Evgeny Plushenko, Evan Lysacek, the quad and the future of skating

Who would have thought just a week ago that so much ink would be spilled on the merits of a figure skater taking to the air and rotating 1,440 degrees before coming back to earth?

That the president of one of the world’s largest countries would weigh in, however obliquely, on the value of a figure skating move? That the word quad would enter the public lexicon and serve as debate fodder in barrooms (or at least chi-chi wine bars)?

Long a hot topic in the skating community, the quad has further polarized the issues of artistry and athleticism, thanks in large part to a certain trash-talking silver medalist and his entourage. And it has brought the oft-criticized new (or newer, as it’s been six years) judging system back to the fore. Greater minds and talents than mine have reflected on the week’s events, but I feel compelled to offer my two cents (in addition to this).

First, this is good for the sport. The fact that talking heads and skating greats can debate the quad and people care enough to listen show that figure skating, despite its annual obituaries, still remains relevant and exciting. It just needed an Olympic year to give the controversy enough juice to enter the public consciousness, instead of remaining a discussion among skating wonks as it had been previously. May not be pretty, but there are worse types of publicity.

Second, this is about the personalities involved, but also transcends them. Evgeny Plushenko stood on the podium in Vancouver Thursday night, projecting major ‘tude that was consistent with his bad boy image. But few would suspect that moments later he would first imply and later outright state to the press that awarding the gold to Evan Lysacek was “not progress; it's a regress,” later comparing the American’s technique to that of a woman skater (our illustration shows what Evgeny might have been imagining). Two-time Olympic silver medal winner and quad pioneer Elvis Stojko later wrote that Evan's skate wasn't "Olympic champion material." Evan, to his credit, has remained the upright sportsman, attributing Evgeny’s comments to emotion surrounding the disappointment and downplaying the schism. I’ve seen and heard at least a half dozen interviews with Evan over the past 24 hours, and he has acquitted himself honorably in all. Kudos to him for attempting to maintain skating’s dignity.

But the kernel of the argument boils down to something Evgeny and his coaches have repeatedly said over the past day, which I generalize here with less bombastic wording: If skating doesn’t push the athletic envelope, it becomes less a sport and more an art.

Some analysts point to the actual scores from Thursday night’s competition, where Evan outscored Evgeny in the “athletic” category (a/k/a executed elements and grades of execution) and they tied in the “artistic” category (factored program components). Well-executed quads provide a 3-4 point advantage over similar combinations with triples, but Evan showed that this can be overcome with high levels of execution throughout an entire program.

The simple truth is that the new judging system rewards certain things more richly -- ostensibly in support of a clean, unified performance -- and smart skaters structure their programs to optimize the points. Evan loaded the back half of his program with triples, while Evgeny spent the last minute of his with required step sequences, tackling more difficult elements earlier on. One could argue that performing strenuous jumps deeper into a program requires more stamina and athleticism, which is why the ISU Judging System applies a premium in scoring.

Pushing the envelope with more complex moves is admirable, but the object of figure skating competition is to win, not (just) show off. Marathon runners aren’t rewarded for their fastest miles, but for when they cross the finish lines and ahead of whom.

“It’s fine to be the best jumper in the world, but does that mean you’re the best figure skater in the world?” Evan’s coach, Frank Carroll, told journalists. “It’s not figure jumping; it’s figure skating.”

If it’s so bad, then Plushenko should marshal his fellow former Eastern Bloc pals and lobby the ISU to change the rules. Continued on-ice civil disobedience will simply result in continued runner-up status. (Interestingly, during the “Evan vs. Johnny years,” Evan took a slightly different position in advocating more of an X Games style in figure skating as compared to Johnny Weir’s more theatrical approach.)

But that being said, the intent behind Plushenko’s comments does resonate with skating fans. Runners are now faster than they were 20 years ago, baseball players stronger sluggers, and so on. Snowboarder Shaun White’s antics on the half pipe validate this clearly. Why shouldn’t we expect this generation’s skating champions to be better than those from years past. One could argue that an objective judging system provides an excellent barometer across the ages – just score more points than your predecessors. But as athletes’ abilities improve, simply have them perform the same moves with greater and greater precision does seem to be a bit, um, boring.

So how can the ISU move the rules bar higher, providing skaters more expansive ways to compete against each other and push the entire sport? The quad is one example, but there may be other changes that would stretch skaters in the athletic dimension. By providing a range of “bonus” options, the ISU would be providing multiple paths instead of just the “nuclear quad.” As an aside, a New York Times analysis showed that on the whole, including a quad in a program led to poorer total scores, mainly because of skaters’ inability to consistently hit it. You could ultimately see a two-class world where there are skaters with both Evan’s grace and Evgeny’s powerful jumps, and everyone else.

As to the “art vs. sport” comment, skating is a judged, subjective sport and there’s no way out of that argument unless someone finds a way to include a puck. Anyone who doubts that skating is a serious sport just needs to spend a few hours at a practice rink with one of these elite athletes and witness the grace and power and precision required. The best athletes in sports often approach art; would it be insulting to describe as art Michael Jordan defying gravity in his approach to the basket or Usain Bolt moving his limbs faster than any human should?

Fast forward to the 2022 Olympics, and we'll likely be debating the quint.

Comments

[sandra]

One can blame the scoring system, one can blame the judges, i blame Plushenko who is obviously the better athlete, however needs to learn to be better not by a an inch, not by a mile, but by light years. If the system is against you the only way to win is to be so much better than everybody else that even the blind (judges) can't ingore the superiority. Either this or change the system, whichever comes first...

[R.O.N.]

Why doesn't Plushenko stand in the middle of the rink and just hit quad after quad, if he loves them so much?

[Alsu]

Plushenko was obviously the best in these games. He more difficult programm and everyone could see that, he has more plastic and artistic skills, his performance was ten times better than Evan's. What;s more Evan's built is not for figure skating, and it is not for dancing at all.

[D.W.]

Plushenko did his quad and then "floated" the rest of his program. This was not a Quad Jump" but a skating program. He did nothing the last minute or so. After his quad, it was like, "ok, give me my gold medal". I found that highly irritating. He looked winded the last part of his program, too. I don't think he could have done a triple if his life depended upon it. Does he smoke or was he just not in top form?

[Lee]

Mishin and Plushy are crybabies and always have been. The NYT piece on the success of the quad in this new system is very revealing. And for longevity of the skaters - why don't we ask Yagudin and Goebel how their lower extremities are doing these days? Both have been reported to be in considerable pain from the pounding that does to the body.

[Elizabeth Ely]

I keep thinking if all those 'artistic' moves, the ones that Plushenko and Stojko say are bringing down the technical focus of the sport, are so easy and not real 'sport,' then why didn't they just throw them in themselves?

No big deal to do according to them, so why not do them when Plushenko knows the judging system now rewards these moves?

Same goes for doing difficult jumps past the half way point as you mentioned above. Obviously these things take a conditioning or technical ability that is not Plushenko's forte. But I fail to see how these artistic moves are any less athletic.

Just look at how few can do the really complicated footwork for example, and how many more skaters fall now attempting difficult step sequences. The sport is advancing right there.

More to say but don't want to clog up the comments here. I vented more earlier on my blog at http://elizabethely.com so I'll stop here now. Here's to continuing to enjoy this great sport and community of fans!

[jumping clapping man]

Isn't it interesting that when Shizuka Arakawa won the gold in Torino, she wasn't lambasted for digressing the sport (for landing fewer triples than any female winner for decades)!

[Flutz]

Plushenko is a poor sport, plain and simple. He's tarnished his 2006 gold medal by his childish behavior.

[Jan Dalquist]

Plushenko made the comment that if the judging had been based on the 6. scoring he would have won. No! Lycacek skating difficult moves throughout he program. Plushenko quit after the first half--he put all his difficult moves within the first 2 minutes. Lycacek placed some of his more difficult moves during the last 2 minutes. And Plushenko's foot work looked as though he was making it up during the program. Remember how Irina Slutkaya was upset when Sarah Hughes won in 2002? Russian athletes need to learn to lose with grace.

[Jan Dalquist]

I want to add that I believe the photo of Lycacek dressed and posed as a female is disgusting. Remember Battle of the Blades? And how one hocky pro commented that he equated learning to figure skate and participating in the competition up with winning the Stanley cup? I challenge those who believe figure skating is a "feminine" or "artistic" endeavor to try skating all out for 4 and 1/2 minutes--and jump and spin (don't deny those--they take as much energy as a jump does) during that time. Think in terms of running a 4 minutes mile.

[Susan Chun]

@Jan: Thanks for your comments. As you can clearly see from this post, I don't agree with Plushenko's comments regarding men's skating and feel that Evan has been extraordinarily dignified in his responses (he is much bigger than Evgeny, after all, and could make a size wisecrack). The photo illustration was simply a way of visualizing/parodying in a somewhat dramatic fashion what Evgeny was saying and thinking, as evidenced by the thought balloon. Kind of like editorial cartoons or Economist covers.

[Carlos]

Plushenko did some technical edge errors in some jumps, and poor transmissions, and Lyzacek did not skate a clean program at all there where a lot of woobling and miss transmissions going on, plus no interpretation at all, however what shocked me the most was the politics and the way this scoring method can easily cover up predecisions of the jury, the japanese made a hell of a good program even with the first fall, Stefan was just not in the house at all which was understandable but scoring Weir at 6 was the robbery of the night so much that all the crowd in the dome was at fury, some deducted transitions but no falls and a clean interpretation, yet the one's on top of him had falls and weaker choreography.

[mag]

Americans can't admit that it is a robbery, of course. It is very simple, you are a man and a champion when you do the quad, anything else is just like the woman.

[Reviewer]

Just because one man can do a quad as a fluke one time does not make him a figure skating god! There is so much more to that sport!

[quads]

I think the quad was good, but he did not do well on his other areas like his technique. You cannot just keep doing the same move or you will be classified as boring... he has to try other stuff too!

[ghds]

want to add that I believe the photo of Lycacek dressed and posed as a female is disgusting. Remember Battle of the Blades? And how one hocky pro commented that he equated learning to figure skate and participating in the competition up with winning the Stanley cu

[Ronnie]

You know nothing about figure skating. Evan CAN'T jump quad. He just aren't able to do the most difficult and important, and progressive thing in male skating and he's Olympic champion. Haha. Plushenko is The Legend. People will remember him as The Greatest Male Skater of his generation. Evan's just a lucky boy who can't do a thing, but everybody loves him, because he's nice, and modest, and American. He's MEDIOCRE. He won the title, but he didn't won respect. If he's happy with his undeserved medal, well good for him.