Don’t you miss the days when the Olympics were for appreciative amateurs and not self-seeking Prima Donnas? I’m beginning to!Take for example the return to single men’s figure skating, the legend in his own mind, Evgeni Plushenko. Plushenko, known for his quad jumps, first complained about the new scoring system. The old system favored him before just fine!
Former Olympic champ Jamie Salé (2002 pairs skate, Canada) is unimpressed with Plushenko's triumphant return. Remember Sale and her husband and skate partner (Pelletier) were almost victims of another scoring system in 2002 that benefited “favorites” in their sport. Sale is quoted as saying, "(I thought) he (Plushenko) was just throwing his arms up in circles in the air all the time, there's nothing there," she says. "He wasn't doing anything quality on the ice ... but by throwing his arms around, they (judges) were like, 'Oh my God, he's amazing. Well, no, I'm not buying it. That's not skating. There's no edges. There's nothing to his program. All he does is quad (jump), then skates around in a circle, then a triple Axel and then skate down the ice and do a triple Lutz and his program is done." Salé believes Plushenko is unfairly rewarded for his reputation as a champion and, as a result, is points ahead of his rivals even before he has marked his territory.(Rueters, 2/11/10)
Now his coach is complaining about the skating order. (Plushenko is 10th) What is wrong with it? Well you see the old thinking (and system, you know the one that benefited Plushenko before) is the judges are saving the better scores for skaters later in the program. Tell that to reigning Olympic pairs figure skating champions, Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao who skated first in the short program this past week. Maybe it is time Plushenko competes on a level playing field or rink as the case maybe!
The Olympics was once for athletes that had national pride in representing their countries. One thing is crystal ice clear, Plushenko (and MANY others) are there for themselves.
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I am not a prudey girl but, keep it somewhat clean. Of course, stay on topic unless, "DUH", it is an OPEN post. No threats or disparaging remarks to those that disagree with you. Silly and redundant comments going to a place where the post was not intended will be deleted. Good old "Common Sense" is always welcome! If you are having trouble defining Common Sense then maybe this is not the place for YOU!