Russia mourns Plushenko \'tragedy\', questions wisdom

Russia's Yevgeny Plushenko Russia on Friday mourned the "tragedy" of Yevgeny Plushenko's dramatic retirement from the Olympic men's figure skating competition but many questioned the wisdom of his decision to compete with a back injury. Plushenko's withdrawal , which prompted him to call time on his illustrious career, means that the Sochi Games will be the first time since Sarajevo 1984 that the USSR or post-Soviet Russia win no medals in the mens singles event.
Russian media were unanimous in expressing sympathy for the 31-year-old, who took to the ice to skate in the men's short programme but injured his back in the warm-up.
But there was also more than a hint of frustration that the fragile veteran had not pulled out of the Olympics after winning gold in the team competition, which would have allowed Russia to field a replacement in the men's competition.
"The great career of our skater ended in a genuine human tragedy," said the Sovietsky Sport daily on its front page. It quoted a tearful Plushenko as saying: "I ask forgiveness from my fans."
The withdrawal of Plushenko, who won men's figure skating gold at the 2006 Turin Games, was met with horrified gasps from the crowd who hoped to witness history being made by one of the best-known personalities in the country.
It was also highly controversial given the debate that preceded his selection over his younger rival, the Russian champion Maxim Kovtun, 18.
"What was the need to do all of this, depriving not only Maxim Kovtun of his chance to perform at the Games but also the entire country of having a representative in the final?" asked the Sport Express daily.
But it added that "while we understood there was practically no chance of the veteran pulling off this adventure, all the more we wanted to see a miracle".
'Plushenko asked to withdraw'
According to a report by pro-Kremlin NTV television, Plushenko had indeed two days before his performance in the individual asked to be withdrawn due to his injury.
In a chaotic sequence of events, the Russian Skating Federation then turned to Kovtun but could not find him.
Apparently furious at his treatment, the youngster had turned off his mobile phone and his trainers could also not be found.
Having wasted a day trying to find him, the federation turned again to Plushenko, NTV said. The federation declined to confirm the report.
The president of Russia's figure skating federation, Alexander Gorshkov, told the Izvestia daily that Plushenko was leaving the Olympics a "hero" after returning from back surgery.
"Yevgeny brought a huge contribution to the victory of the Russian team in the team competition and this makes him a true hero," he said.
The Kommersant daily dryly noted that not even the expertise of the Israeli surgeon who repaired Plushenko's back could hold him together.
"In Plushenko's absence, foreigners are going to be competing for the medals," it lamented.
Plushenko in Russia transcends his status as a figure skater and is a household name who appears as a television personality and performer. He helped Russia win the Eurovision song contest in 2008.
The maverick head of the nationalist Liberal Democrat Party (LDPR), one of four parties represented in the Russian parliament, whipped up a huge controversy by describing Plushenko as an invalid who should never have been allowed to perform.
"This is not a house for the sick it is the Olympic Games!," LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky told Sovietsky Sport, adding that athletes should be forbidden from competing at more than three Games.
Adding fuel to the fire in an interview with the Russian News Service, he also called Plushenko's high profile producer wife Yana Rudkovskaya a "witch" who was taking her husband "to a wheelchair."
"Until now, I respected Vladimir Zhirinovsky, once I was even in his party," Rudkovskaya spat back.
Source: AFP