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Lysacek upstages Plushenko for gold
Source: Agencies |
February 20, 2010, Saturday
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EVAN Lysacek of the United States won the men's figure skating gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics on Thursday, upsetting defending champion Evgeni Plushenko of Russia.
Daisuke Takahashi finished third and became the first Japanese man to win a figure skating medal at the Olympic Games. Lysacek is the first American man to win the Olympic gold since Brian Boitano in 1988.
Lysacek, also the reigning world champion, looked almost dazed when he stood on the podium and heard the first notes of the "Star Spangled Banner."
"I saw that American flag go up," Lysacek said, "and I couldn't believe it was for me."
Plushenko came out of retirement with the goal of making history of his own with a second straight Olympic gold medal. Bothered that Lysacek won despite not doing a quadruple jump, Plushenko took off his silver medal as soon as he left the ice.
"If the Olympic champion doesn't know how to jump a quad, I don't know," Plushenko said. "Now it's not men's figure skating, now it's dancing."
Plushenko also hinted his career is not over, saying through a translator "after this defeat, I'm not going to put my hands down and stop." At 27, he is considered old for the sport, but the next Winter Olympics are in his home country, which could entice him to keep skating.
"I was positive that I won," he said. "But I suppose Evan needs a medal more than I do. Maybe it's because I already have one.
Lysacek, meanwhile, made no apologies for what he did -- and didn't -- do. He's done the quad before and originally planned to do it here, but didn't want to risk further damage to the left foot he broke last spring. After feeling pain in the foot again after last month's US championships, he decided it wasn't worth risking injury and having to miss the Olympics.
"If it was a jumping competition, they'd give you 10 seconds to go do your best jump. But it's about 4 minutes and 40 seconds of skating and performing from start to finish," Lysacek said. "That was my challenge tonight, and I feel like I did quite well."
Lysacek finished with a career-best score of 257.67, 1.31 ahead of Plushenko.
Lysacek didn't skate with his usual flair and charisma, but when he landed his last jump, a double axel, he let loose. His face was expressive, and he fixed the judges with a kingly glare during his circular steps.
Plushenko skated with his usual flair and dramatics, drawing laughs from the crowd with his saucy, seductive tango. No one loves the limelight quite like Plushenko, and he was in his element. He preened and posed and skated as if he was sure another gold medal was his.
But Plushenko, who can do jumps in his sleep, was just a bit off. He needed good instincts to pull off more than one landing, costing him the bonus points that are the difference between silver and gold. His spins weren't quite as good as Lysacek's, either, and he got lower levels for one of his sections of footwork.
Takahashi was wonderfully expressive in a fast, energetic and entertaining program. He played to both the judges and the crowd. His only flaw was a fall on his opening quadruple toe loop -- a jump he hadn't landed all week.
"I am really, really happy right now," Takahashi said. "When I knew that I had won a bronze medal, I was so emotional. I was in tears."
Daisuke Takahashi finished third and became the first Japanese man to win a figure skating medal at the Olympic Games. Lysacek is the first American man to win the Olympic gold since Brian Boitano in 1988.
Lysacek, also the reigning world champion, looked almost dazed when he stood on the podium and heard the first notes of the "Star Spangled Banner."
"I saw that American flag go up," Lysacek said, "and I couldn't believe it was for me."
Plushenko came out of retirement with the goal of making history of his own with a second straight Olympic gold medal. Bothered that Lysacek won despite not doing a quadruple jump, Plushenko took off his silver medal as soon as he left the ice.
"If the Olympic champion doesn't know how to jump a quad, I don't know," Plushenko said. "Now it's not men's figure skating, now it's dancing."
Plushenko also hinted his career is not over, saying through a translator "after this defeat, I'm not going to put my hands down and stop." At 27, he is considered old for the sport, but the next Winter Olympics are in his home country, which could entice him to keep skating.
"I was positive that I won," he said. "But I suppose Evan needs a medal more than I do. Maybe it's because I already have one.
Lysacek, meanwhile, made no apologies for what he did -- and didn't -- do. He's done the quad before and originally planned to do it here, but didn't want to risk further damage to the left foot he broke last spring. After feeling pain in the foot again after last month's US championships, he decided it wasn't worth risking injury and having to miss the Olympics.
"If it was a jumping competition, they'd give you 10 seconds to go do your best jump. But it's about 4 minutes and 40 seconds of skating and performing from start to finish," Lysacek said. "That was my challenge tonight, and I feel like I did quite well."
Lysacek finished with a career-best score of 257.67, 1.31 ahead of Plushenko.
Lysacek didn't skate with his usual flair and charisma, but when he landed his last jump, a double axel, he let loose. His face was expressive, and he fixed the judges with a kingly glare during his circular steps.
Plushenko skated with his usual flair and dramatics, drawing laughs from the crowd with his saucy, seductive tango. No one loves the limelight quite like Plushenko, and he was in his element. He preened and posed and skated as if he was sure another gold medal was his.
But Plushenko, who can do jumps in his sleep, was just a bit off. He needed good instincts to pull off more than one landing, costing him the bonus points that are the difference between silver and gold. His spins weren't quite as good as Lysacek's, either, and he got lower levels for one of his sections of footwork.
Takahashi was wonderfully expressive in a fast, energetic and entertaining program. He played to both the judges and the crowd. His only flaw was a fall on his opening quadruple toe loop -- a jump he hadn't landed all week.
"I am really, really happy right now," Takahashi said. "When I knew that I had won a bronze medal, I was so emotional. I was in tears."
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