Elvis Stojko: "The night they killed figure skating"

Nici macar nu-mi place Elvis Stojko. Dar nu pot sa nu preiau - in continuarea a ceea ce am scris aici si aici - comentariul lui despre finala de azi-dimineata.

Asadar, integral:

"The night they killed figure skating

By Elvis Stojko, Yahoo! Sports

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Sorry, Evan Lysacek.

You’re a great skater and all.

But that wasn’t Olympic champion material.

In Thursday night’s men’s free skate, Lysacek skated slow and his jumps weren’t close to the technical ability of defending Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko.

How can you be Olympic champion when you don’t even try the quad? If you’re going to take the quad out, why not take out another triple axel and just have more of the other stuff so the International Skating Union can make it more into an “art.”

Plushenko had a great performance. His footwork was great and maybe his spins weren’t quite as good as Lysacek’s, but he had some spins that were fast. He also had a quad toe triple toe that wasn’t even attempted by anyone else. He did both triple axels, so all the jumps were there.

But the judges’ scoring was ridiculous.

Because of it, the sport took a step backward. Brian Boitano did the same thing, technically, in 1988. There are junior skaters who can skate that same program.

And the judges’ scoring probably killed figure skating because kids now are going to see this and say, “Oh, I don’t need a quad. I can just do great footwork for presentation marks and do a couple of nice spins and make it to Olympic champion.” With that type of scoring, you don’t have to risk it. You can play it safe and win gold.

In what other sports do you have to hold back in order to win?

The International Skating Union has taken the risk out of figure skating and it makes me sick.

Now, Lysacek does have quality to his skating. But when you compare it to Plushenko’s, there is no comparison.

If Plushenko was making a whole bunch of mistakes, then sure, maybe Lysacek deserves gold. But when you take the risk out of skaters’ programs, it doesn’t compute to me.

And it’s not a personal thing. I like Evan. But when you compare performances and have an outcome like this, the sport is going backward. And it hurts me to say it because I love this sport. But the judges made a mockery of it by giving Lysacek the gold.

I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade because it’s not the skaters’ fault. It’s the system. And the figure skating community wants to control who wins and who loses. And what it does is it makes the component score more valid than the jumps so it can control whatever it wants. And that’s exactly what happened Thursday night at Pacific Coliseum.

How can the sport be put back on the right path? I have no idea. I haven’t even thought about it. It’s not up to me. Because people at the ISU obviously seem to know what they’re doing. Well, they think they know what they’re doing.

For me, the outcome on Thursday night was disappointing.

A few more thoughts on the men’s free skate:

• I thought Daisuke Takahashi was awesome. He tried the quad and he had the guts to go for it, and he should’ve been ahead of Lysacek in that aspect.

• Johnny Weir was great. He should’ve been higher than sixth – above Patrick Chan, who was fifth. Weir outskated Chan. He might’ve skated a little bit slow but he went out there and did his stuff. I feel bad for him.

• People say I’m hammering certain skaters. I’m not. That’s why I’m telling you that Weir skated great and should have been higher".

Asta e. Daca pana si Stojko, canadianul Stojko, spune ce spune... well, I rest my case. Dar cui foloseste? Cui mai foloseste?

Stiri noi de pe Ria Novosti

Plushenko says might quit sport after Olympic silver

Russia's Evgeni Plushenko, who hoped to become the first repeat men's Olympic gold medalist since 1952, but won silver in the free skate in Vancouver, said on Friday he might quit sports.

Plushenko led the competition after the short program, but the U.S.'s Evan Lysacek, the reigning world champion, beat him with an overall score of 257.67 points. Japan's Daisuke Takahashi will take home the bronze medal with 247.23. Plushenko's overall score from both events was 256.36.

Plushenko, 27, said figure skating has changed and he may quit the sport. "This may be my last competition. We will see," he said.

"It is hard to say anything as I was sure I had won my second Olympics. With the old [judging] system... A quadruple jump is a quadruple jump," he said.

"I'm not ready to skate well and then lose. The [judging] system needs to be changed. This is men's figure skating and not pairs. I am not ready to lose with a quadruple jump."

"It's clear why the judging system was changed because the United States and Canada don't have anyone who can do a quadruple jump," Plushenko said.

But Plushenko said he was happy to return to the ice and skate in Vancouver.

"I did the right thing. I am immensely grateful to God, my coach, parents and wife who supported me throughout the season allowing me to win all those competitions after more than three years of retirement."

"Today I faced defeat, well that's fate. But everything was just great," Plushenko said.

Plushenko skated freely, with his usual charisma, drawing laughs from spectators with his seductive tango. He held up his index finger when he finished showing he was sure of his victory.

The 2006 Olympic champion began his number to Tango Amore by Edwin Marton with a quadruple and triple jumps, but ommitted a double Rittberger. He also made an imperfect landing after a triple axel. But his footwork and spins cost him the most points.

But the skater's longtime coach, Alexei Mishin, criticized the judging system.

"It is nonsense when a skater wins in the Olympics without a quad jump. The judging system takes figure skating back to the past," Mishin told reporters after the competition.

He sounded upbeat about Plushenko's future in the sport: "We will continue skating. I am proud of my student."

The 2006 Olympic winner and three-time world champion Plushenko returned to the ice late last year after a self-imposed retirement following his stunning performance in Torino.

He easily won an international Moscow cup in October and the Russian national championship in December. He also triumphed at last month's European Championships.

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti)

Plushenko's olympic silver "worth gold" - Putin

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in a message to Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko his silver Olympic medal is worth "gold."

"Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your superb performance at the XXI Winter Olympic Games," the message said. "Your silver is worth gold."

Russia's defending champion Evgeni Plushenko managed to secure only the Olympic silver medal in Thursday's free skating event in Vancouver, beat out by the U.S.'s Evan Lysacek who took the gold medal.

Japan's Daisuke Takahashi will take home the bronze medal in the men's figure skating event.

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti)