We really should to open topic: "Other people/skaters talk about Plushy"
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http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article. ... y=ice_news
By Lynn Rutherford, special to icenetwork.com
The Final word: Miller, Wagner do their own thing
Men's medalists talk about possibility of facing Plushenko down the line
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Plushenko absent but not forgotten
Evgeni Plushenko has not competed this fall. His presence, though, was acknowledged in Sochi, at least by the press corps.
At the men's press conference, all three medalists were asked about the possibility of competing against the 2006 Olympic champion at the Iceberg Skating Palace at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
"He is a bit of a dark horse in this big race," gold medalist Daisuke Takahashi said. "It's a bit scary. He's going to be 31, and he's been at the front line for how long? (Plushenko won his first European medal in 1998.) He always overcomes all these barriers. I will be 27 when the Sochi Olympics come around. I'm looking forward to it if he will kindly accept me as a rival."
"I partly started skating because of Plushenko," Yuzuru Hanyu, 18, said. "I would love to skate with him, but at the same time, I don't want to skate with him. I hope that I will be strong enough to compete against him."
"Plushenko is a unique situation," Patrick Chan said. "Plushenko is the odd duck in the group. He always comes prepared. Plushenko is always a challenge."
The question hit a bit closer to home with Javier Fernández, who may square off against Plushenko next month at the 2013 European Figure Skating Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. Although he was considered a medal favorite at Europeans last season, the Spaniard placed sixth, while Plushenko won his seventh crown.
"It is true I'm the only European [men's single] skater at the Grand Prix Final, but it doesn't make me the favorite to win Europeans," he said. "Last season, I was the only European to skate at the Grand Prix Final, and then I couldn't make the podium at the Europeans. If [Plushenko] competes, he will definitely be one of the favorites there, if not the favorite. He is still hard to beat. He is still a star, probably forever."
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