political career

In 2006, Plushenko joined the political party A Just Russia, and in March 2007, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg. Following the 2010 Olympics, he announced his intention to quit politics. In April 2010, he gained public attention for poor attendance, having attended only 11 of 123 parliamentary sessions since his election. In December 2011, he announced he was leaving politics to train for the 2014 Olympics. He quit A Just Russia and said he had no plans to join another political party.


Personal life

On 18 June 2005, Plushenko married Maria Ermak, a sociology student at the
Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
, in a ceremony at the Hotel Astoria in Saint Petersburg. Their son, Egor Evgenievich (originally Kristian), was born on 15 June 2006. In February 2008, they were officially
divorced Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
. In August 2009, Plushenko announced his engagement to Yana Rudkovskaya, the record producer for Russian singer Dima Bilan. They were married on 12 September 2009. Their first son, Alexander, was born in January 2013 with their second, Arseniy, born in September 2020. In March 2022, Plushenko published an Instagram video in which he described the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
as an "unavoidable special operation".


Programs


Post-2017


Pre-2017


Competitive highlights

''GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix''


Detailed results

Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only. * – This is a team event, medals are awarded for the team results only. * – team placement * – dates of competition, not event * – Total Factored Placements * World records highlighted in ''bold and italic''


References


External links

* *
Evgeni Plushenko
at fskate.ru
Evgeni Plushenko
at IceNetwork * * ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #78FF78" , World Records Holder {{DEFAULTSORT:Plushenko, Evgeni 1982 births Living people People from Solnechny District Russian male single skaters Russian people of Ukrainian descent Olympic gold medalists for Russia Olympic silver medalists for Russia Olympic figure skaters of Russia Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Season-end world number one figure skaters Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Goodwill Games medalists in figure skating Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Sportspeople from Khabarovsk Krai Members of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg