TRANSLATING FROM ITALIAN TO ENGLISH:
The return of Plushenko
The sex symbol of figure skatingRussian, 26 years old, gold medalist at Turin, three times world champion, had decided to come back to the competitions, after three years off ice.
His wish is to win the next Winter Olympic Games at Vancouver.
Written by: MATTIA CHIUSANO
Translated from italian by: ADELA SAVICCORTONA – Already, there are no doubts.
Evgeni Plushenko, Baryshnikov of figure skating, had decide to come back to the competitions after three years off ice,
to win, for the second time, the Olympic Games, like he already did, at Turin 2006, when he delighted the whole World dancing the “Godfather”.
The notice has been given by him personally, during the time when, in Russian his name was already scheduled for the pre-selection for the Olympic at Vancouver.
“I am training for the competitions during the next Olympic Games”, he said in Italy (“Italy is my second home country, I do love everything from you”), at Valdichiana, where he received the award "Fair Play Mecenate" in very suggestive scenography.
At the central square of this little Middle Ages’s city, he came down the stairs covered by artificial snow – and we are in middle of the summer time - for being awarded at the very original way, never seen before.
He was in the middle of the legends like Toni Sailer, Franco Nones, Gustavo Thoeni, Bernhard Russi, Marc Girardelli, Armin Zoeggeler.
After the show of the Queen of the figure skating, Katarina Witt, matronly but always beautiful, Plushenko seems so little and so shy in the front of her, even if he won Olympic medal and three world champion titles.
“I am here, one like anyone, in the middle of these champions”, Plushenko said.
But this shyness is only appear, for an authentic personality of the scenes, relaxed, dongiovani. He is a sex symbol, thanks to his superb way of skating, and his particularly attraction.
At the Saint’s Valentine day, last year, he announced his divorce from student Maria Ermak, at his web site he wrote: “ I have a good news for all Russian girls without boyfriend: the superstar and the most desirable 25 years old, athlete of figure skating Evgeni Plushenko is finally divorced”.
His ex wife had a fosterage for their son, and he conserved an luxury apartment at Sant Peterburg, the gift of Putin for the Olympic gold at Turin 2006.
The “liberty” of Plushenko, in reality, has been quite short – in his life there is Iana Rudkovskaya, the famous manager of pop singers. At Cortona Evgeni said that, together with Yana, he decided to return to the International Stages and that they will be married next September 12th.
This seems to be very important year for Plushenko, who will “play” in lots of “playgrounds”, after living in the memory of his fans (and not only) like the best skater of the last generations.
His fans, but also the people who had assisted at world vision of the final Olympic competition 2006, remembered his incredible sequence of the jumps, quand then triple jumps, everything executed with an agility of the classic dancer.
When the sport is finishing, and when the art begins?, there was the question of that evening at Turin, the same question which was in the air during his exhibitions and after his victory at three world championships.
Today Plushenko is 26 years old and he is considered like a veteran, but he does a quad jumps – even if he must verifies the stamina of his knees after a chirurgic intervention at 2007.
He continues to have fans (specially women) in every part of the world.
In Sweden he’s doing one series of the publicity for multinational company, in Italy he authorized one web site semi – half official dedicated to him (
www.evgeniplushenko. it/) and he is going to train at Pinzolo.
During these three years, he made lots of shows and artistic exhibitions on ice: he danced with a music of violin Stradivari, once upon a time possessed by Paganini.
But inside himself, he feels like a champions, like an athlete.“I am not a clown”, he said at Cortona, when he was invited to improvise, without skate boots, a few of his famous steps.
“I am not a clown, instead of it it’s better to come to see me at Vancouver!”
(3th July 2009)
Edited by rainisland - 3/7/2009, 23:04
