• Only the fourth. Mishin: I would like the ROC president to be a manager with a talent for this job

    16.09.2021

    XXI Winter Olympic Games 2010 took place from 12 to 28 February 2010 in the Canadian city of Vancouver.

    The Olympic Association of Canada chose Vancouver to represent the country, leaving behind Calgary, which had planned to host the Games for the second time, and Quebec, which lost the city's 1995 election to the 2002 Winter Olympics.

    Prior to that, Vancouver twice competed for the right to host the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics. The city pulled out of the fight for the first time after the first round of four, eventually losing to Denver. However, then he refused to host the competition, and the IOC offered Vancouver to host the competition, but for various reasons he also refused. As a result, the Games were held in Innsbruck. The next time Vancouver dropped out of the fight a few days before the final vote, leaving Lake Placid as the only candidate.

    Main stadium XXI winter Olympics - famous BC-Place... It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games.

    Emblem was introduced on April 23, 2005. It depicts an Inukshuk statue named Ilanaak, which is translated from the Inuktitut language as “friend”. The image was taken from a statue on the shores of the English Bay in Vancouver. Green, blue and light blue represent forests, mountains and the ocean, red represents the color of the maple leaf on the flag of Canada, and yellow represents the rising sun.

    Mascotmi The games were performed by three animals:

    Miga is a fictional sea bear, half killer whale, half white baribal.

    Kuatchi- Bigfoot, originating from the Canadian forests and dreaming of becoming a hockey player.

    Sumi- "spirit of animals". It combines many representatives of the fauna of the Canadian Pacific coast. He is the Paralympic mascot for the Games.

    Games opening ceremony

    A few hours before the opening of the Vancouver Olympics, the organizers reported on the tragedy that happened in the morning at the training session of the toboggans in Whistler.

    21-year-old Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili, who competed in five major international competitions that season and was ranked 44th in the world rankings, missed the last 270-degree turn on the track, flew out of the chute and hit a metal column near the finish line. Eight minutes later, a helicopter arrived at the scene and the victim was taken to a hospital in the vicinity of Whistler, where he died. As it turned out later, the cause of the tragedy was not the state of the track, but the mistake of the athlete himself. Kumaritashvili lost control of the sleigh at a speed of about 140 kilometers per hour.

    In connection with this tragedy, changes were made to the script of the ceremony - a minute of silence was announced, and the Georgian national team entered the opening ceremony in mourning bands.

    Closing ceremony

    At the opening ceremony, one of the four columns did not rise from under the stage - and only three famous Canadians lit the fire instead of the four originally planned. Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash and Nancy Greene completed their mission, but skater Katrina LeMay-Doane remained on the sidelines. At the closing ceremony, the Canadians reformed and showed themselves to be people who were not deprived of a sense of humor. Before the beginning of the closing ceremony, the same three columns stood in the center of the arena. A mechanic in a clown suit climbed out of the hole. Or a clown as a mechanic - whatever. He portrayed super-effort and raised a column from the ground. You should have heard with what delight the hall exploded! LeMay-Doan nevertheless lit the Olympic flame, even if he had no more than an hour to burn.

    The Olympic flag was solemnly handed over to Anatoly Pakhomov, the mayor of Sochi. Delegations of Olympians took place under the arches of the BC Place arena, the winners of the men's ski marathon were awarded, and Russian athletes and cultural figures presented a short program dedicated to Russia and Sochi, the capital of the next Winter Olympics.

    Competitions in figure skating on winter Olympic Games 2010 took place from 14 to 25 February, on February 27 demonstration performances were held.

    Representatives of China and South Korea won their first ever Olympic gold medals in figure skating. The Olympic Games were extremely unsuccessful for European athletes, who were able to win only silver and two bronze medals... The performance of the Russian national team was also unsuccessful. The USSR national figure skating team made its debut at the Olympic Games in 1960, showing only two pairs and being left without medals, but since 1964 won a gold medal, and since 1988 - at least two. For the first time, since 1964, Russia has failed to win a gold medal in pair skating, for the first time since 1994 - in men's singles.

    In pair skating and women's single skating, the favorites of the competition became champions, and there were no surprises in these types of programs. In the dances, gold and silver were played by two couples, who were also considered favorites. Only the situation in men's single skating, where Evgeni Plushenko, after his victory in Turin, missed three competitive seasons, returned and had a real chance of becoming the first since 1952 (after Dick Button) two-time Olympic champion in men's single skating was unusual. Well, about everything in order, or rather in the order that has lined up in my mind, may the pair skating fans forgive me.

    The men's figure skating tournament has become the most talked about in the history of figure skating. This is understandable!

    When a great athlete, genius, Olympic champion performs in any kind of sport (here you can list many suitable epithets), it is always an Event. Such an event for the large army of figure skating fans was the return of the IDOL - Evgeni Plushenko! Naturally, our expectations were associated with Eugene, we were waiting for a medal, but not some kind, namely a gold one. These expectations were not unfounded (of course, they are not expressed that way, but you understand me), everything worked out then: successful, rolled-in performances, health, the psychological mood of an athlete, a sensation at the European Championship!, But ... probably it did not work out with the venue Olympiads, because it took place on the North American continent.

    On the day of the men's free skate, I even took a day off from work. I watched and ached with such a nerve that I just don’t remember if I was nervous, rooting for athletes so much before, definitely not afterwards. After the assessment, everything broke off inside, a void formed ... .. I won't be mistaken if I suppose that I was far from alone in the format of experienced emotions that day.

    Even if we accept the fact that Plushenko lost the free program, we can say with firm confidence: it all started with the fact that he was not given in the short program.

    And Lysacek did just enough to win without bothering too much.

    Here is what the famous figure skater Elvis Stoyko said about this: “… .Sorry, Evan Lysacek. You're a great skater, that's all. But it was not the hire of the Olympic champion... .. In the free program, Lysacek skated slowly, and his jumps were far from the technical capabilities of the reigning Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko. How can you be an Olympic champion if you don't even try to quadruple? If you are not going to perform it, why not give up one triple axel and something else so that ISU can more confidently call it "art"? ... ..Plyushchenko performed great. His tracks were fine, although the spins didn't look as great as Lysacek's, but the difference was not that great. He had a 4 + 3 cascade, which no one even tried to repeat. He also performed triple axels, so he had a complete set. … .But the judges delivered a ridiculous verdict…. "

    Probably many people dream of being at least a medalist of the Olympic Games. This was not the case for us.

    Takahashi then skated with such vigor, with such inspiration that he didn’t fall from the free quad at the beginning, it is still unknown what the pedestal would look like! Joubert lost his nerves and failed the competition (not for the first time), Chan took 5th place (he didn't deserve more), Lambel is a wonderful skater, flies over the ice, the king of tracks and spins, but the exits from the jumps were unclean, in the end, fourth place.

    P.S. After the Olympics in Vancouver, I reviewed Evgeny's skates at this Olympiad only once (Lysacheka - I don't remember whether I reviewed it or not, but more likely not than yes). Probably because I didn't want to remember the unpleasant emotions I had experienced. I will look with you

    20 pairs took part in the pairs competition. As I wrote above, there were no surprises in the final alignment of these competitions, everything was expected and predictable. The winners are deservedly Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo, bronze medalists of Turin. Deservedly so, because their skating corresponded to the status of champions, because their long sporting path rightly had to end on just such a note.

    The second were also the Chinese Pan Qing / Tong Jian, with a margin of about three points from the Olympic champions. They showed the highest level of pair skating, were much better than the Germans, maybe not even worse than their "golden" compatriots, but mistakes in the short program did not allow them to take a place higher than the second.

    Bronze was won by Alena Savchenko / Robin Shelkovs from Germany, losing three points to the silver medalists. Their skating turned out to be not without falls, although Ingo Steuer did not particularly strain with a set of elements in the programs and included those elements that Alena and Robin could perform for sure.

    The best Russian pair became the European champions, our beloved Yuko Kawaguchi / Alexander Smirnov. The first in their program was the release of salchows in four turns, and the whole skating world was waiting with bated breath: will the coach give the go-ahead for its execution or not, will the athletes take the risk if they do or will not? As it turns out later, no. And the nerves of the athletes, in particular Yuko, will fail. As a result, the guys stopped a step away from the pedestal, becoming the fourth, with a rather large gap separating them from the bronze Alyona and Robin (with their 210.60 against ours 194.77 points).

    There, in Vancouver, our young couple Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov took part. Speaking there, they showed that the Sochi 2014 national team can count on them, but this requires a "cut" with a different coach.

    It is noteworthy that another of our couple Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov became seventh, and a couple from Ukraine Tatiana Volosozhar/ Stanislav Morozov - eighth, i.e. very close, about the same level, but that's a completely different story ...

    Another nervous history of the skating tournament of those Games.

    In general, dancing for me is always a separate story. I don't know why, but couples and singles for me are like one separate state, and dancing is another, and I love both equally!

    The nervousness for us fans started long before the games in Vanuver started. If I name only one word combination "sore knee", everything will immediately become clear. Yes, this is Maxim Shabalin's sore knee and the collapse of Olympic hopes through him. It may be said loudly, but I think it is so. I will not delve into the details of Maxim's health and the problems of the Domnina / Shabalin couple, in the time frame until 2010 (although the legs grow from there), because, going deeper there, you can develop a whole topic equal to a solid new post.

    At the Vancouver Olympics, the dancers did the compulsory dance for the last time (it was canceled as we all now know). How gorgeous Oksana and Maxim were in it!

    The judges appreciated the dance of our duet at its true worth, after its performance the guys were the first. But this joy was with a tinge of sadness, because it was clear that our leadership most likely took a short time ... after the performance of the original dance, the bad expectations were justified. Even at the beginning of the season, this dance of the "Aborigines" was perceived controversially. But, it turns out, based on the existing situation with Maxim's sore knee, Natalya Vladimirovna Linichuk was simply forced to find a solution to the problem by choosing a dance. For example, Russian dance, which would be so suitable for the guys, with its specific dance movements to sit down, was beyond Shabalin's capabilities. She invented what she then thought was a win-win option - the Australian Aboriginal dance, the movements of which are not known to the jury. In this dance, the main role was assigned to Oksana, who performed complex movements and turns in front of her partner, thereby covering the awkward movements of his crippled legs. But, an unforeseen situation, in view of the applications of certain tribes for the violation of the alleged atatorial rights (which had never been formalized by anyone) for the use of ritual dance movements, amended the trainer's plan. Firstly, a scandal that no one needed was blown up, which pretty much frayed the nerves of athletes and coaches, as well as us, the fans. The scandal was peacefully settled, but its consequences remained ... this is the second thing: there was such close attention to the dance of the aborigines that everyone, including the judges, viewed it as under a microscope! The partner's weakness was noticed ... and Oksana and Maxim did not skate it in the best way. As a result - the third place after the performance of the original dance.

    In the free program, the guys were doing well, but they remained third.

    I will no longer talk about this, I’m not afraid to say, the tragedy of the athletes, I will cite only an excerpt from one of the journalist who witnessed those events: “... all the time they were performing (PP), I was looking at Maxim's legs. bulging a corset on his left knee. By this time he had almost no knees. The left leg barely bent. When it became clear that they had bronze, they went down the corridor to the locker room, and, hiding from the field of view of television cameras, he stopped, grabbed with both hands behind the wall in the corridor and literally hung on it.He could neither walk nor stand.

    After the competition, coach Gennady Karponosov said that this medal was actually not bronze, but platinum, and Natalya Linichuk admitted that when she saw Maxim climbing the stairs the other day, she wanted to cry. I think she was crying. "This is such a sad Istria.

    I hope that fans of Olympic champions Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir (although I myself am one of you) will forgive me that I will only mention their victory in passing. Yes, they became Olympic champions. Their victory was expected, beautiful and indisputable.

    Meryl Davis / Charlie White earned an unconditional second place. The Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto skated very strongly and beautifully, their place was then fourth - two lower than four years ago, in Turin. Our couple Yana Khokhlova / Sergei Novitsky finished ninth, and the third young and talented duet Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitry Solovyov finished fifteenth.

    After the short program in the women's competition, the lead was expectedly taken by the Korean woman Kim Yu-Na, Mao Asada took the second place, and the Canadian Joanie Rochette - the third. The pupil of Nikolai Morozov, Mika Ando, ​​remained fourth. By the way, for Mika it was then almost a tragedy, Nikolai and the leadership of the Japanese federation needed to restore her mood for a decisive performance. Our Alena Leonova and Ksenia Makarova are in eighth and twelfth respectively. Kim Yu-Na said after the short program that she felt like a half Olympic champion. When she started performing in the free program, without waiting for the end, it became clear that we were facing a new Olympic champion. The final chord in her performance put a bold dot along with an exclamation point in this assumption. The athlete did not make a single mistake, her skating was the most champion to eat!

    Mao Assada then fought only for second place. Her program was complex, but Mao did not escape mistakes.

    Bronze-winning Joanny Rochette also skated not entirely cleanly. You may remember that during the passage of the Olympic Games, Joanie lost her mother, but managed to tune in to the fight and receive an Olympic medal, which she dedicated to her mother.

    If I have already mentioned above about the place occupied by Miki Ando after the short program, then it would be logical to add that in the end she became the fifth.

    Our girls, Alena and Ksenia, entered the top ten athletes, or rather, they closed it.

    This concludes my modestly brief excursion into the events of the recent past.

      The first gold medal in figure skating was won by the Chinese pair Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, the Russians Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov took only fourth place. Domestic athletes were left without awards in pair skating for the first time since 1964.

      Soviet and Russian couples have not lost at the Olympics for 46 years - ever since Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov laid the winning tradition in Innsbruck in 1964. Domestic figure skating has experienced many glorious moments since that moment. Quite often the struggle for gold unfolded precisely between Soviet and then Russian duets, and at seven Olympics our athletes rose to the first and second steps of the podium. But everything flows, everything changes ... After Turin-2006, after Tatyana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov left the big sport, it became a little uncomfortable, because there was emptiness behind the backs of these skaters. There seemed to be no one to continue the victorious traditions. And on the east side, meanwhile, the competitors "propped up" - at the previous Games, the second to fourth places were taken by athletes from China.

      However, everything turned out to be not so bad. Legendary coach Tamara Moskvina has created an interesting and distinctive international couple, capable of solving the most serious problems. Yuko Kawaguchi renounced Japanese citizenship in order to obtain a Russian passport, and with it the opportunity to perform in tandem with Alexander Smirnov at the Olympics. For this chance, the 28-year-old figure skater publicly thanked Russia in an interview with the TV channel of the same name immediately after her release. Alas, which did not become, alas, neither gold, nor silver, nor bronze.

      Russian hopes for a medal in pair figure skating, hopelessly dead, were revived after Kawaguchi and Smirnov took third place at the 2009 World Championships, and in January of this year they became European champions, defeating almost the main favorites of Vancouver, Alena Savchenko and Robin Sholkovs.

      On Olympic ice for Yuko and Alexander, at first everything turned out quite well. They performed their short program with dignity. After her, I even got the impression that the judges regretted the points for our pair. But even in this situation, the lag of the Russian duo, which took the third place, from the leaders - the most experienced Chinese Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, was 2.5 points and was quite playable.

      In the free program, Kawaguchi and Smirnov had to open the strongest warm-up, which means they had to compete before their competitors in the fight for medals. The main intrigue of Monday was whether Kawaguchi and Smirnov would perform the quadruple throw, which they had already demonstrated in competitions below the rank. As it turned out, just before the start, it was decided to abandon the most difficult element in favor of pure skiing. But, alas, it didn’t work either. After the first throw - a triple one - the partner touched the ice with her hand, and after the second she could not stay on her feet at all. Added to this was the partner's mistake during synchronous rotation ... Later, explaining the unsuccessful performance, Alexander Smirnov agreed that he and his partner could not cope with the pressure. Simply because they really wanted to win.

      Savchenko and Sholkovy also proved to be faulty. And their hopes for an award of the highest dignity were dashed under the pressure of Chinese cars. Duets from the Middle Kingdom, who were the last to appear on the Pacific Coliseum ice - under the 19th and 20th start numbers, performed their programs like two well-oiled and stainless mechanisms. Yes, high quality and technical. Maybe even more beautiful and more emotional than before. But all the same it is not bright and non-fiery.

      Pan Qing and Tong Jian, 30, fourth after the short program, skated their free skating super clean. After that, it became clear that the gold will go to China today. But which particular pair would get it depended on Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo.

      Mature Chinese figure skaters, who hung their skates on a nail in 2007, got married and learned a lot in ice shows, decided to return to amateur sports in order to achieve their cherished goal - winning an Olympic gold medal. The bronze medalists of the Games in Salt Lake City and Turin began the loss with a clean parallel triple sheepskin coat, brilliantly performed two throws - a triple sheepskin coat and a triple salhof, after which the partner landed perfectly. The Chinese still made one mistake - Shen Xue slipped onto her partner's back during one of the lifts, but managed to pull herself together and effectively complete the program. When the music died down, Zhao Hongbo fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands, while his wife patted him on the back. World figure skating veterans lost to their compatriots in a free program, but on sum of two they turned out to be the best. While waiting for the kiss & cry ratings, both Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo looked devastated and a little bewildered. And when they saw the scores on the scoreboard, they did not immediately believe that the dream had come true.

      In Vancouver, something happened that, after Turin, everyone was afraid and for which, in general, they were mentally preparing: the first two places were taken by Chinese couples.

      "Getting gold and silver in figure skating has been our goal for many years," said Shen Xue. "The dream has finally come true."

      Well, Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov, due to their mistakes in the free program, became only seventh, and in the final protocol they took fourth place. Our second pair Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov, for whom this Olympiad also became their debut, tried to correct the mistake made by the partner in the short program in the free program, but this time the partner could not resist with the parallel triple jump. In the Monday program, they nevertheless showed a high fifth result, and in the final protocol they became seventh. Another Russian duet - 17-year-old Vera Bazarova and 23-year-old Yuri Larionov - became 11th.

      Maria NIKULASHKINA

      Vancouver (Canada). Olympic Games. Couples. Free program. 1. Pan Qing / Tong Jian (China) - 141.81. 2. Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo (China) - 139.91. 3. Savchenko / Sholkovs (Germany) - 134.64. 4. Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao (China) - 123.06. 5. MUKHORTOVA / TRANKOV (Russia) - 122.35. 6. Dubet / Davison (Canada) - 121.75 7. KAWAGUTI / SMIRNOV (Russia) - 120.61. 8. Volosozhar / Morozov (Ukraine) - 119.64 ... 11. BAZAROVA / LARIONOV (Russia) - 106.96

      Bottom line. 1. Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo (China) - 216.57. 2. Pan Qing / Tong Jian (China) - 213.31. 3. Savchenko / Sholkovs (Germany) - 210.60. 4. KAWAGUTI / SMIRNOV (Russia) - 194.77. 5. Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao (China) - 194.34. 6. Dubet / Davison (Canada) - 187.11 7. MUKHORTOVA / TRANKOV (Russia) - 185.79. 8. Volosozhar / Morozov (Ukraine) - 181.78 ... 11. BAZAROVA / LARIONOV (Russia) - 163.50

      All Olympic champions and prize-winners in pair skating

      Olympic Games

      Gold

      Silver

      Bronze

      Helen Engelmann / Alfred Berger (Austria)

      Ludovika Jakobsson / Walter Jakobsson (Finland)

      André Joly / Pierre Brunet (France)

      Lilly Scholz / Otti Kaiser (Austria)

      Melitta Bruner / Ludwig Red (Austria)

      André Brunet / Pierre Brunet (France)

      Beatrice Logran / Sherwin Badger (USA)

      Maxi Gerber / Ernst Bayer (Germany)

      Ilsa Pausin / Eric Pausin (Austria)

      Emilia Rotter / Laszlo Szollash (Hungary)

      Micheline Lannoy / Pierre Bonnier (Belgium)

      Andrea Kekessi / Ede Kiraj (Hungary)

      Suzanne Morrow / Wells Diestelmeier (Canada)

      Ria Baran-Falk / Paul Falk (Germany)

      Carole Estelle Kennedy / Michelle Kennedy (USA)

      Elisabeth Schwarz / Kurt Oppelt (Austria)

      Francis Defoe / Norris Bowden (Canada)

      Marianna Nagy / Laszlo Nagy (Hungary)

      Barbara Wagner / Robert Paul (Canada)

      Nancy Ludington / Ronald Ludington (USA)

      Marika Kilus / Hans-Jürgen Baumler (Germany)

      Debbie Wilkes / Guy Revel (Canada)

      Ludmila BELOUSOVA / Oleg PROTOPOPOV (USSR)

      Tatiana ZhUK / Alexander GORELIK (USSR)

      Margo Glockschuber / Wolfgang Danne (Germany)

      Irina RODNINA / Alexey ULANOV (USSR)

      Ludmila SMIRNOVA / Andrey SARAIKIN (USSR)

      Romy Kremer / Rolf Oestereich (GDR)

      Manuela Gross / Uwe Kagelmann (GDR)

      Irina RODNINA / Alexander ZAITSEV (USSR)

      Marina CHERKASOVA / Sergey SHAKHRAY (USSR)

      Manuela Mager / Uwe Beversdorf (GDR)

      Kitty Carruthers / Peter Carruthers (USA)

      Larisa SELEZNEVA / Oleg MAKAROV (USSR)

      Ekaterina GORDEEVA / Sergey GRINKOV (USSR)

      Elena VALOVA / Oleg VASILIEV (USSR)

      Jill Watson / Peter Oppergar (USA)

      Natalia MISHKUTENOK / Artur DMITRIEV (CIS)

      Elena BECHKE / Denis PETROV (CIS)

      Ekaterina GORDEEVA / Sergey GRINKOV (Russia)

      Natalia MISHKUTENOK / Artur DMITRIEV (Russia)

      Isabelle Brasser / Lloyd Eisler (Canada)

      Oksana KAZAKOVA / Artur DMITRIEV (Russia)

      Elena BEREZHNAYA / Anton SIKHRULIDZE (Russia)

      Mandy Votzel / Ingo Steuer (Germany)

      Elena BEREZHNAYA / Anton SIKHARULIDZE (Russia); Jamie Sale / David Pelletier (Canada)

      Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo (China)

      Tatiana TOTMYANINA / Maxim MARININ (Russia)

      Tribute Zhang / Hao Zhang (China)

      Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo (China)

      Famous american skater Evan Lysacek first went out on the ice at the age of 8 - with the light hand of his grandmother, who presented skates to his beloved grandson for Christmas. At first, Evan dreamed of a career as a hockey player, but his mother enrolled him in the figure skating section - and it was right. The young athlete liked it so much that he could not think of anything else. Since then, Lysacek has won many prizes in various competitions, although it happened that injuries knocked him out of a rut for some time. For quite a long time, a famous American coach Frank Carroll... Choreographer Laurie Nicole (Canada) has also put a lot of energy and soul into the success of the single skater. After all, the preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which were held in Vancouver, were especially thorough.

      Men's singles figure skating competition were held from 16 to 18 February 2010. The short program was held on February 16 (beginning at 16:15, ending at 20:45 (local time)). The free skate started on February 18 at 4:45 pm and ended at 8:45 pm. The Pacific Colisium sports complex hosted both programs. In these competitions, 20 countries represented the 30 most powerful skaters. 24 athletes, who duly showed themselves in the performance of the short program, were able to go further to the free program with the hope of winning the Olympic medals.

      In the short programthe leader was the Russian Evgeni Plushenko, who scored 90.85 points. Despite the fact that Eugene did not perform for 2 years, his technique and skill were beyond praise: he simply perfectly performed all the most difficult elements. The second place with 90.30 points was taken by 25-year-old Evan Lysacek. Many noted that his performance was also great. The third was the representative of Japan Daisuke Takahashi (90.25 points). However, experts expressed the opinion that these three athletes had almost equal chances, and a certain intrigue was expected in the free program.

      After the announcement of the scores for the short program, Evan could not hold back his tears - his emotions were so strong. Indeed, despite the second place, he called himself that this day was almost the best in his life. In an interview before the free program, he noted that he felt the strength to win the Olympic championship. At the training session before the new stage, Lysacek told reporters that he felt perfectly prepared for the new competition, despite the fact that a lot of energy was left in the short program. So on February 17, the athlete mostly recovered and saved up strength before a responsible performance. The American said that he did not agree with the public, which predicted his victory in the 2010 Games only if the Russian skater made a mistake while performing some element. Evan also expressed satisfaction with the fact that next to such close results there are 3 skaters at once - in his opinion, this indicates a high level of competition.

      Free programthere was a sharp competition between Lysacek and Plushenko. But, contrary to the expectations of all Russian fans, she did not bring everything the cherished gold medal Eugene. But America was celebrating victory! Evan performed first in the free program. Although he was unable to perform a quadruple jump, limiting himself to only triples, his performance was excellent. The paths and spins that he demonstrated were simply awesome. Experts noted that the American skated very "cleanly", correctly and amazingly, and also met all the necessary requirements to the smallest detail. There was an opinion that in order to surpass him, the Russian skater needs to show all the jumps that he is capable of. The second on the ice was the Japanese. He failed: when performing a complex element (quadruple sheepskin coat), he fell, thereby greatly reducing his result. Plushenko was the last to speak. He never fell, performed the most difficult quadruple jump, however, minor flaws were seen in his performance. Some blamed him for the lack of emotion that should be present in a competition of this level. As a result, Evan was in the lead in the free program, typing 167.37 points- by the way, this is the figure skater's personal record. It is symbolic that this figure also exactly repeated Plushenko's personal record. The second was the Russian with 165.51 points. The third place was taken by the Swiss Stephane Lambiel with a score of 162.09 points. Daisuke Takahashi after his fall became only the fifth (156.98 points).

      By the final standings of the tournament olympic gold took Lysacek with a total of 257.67 points. Silver went to the former Olympic champion - Plushenko (256.36 points). The bronze medal was won by the Japanese with his 247.23 points. And yet Japan had reason to rejoice: Takahashi brought her the first Games medal in men's singles figure skating.

      The American's victory caused a lot of controversy and opposing opinions. In principle, the judging team was not criticized much, they complained more about the fact that technical indicators were poorly taken into account when giving marks. But the famous Canadian figure skater Elvis Stoyko in the past sharply criticized both Lysacek himself and the panel of judges. He began his speech with an apology to Evan and said that he considered him a good skater. But only. Elvis noted that Lysacek's performance was too weak for the Olympic level: he rode slowly, and the technical side of the program clearly fell short of Plushenko's skill. The judges were just blind - this is the opinion of the Canadian. He also expressed the assumption that such an assessment of performances will set aside progress in figure skating years ago - the younger generation of skaters will simply stop taking risks and refuse to perform complex elements. It’s steadfastly infuriating that the Olympic bosses are trying to take risk away from the Games.

      Evan himself, in response to all the reproaches, calmly replies that his program was extremely difficult, despite the apparent lightness. And that he tried to perform in such a way that it was not noticeable how difficult it was. Laysacek believes that he managed to show the maximum of everything planned and that he deservedly received the medal. Well, how many people - so many opinions. We invite you to watch the video with Evan Lysacek's performances in the short and free programs and form an opinion about his talent yourself.

      The figure skating competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held from 14 to 25 February. Demonstration performances were also held on February 27.

      Representatives of China and South Korea won their first ever Olympic gold medals in figure skating. The Olympic Games were extremely unsuccessful for European athletes, who were able to win only a silver and two bronze medals. Since 1972, Europeans have won at least three gold medals, and they were left without gold only once, in 1960 in Squaw Valley, when three sets of medals were still being played, and even then the representatives of Europe won all three silver medals. The performance of the Russian national team was also unsuccessful. The USSR national figure skating team made its debut at the Olympic Games in 1960, showing only two pairs and being left without medals, but then, starting in 1964, won a gold medal, and since 1988 - at least two. For the first time since 1964, Russia was unable to win a gold medal in pair skating, for the first time since 1994 - in men's singles.

      In pair skating and women's single skating, the favorites of the competition became champions, and there were no surprises in these types of programs. In the dances, gold and silver were played by two couples, who were also considered favorites. Only the situation in men's singles skating, where Evgeni Plushenko, who missed three competitive seasons, returned and had a real chance of becoming the first (after Dick Button) two-time Olympic champion in men's singles, was unusual. But Plushenko only finished second, losing to Evan Lysacek. According to the new rules, Lysacek won a fair victory. However, Plushenko, by tradition, fell into hysterics, which was actively picked up by his numerous fans. After many interviews with stories about the "conspiracy" and his own greatness, Yevgeny at the awards ceremony boorishly climbed the step intended for the owner of the gold medal. The story ended with a complete farce - through his official website Plushenko handed himself a platinum medal on behalf of the fans and then proudly posed with her.

      Unlike previous Olympiads, where the bias of judges was repeatedly noted, there were no special complaints about judging in Vancouver. As an example, they cited only the benevolence of the judges to the Canadian Patrick Chan, which in any case did not affect the distribution of medals.

      All winners:

      Male single skating

      1. Evan Lysacek (USA)
      2. Evgeny Plushenko (Russia)
      3. Daisuke Takahashi (Japan).

      Women's single skating

      1. Kim Young Ah (South Korea)
      2. Mao Asada (Japan)
      3. Joanny Rochette (Canada).

      Pair skating

      1. China
      Shen Xue
      Zhao Hongbo.

      2. China
      Pang Qing
      Tong Jian.

      3. Germany
      Alena Savchenko
      Robin Sholkovy.

      Dancing on Ice

      1. Canada
      Tessa Vertiu
      Scott Moir.

      2. USA
      Meryl Davis
      Charlie White.

      3. Russia
      Oksana Domnina
      Maxim Shabalin.

      — 04.03.2010 07:50 —

      Mishin: the Canadian-American camp did everything to prevent Plushenko from winning

      Evgeni Plushenko's coach Alexei Mishin said that the representatives of Canada and the United States did everything to prevent his ward from becoming the Olympic champion in Vancouver.
      “Of course, commerce is increasingly eating into the life of the Olympics, but so far it has not ruined them: the sports component prevails. This can be judged at least by the skiers who come to the finish line. Notice that they don't even have time to wipe the sweat from their faces. As long as there is such self-sacrifice, the Games will retain their meaning and purpose. You know, Zhenya tried to return last year too. but a doctor in Germany told him: the knee would not stand. But he still returned for the Olympics. And you should have seen what the reaction of other skaters was when Zhenya stepped onto the ice of Novogorsk. We had a sleepy kingdom! And when Plushenko returned, showed how to skate, everyone began to reach out to him. As soon as Plushenko announced his return, ISU circulated a video tutorial on How Not to Skate! And imagine, Plushenko was in the leading role! - Alexey Mishin smiles. Everyone began to shout: "And where is his transit?" And what are these "transits"? Just moving, moving from one element to another. Is this the main thing in figure skating? I think that the Canadian-American camp, whose representatives do not have a quadruple jump, did not want Plushenko to become an Olympic champion, and they did everything for this. You cannot compare Plushenko and those who have neither name nor titles, - says the coach. - Zhenya is a megastar. He could have been shoveling money if he hadn't gone to the Olympics. But he decided to return to sports. This means that he needs to compensate for these losses. We must respect our leaders. After all, we will not have people like Plushenko at the next Olympics. Although there are talented guys: Sergei Voronov, Artur Gachinsky, Artur Dmitriev. I hope they will lend a shoulder to Zhenya ", - quotes Mishin's words "Sports day by day" .
      "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 03.03.2010 19:32 —

      Mishin: I would like the ROC president to be a manager with a talent for this job

      Honored coach of Russia in figure skating, mentor of the silver medalist of the Olympics in Vancouver, Evgeni Plushenko, Alexei Mishin, believes that modern managers should lead the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and national sports in general.
      “I would like a manager with a talent for this job to be in his place,” said Mishin, commenting on the head of the ROC Leonid Tyagachev.
      Answering the question about Tyagachev's managerial abilities, Mishin said: "Having resigned, he himself appreciated his ability to be a manager."
      At the same time, the coach emphasized that in general, modern managers who are aware of changes and world trends should come to the leadership of Russian sports.
      “Organization of sports is a kind of business, and business requires experienced managers. Sport is a factory, production, where a lot depends on proper management, ”added Mishin.
      Speaking about the problems that prevented the successful performance of Russian athletes in Vancouver, Mishin noted the lag of the domestic sports school from competitors in the methodological aspects of the work of coaches, the organizational structure of training, as well as legislative support.
      “We need to work on strengthening the methodology, improving the organizational form, legislative improvement,” he said.
      In particular, Mishin proposed to introduce the status of "Olympic hope" for young skaters.
      “They have to ride as much as they want, they need to be given money for food, clothes,” the expert said. Interfax

      — 03.03.2010 13:09 —

      The Parliament of St. Petersburg will present Plushenko to the Order

      The Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg intends to initiate the awarding of the Order of Merit to the Fatherland IV degree to the figure skater and deputy of the St. Petersburg parliament Yevgeny Plushenko, said the speaker of the chamber Vadim Tulpanov on Wednesday.
      He recalled that after the victorious Olympic Games in Turin for the figure skater, Plushenko was awarded the Order of Friendship. However, according to Tyulpanov, the skater deserves a higher state award. Interfax

      — 03.03.2010 04:45 —

      Piseev: insulting for the "fat cats"

      President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation Valentin Piseev commented on the words of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that it is time for some sports officials to resign after failures in Vancouver.
      “There is no need to make hasty conclusions. I used to ring the bells about the need to build skating rinks for figure skaters in Russia under Fetisov. Yes, we did not perform very well in Vancouver, but let's see how many Olympic medals were brought by figure skaters at the previous Olympics. And then, you know, they called the leaders "fat cats." It's a shame ... ", - quotes his words "Soviet sport". "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 02.03.2010 18:39 —

      Mishin: by refusing to participate in the World Cup, Lysacek showed his weakness

      The coach of the Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, Alexei Mishin, regrets that the Vancouver Olympic champion American Evan Lysachek will not be at the upcoming World Championship, where Plushenko will perform.
      “By refusing to participate in the World Championship, Lysacek showed his weakness. We will prepare for the upcoming championship. Of course, there will be changes in Evgeny's program, as it always happens after each performance. This is already the 8th Olympic Games for me, but I have never seen such strong pressure on athletes as this time on Zhenya. Could our federation somehow weaken him? Probably could, "- quotes the words of Mishin "BaltInfo" . "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 02.03.2010 10:13 —

      Plushenko: good luck to everyone who writes nasty things about me

      Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, who returned to St. Petersburg with the Vancouver Olympic silver medal, said the Russian Figure Skating Federation needed a change.
      “Skaters cannot continue to train and play for their money. When the referees gave the victory to Lysacek, many people supported me, but not my own federation. Even the Americans spoke out in my support. For example, figure skaters Elvis Stoyko and Michelle Kwan. I did not receive support from the Russian side, "Plyushcheko is quoted as saying. BaltInfo.
      The skater also thanked all the fans who worried about him at the Olympics.
      “Many thanks to everyone who supported me. To everyone who understood what it was like to return to big sport after a long break and how difficult it is. As for that bunch of people who wrote nasty things about me in their articles and blogs, I can only wish them good luck. Let them write further, "Plushenko said. "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 02.03.2010 09:51 —

      Tatyana Plushenko: I didn't want my son to skate at the Olympics

      The mother of figure skater Evgeni Plushenko Tatyana Vasilievna admitted that she did not want her son to take part in the Vancouver Olympics.
      “You understand, he has an injury. His knee hurts a lot. And as a mother, I was very worried about him. And I didn't want him to skate at the Olympics, ”Tatyana Plushenko is quoted as saying. BaltInfo.
      When asked if she is ready to support her son if he decides to participate in the games in Sochi, she answered in the affirmative.
      “Here everything will be decided by Zhenya and, of course, his wife Yana Rudkovskaya. I cannot influence his decision in any way, but if he is going to participate in the games in Sochi, of course, I will support him, ”said Tatiana Plushenko. "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 01.03.2010 23:55 —

      Sikharulidze: Plushenko needs to be thanked for returning

      Evgeni Plushenko should be thanked for the fact that he returned and presented Russia with a silver medal in figure skating at the Vancouver Olympics, said the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, Olympic champion Anton Sikharulidze.
      “If we talk about Zhenya Plushenko, then, first of all, we need to thank him for returning and giving us a silver medal,” Sikharulidze said.
      “Secondly, the judges had the opportunity to put both Zhenya in first place and his opponent. The judges decided that the North American athlete was stronger that day. But in my opinion, here we need to talk about the imperfection of the very system of refereeing in modern figure skating. After all, the same quadruple jump that Zhenya performed, but no one else did, it is a unique element. And its value in points should be much higher than today, ”the deputy believes.
      “I think that our figure skating federation can apply to the International Skating Union with such a proposal,” he said. RIA News"

      — 01.03.2010 05:38 —

      Tarasova: Rodnina just wants to head the figure skating federation herself

      The well-known coach Tatyana Tarasova commented on the words of the Olympic champion Irina Rodnina, who believes that the leadership of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, which does not enjoy any authority in international circles, works little.
      “As for the authority, it is enough for me to look at the three-hour queue at the Russian House, so as not to worry about this. If we take figure skating specifically, then Alexander Lakernik is a member of ISU, Alexander Gorshkov is a member of the technical committee. We have influence. So I disagree with Ira's opinion. When it's bad, you can't finish off, especially your own. I think she just wants to lead the federation herself. Despite the fact that in four years I have not seen her at any competitions, - quotes the words of Tarasova "Soviet sport"... - Plushenko was "buried" before anything could be changed. In the short program. In my opinion, he should have won it with a difference of four to five points. The short program is a technical program. And the "4 + 3" cascade changes everything at once. Shows that you can do more than others. In the arbitrary, Plushenko was not condemned - including through the efforts of the federation. For all the ambiguity of our relationship with Valentin Piseev, I will say: he knows figure skating, loves him, and not a single one can do without him major competition... Does it upset that a skater without a quadruple jump became the men's Olympic champion? This is a huge step back! The Olympiad with a quadruple was also won by Urmanov - in 1994. Men's single skating cannot be judged on the "like it or not like it" principle. We already have this kind - dancing. There it is already known in advance who will be in what place at the end of the competition. What kind of athlete is Lysacek? Outstanding. Hard worker. A very good, decent person. A real athlete ... He did the fourth one. But he did not tighten about a quarter of the turnover - high growth created inconveniences. According to the current rules, this is a big disadvantage. So he decided to focus on pure treble performance. What he did at this Olympics. Did Plushenko fairly lose the free program? Yes. But at the expense of the short one had to take gold. Zhenya made a bet on a quadruple - but it turned out to be not enough. Whose miscalculation is this? Under the current rules, it is not necessary to jump a quadruple, after which ligaments and bones "fly". And it is almost impossible to motivate an athlete to do this. Much better, as a Canadian (apparently, Patrick Chan. - Approx.), Waving his arms, dangle from one end of the site to the other. Demonstrating his brilliant sliding. " "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 01.03.2010 04:13 —

      Tarasova: Shabalin's knee is in such a condition that he remained disabled for the rest of his life

      Famous coach Tatyana Tarasova commented on the performance Russian figure skaters at the Olympics.
      “Failure is too big a word. Let's figure it out: what happened in Turin? All were pulled by the "old people". Zhenya Plushenko was stronger than he is now. He is still strong, but then no one could compare with him. The dances were Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, real champions. I worked in figure skating and when I say: real champions are real champions. And they had a champion dance. Tatyana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin in pair skating for two years before the Olympics were only increasing. There was no one better than them in the world. Ira Slutskaya is an athlete who could win any competition. It's a pity that the Olympic season was not the best for her. Either because of illness, or because of workload. She most likely should have missed the Grand Prix finals. Now what? There is Zhenya, who has not skated for three and a half years. There is a dance couple who, due to the health problems of Maxim Shabalin, simply cannot skate normally. It is fortunate that Oksana and Max were given third place. They gave the maximum they were capable of. Yana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitsky could have performed better, but they were pushed too far. Unfortunately, dancing is a kind where it is almost impossible to get to the top without being the first number in the country. In addition, the worse the first pair skates, the worse the second. The girls performed very well for the first time at the Olympics. Let's see how they consolidate this experience. In pair competitions, everything also turned out objectively. Kawaguchi and Smirnov could only count on something if all the leaders fell. Yes, they could compete for bronze. But just because of high expectations, they may have burned out. We made mistakes that we never allow ourselves. By the way, fighting the Chinese in pair skating is almost the same as fighting yourself. Why? Because the coach who trains all the couples of this country is a graduate of our Moscow Institute of Physical Education, a student of Igor Ksenofontov, his kingdom is heavenly. I'm not even talking about the fact that many leading foreign athletes are trained by our, without any reservations, Russian coaches, - quotes Tarasova "Soviet sport"... - Was there anything you could think of to bring Domnina and Shabalin up to the championship level? I wanted to go to see how the guys are preparing, but I was refused. I saw them only at the Russian championship. And this is already a little late. But I don’t think it was possible to magically change anything. Maxim's knee is in such a state that he, you can count, remained disabled for the rest of his life. You still try to find such a person who would perform with this knee! " "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 28.02.2010 09:13 —

      Shabalin: we will not go to any world championship

      Russian figure skater, bronze medalist of the Vancouver Olympics, Maxim Shabalin, spoke about the future plans of his couple with Oksana Domnina.
      “I have not yet met with the doctors, but, apparently, Oksana and I will not go to any world championship. We'll rest for a year, and then we'll see. Operations may be required ", - quotes Shabalin "Soviet sport" . "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 28.02.2010 07:45 —

      Plushenko: I will perform at the World Cup, I will do two operations, and then I will decide what's next

      Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko spoke about his plans for the near future.
      “Now I am starting to prepare for the World Championship in Turin. What place I take there is completely unimportant, - quotes Plushenko "Soviet Sport".- Then I will go to Germany to see my doctor. I will be doing surgery on my left knee and right foot. In what mode to perform further and whether to perform at all - I will decide after a meeting with surgeons, wife and coach. " "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 26.02.2010 18:54 —

      Plushenko's fans want to give him a gold medal

      Russian fans of the figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, at the Olympic Games in Vancouver, want to give their favorite athlete a gold medal, said Dmitry Ilkovsky, one of the initiators of this idea, chairman of the board of the St. Petersburg municipal formation "Okrug Petrovsky".
      “A lot of Plushenko's fans say that, despite the decision of the judges in Vancouver, Evgeny performed better than anyone else and deserves a gold medal. They turn to us with a request to correct this injustice, ”Ilkovsky said.
      According to the deputy, he has already contacted Yakut jewelers and St. Petersburg designers.
      “The design of the medal will be developed in the near future. Everything will be done as soon as possible, ”he said.
      Ilkovsky noted that in terms of precious composition the medal will not differ from Vancouver gold.
      “Design will be different - it will be gold medal Plushenko from the Russians, ”he said. Ilkovsky also said that "Plushenko's fans often call him and offer to melt their gold rings and earrings for a medal." RIA News"

      — 26.02.2010 09:12 —

      Piseev: I am satisfied with the results of the Russians

      President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation Valentin Piseev commented on the performances of Russian athletes at the Olympic Games in Vancouver.
      “I am satisfied with the results of the Russians,” Piseev said.
      Speaking about the performances of dance duets, he noted: “Only Maxim Shabalin and his doctors know how much he had to go through. It was a "bronze" of a very high value. As for the Canadians, I think they deservedly became the champions of the Games. Speaking about Evgeni Plushenko, I think so - Plushenko won, the new refereeing system lost. She has once again shown her inconsistency, her imperfection. "
      “If Plushenko was appreciated in the short program,” Piseev continued, “he would have won. Three judges after his speech gave him five zero six zero marks, in fact, these are 21-22 places. The rest of the judges - eight each. I immediately informed the President of the International Skating Union (ISU) Ottavio Ciquantu about this, and on the second day the judging was objective. But Plushenko was no longer saved. In fact, three judges deprived the Russian of the gold medal. "
      Piseev said that the issues of the new refereeing system had already been raised twice at the ISU congresses, but this turned out to be ineffectual.
      “Someone is comfortable with it. You can also manage a rand - and I speak about it openly. And in vain is Eugene offended by the leadership of the Federation - does he really think that we were sitting with folded hands? It's just that after the Salt Lake City scandal, ISU secured itself with rule 123.4. Its approximate meaning is as follows - “protests against the judges, technical teams and ISU results are not accepted”. If we filed this protest, we would have caused another wave of indignation before the performance of Domnina and Shabalin. By the way, they performed next after the "singles". That is, in this regard, our hands are tied. The protest can only be filed for errors in the calculation. "
      Piseev admitted: “Yes, before the start of the Games we counted on three medals. We only managed to earn two. Could the couple Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov take the medal? Could, they made an agreed decision - to do or not a quadruple throw in an arbitrary program. And it turned out so - Yuko wanted, Smirnov did not dare. It was a real tragedy for Kawaguchi. "
      Piseev recalled that before leaving for Canada, he warned: “We knew that this is a special country for figure skating. Here we all had the opportunity to see this clearly. The results speak for themselves too. " ITAR-TASS

      — 26.02.2010 08:09 —

      Makarova: next year I will strive to get into the top three

      Russian figure skater Ksenia Makarova, who took 10th place at the Vancouver Olympics, spoke about her future plans.
      "Next year I will strive to get into the top three at all tournaments," Makarova quotes. "Soviet sport"... - What is needed for this? Triple axel, like Mao Asada, I will not jump. I prefer, like Yu-Na Kim, to take my own on cascades "3 + 3". "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 26.02.2010 07:56 —

      Yu Na Kim won gold in figure skating, Leonova - ninth

      Friday night in Vancouver for Olympic competitions figure skating medals were played by women. The free program has passed. Gold was won by Korean Yu Na Kim with a score of 228.56 points. Silver went to Japanese Mao Siege (205.50), bronze - Joanie Rochette (202.64).
      Russians Alena Leonova and Ksenia Makarova took 9th (172.46) and 10th places (171.91). "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 26.02.2010 07:42 —

      Leonova: what a lucky 13th starting number turned out to be for me

      Russian figure skater Alena Leonova was pleased with her free skating program to music from the musical "Chicago" at the Vancouver Olympics.
      “Finally, I did it - the combination of two triple sheepskin coats was a success at the Olympic Games. Wow, what a lucky start number 13 turned out to be for me! How many competitions with this program I went through before - and it didn’t work. Surprisingly, today I practically did not worry, in the morning I was ready to go out and skate. Yes, and did not have time to "burn out" - came out first in the warm-up. Although, of course, there were small blots - but this, apparently, emotions, ”said the skater. ITAR-TASS

      — 26.02.2010 06:52 —

      Makarova scored 112.69 points for the free program

      On Friday night in Vancouver, women will compete for medals at the Olympic figure skating competitions. The free program is running. Russian Ksenia Makarova, who performed 17th, scored 112.69 points. With a total of 171.91, it is still in fourth place. "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 26.02.2010 06:25 —

      Leonova scored 110.32 points for the free program

      On Friday night in Vancouver, women will compete for medals at the Olympic figure skating competitions. The free program is running. Russian Alena Leonova, who performed 13th, scored 110.32 points. With a total of 172.46, it is still in first place. "Gazeta.Ru"

      — 26.02.2010 05:30 —

      Lysacek will not compete at the World Cup

      Olympic champion in men's singles skating Evan Lysacek will not compete at the World Championships in Turin in March, reports Associated Press... At the same time, the athlete said that he was not going to end his amateur career. "Gazeta.Ru"

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