Evan Lysacek deserved Olympic gold over Evgeny Plushenko
Casey Mattingly
Issue date: 3/10/10 Section: Opinion
By Casey Mattingly
For all of you watching the 2010 Vancouver Olympics you will have seen the dramatic battle for the podium in men's singles figure skating. With several tremendous athletes, and a heated rivalry that erupted in the end, this sport has grabbed the attention of the entire world.
It was no secret that Russian skater, Evgeny Plushenko, was after the gold. He had come out of retirement just to compete in these Olympic games. He was looking to become a back-to-back Olympic gold medalist in men's figure skating, further extending the domination of Russian skaters. However, if Evan Lysacek had anything to say about it, he was going to give Plushenko everything he had-and that's exactly what he did.
Skating his short program to "Firebird" by Stravinsky, Lysacek took to the ice with confidence and composure. He smoothly went through his program, landing all his jumps and executing his spins with elite precision. Lysacek ended with a smile on his face and in second behind Plushenko. He then came back for the free skate, skating to "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Lysacek exuded even more confidence on this night. The performace level of his program was magnificent and he truly did shine. When he ended, he had tears of joy in his eyes and the most joyful expression on his face. He knew he had done everything he could have done and now he just had to wait.
Waiting turned out to be a very hard thing to master, even for the audience, as Lysacek skated first in his group and Plushenko skated last. All eyes were on the Russian as he performed his free skate program, every detail being analyzed. Plushenko performed well, displaying a 'quad' and excellent spins. However, there was a slight stumble in the middle of his program, and the difficulty and showmanship were nowhere near Lysacek's.
The performances were over and the numbers were in…Lysacek grabbed the gold! The audience in the Pacific Coliseum erupted into cheers as they celebrated with the new Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek. Afterward, Plushenko voiced some very negative opinions about the scoring, implying that it should have been he, not Even, who won the gold medal. I believe that Evan's program was more difficult, minus the quad performed by Plushenko, and he was a better showman and that he fully deserved the gold. The complaining and negative comments given by Plushenko are to me a sign of poor sportsmanship and a sore loser. A silver medal at the Olympics is nothing to sneeze at, and Plushenko should realize how great of an honor that is.
Lysacek worked extremely hard, and performed extremely well. It all paid off, however, and he now has an Olympic gold medal to show for it. He truly was the better performer, and her truly did deserve the top spot on the podium.
For all of you watching the 2010 Vancouver Olympics you will have seen the dramatic battle for the podium in men's singles figure skating. With several tremendous athletes, and a heated rivalry that erupted in the end, this sport has grabbed the attention of the entire world.
It was no secret that Russian skater, Evgeny Plushenko, was after the gold. He had come out of retirement just to compete in these Olympic games. He was looking to become a back-to-back Olympic gold medalist in men's figure skating, further extending the domination of Russian skaters. However, if Evan Lysacek had anything to say about it, he was going to give Plushenko everything he had-and that's exactly what he did.
Skating his short program to "Firebird" by Stravinsky, Lysacek took to the ice with confidence and composure. He smoothly went through his program, landing all his jumps and executing his spins with elite precision. Lysacek ended with a smile on his face and in second behind Plushenko. He then came back for the free skate, skating to "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Lysacek exuded even more confidence on this night. The performace level of his program was magnificent and he truly did shine. When he ended, he had tears of joy in his eyes and the most joyful expression on his face. He knew he had done everything he could have done and now he just had to wait.
Waiting turned out to be a very hard thing to master, even for the audience, as Lysacek skated first in his group and Plushenko skated last. All eyes were on the Russian as he performed his free skate program, every detail being analyzed. Plushenko performed well, displaying a 'quad' and excellent spins. However, there was a slight stumble in the middle of his program, and the difficulty and showmanship were nowhere near Lysacek's.
The performances were over and the numbers were in…Lysacek grabbed the gold! The audience in the Pacific Coliseum erupted into cheers as they celebrated with the new Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek. Afterward, Plushenko voiced some very negative opinions about the scoring, implying that it should have been he, not Even, who won the gold medal. I believe that Evan's program was more difficult, minus the quad performed by Plushenko, and he was a better showman and that he fully deserved the gold. The complaining and negative comments given by Plushenko are to me a sign of poor sportsmanship and a sore loser. A silver medal at the Olympics is nothing to sneeze at, and Plushenko should realize how great of an honor that is.
Lysacek worked extremely hard, and performed extremely well. It all paid off, however, and he now has an Olympic gold medal to show for it. He truly was the better performer, and her truly did deserve the top spot on the podium.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
Vlad
posted 3/09/10 @ 5:17 PM EST
"Minus the quad"??? Just like that? Minus the most technically complex figure skating element ever attempted? Minus the quad that Lysacek publicly admitted he was afraid to try due to injury risk? Not to mention it was quad-triple combo, not to mention done twice during short and long program? So why not put the Olympic spirit and the Olympic motto "higher, faster, stronger" into the minus column and let all athletes do "lower, safer, slower" but still get the gold by manipulating the scoring system. (Continued…)
Hua
posted 3/10/10 @ 10:21 AM EST
"all of this in addition to low grades of execution in each of Plushenko's jumps and elements (outside of the quad: one jump) compared to each of Evan's. (Continued…)
Hooie
posted 6/05/10 @ 8:59 AM EST
"Each of Plushenko's jumps and elements?! what about his second triple axle, his triple loop, his triple salchow, his second triple lutz?" - What about them? "Why don't you mention Lysacek's unclean landing of his second triple axle?" - Why don't you notice that you can't spell a VERY simple word, so you shouldn't be taken seriously anyway. (Continued…)
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