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Evgeni Plushenko – by Dahmeli –

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Evgeni Plushenko

Evgeni Plushenko, also known as Yevgeny Viktorovich Plushchenko in full, is a famous Russian figure skater. The surname Plushenko is sometimes also known spelled as Plushchenko.

Evgeni was born on November third, 1982 in the town of Solnechny, Russia. At this time Russia was known as U.S.S.R.

 Plushenko鈥檚 fame is because of his prowess as a figure skater. He was a world champion and the first athlete to perform the quadruple toe-triple toe-triple loop and triple axel鈥揾alf loop-triple flip combinations in competition and land successfully.

1. He is a record-breaker

In his career as a figure skater, Evgeni broke very many records. One of them is being the first figure skater to successfully land the quadruple toe-triple toe-triple loop and triple axel鈥揾alf loop-triple flip combinations on a competitive platform.

Evgeni also held the record for the most Olympic medals in figure skating, albeit jointly. This was a tally of four Olympic medals which was equal to Sweden鈥檚 Gillis Grafstr枚m. This record would, later on, be broken by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

He was the first male skater to successfully perform the Biellmann spin in senior competitions. Plushenko also won a total of 22 titles on the Grand Prix circuit. This record remains unbeaten to date.

2. Began Skating as a child

Plushenko was born in Solnechny, but his family soon moved to Volgograd. This was where he began skating at four (4) years of age. He did so using skates that family members no longer needed and his talent was evident even at this age.

When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, Evgeni鈥檚 school closed. His parents moved him to St. Petersburg and he began working with a skating coach by the name of Aleksey Mishin.

In 1996, Evgeni began competitive figure skating. Within the year he was the world junior champion.

3. He Was a Politician

Evgeni Plushenko (far right) with Vladimir Putin after supporting him – by premier.gov.ru –

The public elected Plushenko to the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg in 2007. This happened immediately after he joined the political party known as A Just Russia in 2006.  

However, in 2010 he gained public scrutiny after they realized he attended only 11 of 123 parliamentary sittings. In December 2011 he left politics and the party. He also announced he was not interested in joining another political party.

4. He Faced Many Injuries During His Career

Throughout his career, Plushenko has been a victim of several injuries that have been decisive to his and his country鈥檚 success. In the 2004 to 2005 season, Evgeni was forced to withdraw from the World Championships in Moscow due to injury. This injury turned out to be severe and therefore he needed groin surgery.

Similarly, injuries forced him to withdraw from the 2010 World Championships. In 2012, Plushenko underwent surgery on his meniscus. This surgery ruled him out of the 2012 World Championships.

In 2014, he was forced to withdraw from the Russian Olympics, and Sochi games, leaving his nation without a competitor in the sport. He underwent surgery later which fixed his back.

By 2014, Plushenko had had over twelve surgeries due to injuries.

5. Multitalented

Evgeni Plushenko, singer Dima Bilan, and violinist Edvin Marton at the 2008 Eurovision – by Daniel Aragay –

Other than figure skating Evgeni has excelled in some other fields. For example, Hello Magazine had named him one of the most stylish men in Russia. Which is on his website.

Evgeni has also won accolades as a dancer. In the 2008 Eurovision, he joined singer Dima Bilan and violinist Edvin Marton. Together they put up a performance titled 鈥淏elieve鈥�. Evgeni was skating on stage during the performance. Russia went on to win that year鈥檚 Eurovision.

6. He Only Lost Twice Between 2002 and 2006

Between the two Olympics held in 2002 and 2006, Plushenko only lost in two competitions. A very impressive fete since he was competing with the best in the world.

The first loss came to Emanuel Sandhu during the Grand Prix final in 2004. The second loss was during the European Championships held in 2004. Here Plushenko lost to the Frenchman Brian Joubert.

The only other time Plushenko came close to losing other than the two was in 2003 at the World Championships. Evgeni engaged American Timothy Goebel in an entertaining and closely contested matchup. In the end, Evgeni came out on top.

7. Married Twice

Evgeni Plushenko, Yana Rudkovskaya, and their son – by Okras –

In a ceremony at the Hotel Astoria in Saint Petersburg on June 18, 2005, Plushenko married Maria Ermak, a sociology student at Saint Petersburg State University. On June 15, 2006, their son Egor Evgenievich (born Kristian) was born.

Their divorce was finalized in February 2008. Plushenko announced his engagement to Yana Rudkovskaya, the Russian musician Dima Bilan’s record producer, in August 2009. On September 12, 2009, they tied the knot. Alexander, their first son, was born in January 2013, and Arseniy, their second, was delivered in 2020.

8. One of the Most Decorated Athletes

Evgeni Plushenko(center) and fellow medalists at the 2006 Olympics – by Hektor –

Evgeni Plushenko has won many competitions in his career over the years. He has been the Russia National Champion ten times; 1999鈥�2002, 2004鈥�2006, 2010, and 2012鈥�2013.

Plushenko has lifted the Grand Prix final championship ten times. In 1999鈥�2000, 2000鈥�01, 2002鈥�03, and 2004鈥�05. Plushenko has won the European championships seven times; in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, and 2012.

Evgeni is also a three-time World Champion winning it in 2001, 2003, and 2004. The biggest of Accolades in his sport comes in the Olympics which Plushenko has won medals a total of four times. In 2002 and 2010 he won silver, in 2014 he won the team gold, and in 2006 he won gold.

9. He Had a Public Tantrum in 2010

At the 2010 Vancouver games, Evan Lysacek got one up on Plushenko. What followed was a tantrum from Plushenko that was as funny as it was embarrassing.

According to ESPN, Plushenko said, “If the Olympic champion doesn’t know how to jump a quad, I don’t know. Now it’s not men’s figure skating, now it’s dancing.” Plushenko was referring to a quadruple jump.

Later he would display a mock-up platinum medal next to his 2006 gold medal from Torino.

10. He Became a Coach After Retirement

In March 2017, Plushenko finally called it and ended his skating career. He immediately expressed interest in coaching and proceeded to open his skating school.

From 2017 he coached Adelina Sotnikova till she retired in 2020. Sotnikova was the 2014 Olympic champion. In his roaster, Plushenko has Ekaterina Ryabova, Alexandra Trusova, Anastasia Tarakanova, Serafima Sakhanovich, and Stanislava Konstantinova