Evgeni Plushenko: “What impressed me far more was Cha Junhwan, who narrowly missed the podium. Cha’s skating is phenomenal. He has superb control of his upper body and blades. His choreography and artistry are at the highest level.”
Evgeni Plushenko on the 2026 Olympic Men’s Figure Skating Event
original source: Sport Express
Evgeni Plushenko shares his analysis of the men’s figure skating tournament at the 2026 Olympics, discussing the performances, missed opportunities, and artistic highlights of several competitors. Here’s a translation of his comments.
“From the start, I was confident that Ilia Malinin would take first place and that Yuma Kagiyama of Japan would finish second. The question for me was who would claim the bronze. Even after his outstanding short program, I didn’t believe in the French skater, Adam Siao Him Fa. I thought Shun Sato, the other Japanese skater, had a better chance, though something about him made me hesitant…
In the end, Sato managed to clinch a medal, even though his free skate wasn’t flawless. Kagiyama, however, struggled with his nerves. Fortunately, the points he accumulated in the short program helped him stay in the top three.
What impressed me far more was Cha Junhwan, who narrowly missed the podium. He only has himself to blame. Technically, his quad toe loop isn’t great – unlike his quad salchow, which is much stronger. That’s the jump he should have focused on. If he had done two quad salchows and executed the rest of his program cleanly, the medal would have been his.
Instead, the Korean skater went for the toe loop and only performed one quad salchow. Despite this, his component scores were incredibly high – and deservedly so! Cha’s skating is phenomenal. He has superb control of his upper body and blades. His choreography and artistry are at the highest level. Men rarely choose a program set to female vocals, but Cha Junhwan took the risk – and turned it into a true spectacle. It was a miniature theater performance.”
Related topics: Evgeni Plushenko, Junhwan Cha, Olympic Games, Shun Sato, Yuma Kagiyama
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