|
Plushenko skates off with Gold
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-17 09:03
TURIN, Italy - Almost all Evgeni Plushenko had to do was stay on his feet.
That's more than his rivals could manage. The three-time world champion took few
chances, yet still earned another personal best Thursday night to grab the fifth
straight Olympic title for a Russian/Soviet man.
Gold medal winner
Evgeni Plushenko from Russia (C), silver medal winner Stephane Lambiel
from Switzerland and bronze medal winner Jeffrey Buttle (R) from Canada
pose on the podium after men's figure skating at the Torino 2006 Winter
Olympic Games in Turin, Italy February 16, 2006.
[Reuters] |
He pretty much owned it when he
showed up in Turin, and the rest of the field couldn't come close to measuring
up.
"It was my dream when I was 4," he said. "I saw a competition and said to my
mum, "I have to be there.' I said that I wanted to be an Olympic champion. Now I
have all the titles and I am really very happy," he said.
Plushenko said he plans to stick around for the 2010 Games — "I'll be only
27. It's a good age for a skater". That can't make the others happy, especially
after they crashed and burned in the free skate.
"There are years between Plushenko and everybody else," said U.S. champion
Johnny Weir, who plunged from second after the short program to fifth overall.
World champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland won silver and Jeff Buttle of
Canada got bronze, although both struggled.
Weir, who skated a cautious program filled with errors, stormed out of the
rink when his mediocre marks were shown.
"I missed the bus. They changed the schedule," Weir said. "It was every 10
minutes. Today it was every half-hour. I was late getting here and never caught
up. I never felt comfortable in this building. I didn't feel my inner peace. I
didn't feel my aura. Inside I was black."
Plushenko had no such dark moments, although he skated slowly and without any
sign of emotion. He still was far too good for the rest of the field, finishing
with a score of 167.67 points in the free skate and 258.33 overall — an
incredible 27.12 points in front of Lambiel.
|
