Grand Prix Final
Grand Prix Final
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Report from Sally, Canada:
December 14, 2001, Short program
Evgeni was "all business" this afternoon. Very serious (in his own world, I'd say) during the warm-up. He looked tentative and, I have to say, it made me nervous to see him. When it came time for him to skate, they showed Alexei standing by the boards - this one, he was going to stay and watch.
Plush skated great - a little close to the boards on the 4Toe/3Toe, but perfectly clean. (A lot of the skaters were running out of room as this ice surface is not Olympic size). He was a little forward on the landing of his 3 Axel but it was fine and the 3Lutz was a beauty. The footwork was absolutely
amazing - far better than Alexei's IMO, as Evgeni's is edge work whereas so much of Alexei's is on the toe picks. The only flaw in the program was on the combination spin - Plush appeared to lose his center when he was going into the Biellman. He only completed about 1 1/2 revolutions in this position and
then wavered a bit before he assumed the next position. And, then, it was over ...... and Plush looked EXTREMELY relieved. I can tell you one thing for certain, Plush is NOT skating this competition pain free. The crowd loved it; "I" was dancing in my living room and the, most importantly the judges loved it too.
Tech: 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.8
5 judges placed him first and 2 placed him second.
Interview after the short program:(Evgeni spoke English)
Q. Congratulations. First of all, there's been a lot of talk about you battling injuries. Is there a problem?
Evgeni: It's true. I came here in Canada and practiced. My practice was good. I did everything clean - quads, triple axel, so.. and I fell. I did quad toe and I fell. And when I wake (he meant "got up"), I feel my ankle so bad; so, I can't skate. My doctor said I must do a (looks to interpreter) yes, a shot, so now (I'm) little better but I feel pain."
Q: Well, it didn't seem to affect your performance out there. As the World Champion, how much attention do you pay to who else is here? Todd? Goebel?...
Evgeni: (had a bit of trouble understanding the English at first, I thought)
First me, first myself. If I do everything clean, I can win. Today, I did almost everything clean, so that's the result. After the Short Program I am first. But, today, we must skate free program and tomorrow we must skate free program, so it's a long day, but I qualify."
Q. Are you going to need to take another shot before you skate tonight?
Evgeni: We'll see. Maybe.
Q: Well, good luck.
Evgeni: Thank you very much.
He was great. But I can tell you, during that interview, he was in pain. He had that pinched look of someone who is in pain but is trying his very best to hide it. He looked tired and I just wanted to reach out and hug him. I was so proud of him but I really "feel" for him. Send him all your hugs and kisses and best wishes, girls. He needs them.
Next report of GPF from December 14, 2001 - First Free Skate Photo © by Manaaw
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For the SP in Kitchener, Evgeni wore a new costume - a gold suit with black trim and black gloves with all kinds of bright decorations on them. I really liked the costume. I think Rod Black found it a little "bright". He said that, if the power went down in the area,
we would all still be able to see Plush!