Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko, () (b. November 3, 1982 in Solnechny, Khabarovsk Krai, Soviet Union (Russia) is a Russian figure skater, the six-time National Champion, five-time European Champion, three-time World Champion, and 2006 Winter Olympics gold medalist.

Biography

Evgeni Plushenko started skating at age four. When he was 11 years old, his ice rink in Volgograd closed. He was then sent to Saint Petersburg to train under the tutelage of Alexei Mishin. His mother followed later, while his father (a carpenter) and older sister stayed in Volgograd.

Plushenko made quick progress on the international scene under Mishin's tutelage. As a 15-year-old, he won the 1998 World Junior Championships and finished 3rd at the Senior Worlds the same year. However, at the time, Mishin was also the coach of another rising teenage star, Alexei Yagudin, who won the World Championships in 1998, and the two skaters developed a fierce rivalry. Yagudin finally decided to leave Mishin and eventually was coached by Tatiana Tarasova, but the rivalry between the two skaters continued throughout the years as they repeatedly won major titles at the expense of the other.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Plushenko and Yagudin were considered co-favorites. Yagudin, in perhaps the best shape of his career, skated a flawless short program to a standing ovation and finished the night in 1st place. Plushenko, however, botched his quad-triple combination and finished 4th in the short program. He skated a strong free skate to "Carmen" and pulled up to finish in 2nd place overall; Yagudin received the highest free skate marks in the history of Olympic competition, and won the gold medal easily.

After the retirement of his chief nemesis, Plushenko won competition after competition in the following four years. He finished second only twice: at the 2003 Grand Prix Final to Emanuel Sandhu, and at the 2004 European Championships to Brian Joubert. He suffered through a difficult 2005, when he had to withdraw from the World Championships in Moscow due to injury, and did not even compete at the Grand Prix Final. He eventually required groin surgery in the spring. Despite these setbacks, Plushenko was the overwhelming favorite leading into the 2006 Winter Olympics, as he had consistently earned the highest scores recorded under the new Code of Points scoring system which was now in use. He dominated the Olympic competition, setting new personal bests for each phase of the competition, and finally won the only title that had previously eluded him. He is currently touring with Champions on Ice.

Among Plushenko's achievements, he was the first skater in the world to perform a 4-3-2 (quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop) jump combination and later a 4-3-3 (quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-triple loop) jump combination, the latter taking place at the 2002 Cup of Russia. At the age of 16, Plushenko was the youngest male skater to receive a perfect score of 6.0. He received a total of 70 6.0s before the new Code of Points judging system was introduced.

On June 18, 2005, Plushenko married Maria Ermak in a lavish ceremony at the Hotel Astoria in St. Petersburg. His wife studies sociology at the University of St. Petersburg. They met in the summer of 2004 when Plushenko, driving in St. Petersburg, spotted her in a convertible and decided to follow her. Their first child, a son named Kristian Evgenivich, was born on June 15, 2006.

Competitive highlights

Other results

• 2005:
  • 1st place at the Cup of Russia
• 2004:
  • 1st place at the Marshalls World Cup of Figure Skating
  • 1st place at the Cup of Russia
  • 1st place at the Marshalls Skating Challenge
• 2003:
  • 1st place at the International Figure Skating Challenge
  • 1st place at the Trophee Lalique
  • 1st place at Skate Canada
  • 1st place at the Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic
  • 1st place at the International Figure Skating Challenge
• 2002:
  • 1st place at the Crest Whitestrips Challenge
  • 1st place at the Cup of Russia
  • 1st place at the Bofrost Cup
  • 2nd place at the Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic
• 2001:
  • 1st place at the Goodwill Games
  • 1st place at the Cup of Russia
  • 1st place at the Sparkassen Cup
• 1999:
  • 1st place at the NHK Trophy
  • 1st place at the Nations Cup in Germany
  • 1st place at the Cup of Russia
• 1998:
  • 1st place at the NHK Trophy
• 1997:
  • WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPION
  • 2nd at Skate America
  • 2nd at the Cup of Russia
  • 3rd at the Finlandia Trophy

See also

• Olympic medalists in figure skating

External links

• plushenko.ru Official Site
• evgeniplushenko.net Official Site
• ISU Biography Page

Navigation

1982 births | Living people | Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics | Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics | Russian figure skaters | Winter Olympics medalists | Olympic gold medalists | Olympic silver medalists

Jewgeni Wiktorowitsch Pljuschtschenko | Ievgueni Pliouchtchenko | Yevgeny Plushenko | Jevgenyij Plusenko | Jevgeni Ploesjenko | エフゲニー・プルシェンコ | Jewgienij Pluszczenko | Плющенко, Евгений Викторович | Jevgenij Viktorovič Pľuščenko | Jevgeni Pljuštšenko | Jevgenij Plusjenko | Evgeni Plushenko