Evgeni Plushenko: “The most painful thing was that I didn’t compete in the individual event in Sochi! I could have made it into the top-3 and even won. After all, everyone skated very poorly, but I couldn’t even walk properly!”
Translation of Evgeni Plushenko comments about the difficulties he faced at the 2014 Olympics.
original source: MatchTV
“Evgeni Plushenko: This was my fourth Olympics. I had a lot of experience. The Games were special. I was a speaker with Svetlana Zhurova and went to Guatemala for the presentation of the Games bid. When Vladimir Putin arrived there, any doubts that we would get the Games disappeared completely. We were together.
Q: How was your performance in the team event?
Evgeni Plushenko: For me, this was the most challenging Olympics. At 31, no men were skating anymore. Nine months before that, I had surgery. I was supposed to lie down for four months, but I accelerated my training, got back in two months, so the structure in my back broke down.
It was the most responsible Olympics. There has never been such a celebration. On the first day of the team event, I came second, on the second – first!
I knew I had to go out on the ice in the individual competition. I was struggling with my health. I started with single jumps, then doubles, I was afraid of quads, afraid the structure would just break down and I’d fall. Even during training. Mishin was always there, controlling the loads, listening to me.
The most painful thing was that I didn’t compete in the individual event! I could have made it into the top three and even won. After all, everyone skated very poorly, but I couldn’t even walk properly!
When the team event was over, Vladimir Putin congratulated me. There were so many joyful words from everyone! But when I withdrew from the competition, I became an anti-hero in one day. Colleagues from the world of figure skating began to gloat. We lived together with Yana (Rudkovskaya).
We had a short program training session at six in the morning, and I fell on a combination 4-3-3. I felt excruciating pain. They gave me painkillers. I decided to try again. I went out for warm-up again. The pain was unbearable. I didn’t feel my leg. I thought if I couldn’t do it now, what would happen next.
I declined. I wrote a note. The doctor received it. I was supposed to be replaced in the individual competition. There were other skaters: Voronov, Kovtun, Menshov. But then we found out that there wasn’t a single athlete at the Sochi base. I gave way to Kovtun. But they couldn’t find him, I was told he wasn’t picking up the phone. And then I said that I would try, and we went to do it.
It’s a very difficult stage! I ask people to be kinder! Sometimes the body fails!” – said Plushenko”
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