Wife's nagging drove Plushenko to seek more gold

Published>Fri, Jan 22 10 06:29 AM

Yevgeny Plushenko has it all -- a full complement of titles, pots of cash and, most importantly, a nagging wife.

If it had not been for wife Jana telling him to get his skates on, the Russian may never have returned to the ice to defend his Olympic crown in Vancouver next month.

"My wife kept going on about it," the 27-year-old told reporters after winning European gold on Thursday when asked what had made him consider a comeback.

"It is a great feeling the competition, I hadn't had enough of it."

Plushenko said during his three-and-a-half years away from competition he had kept an eye on the pretenders to his throne, adding that it was unbelievable that skaters had become world champions in his absence without performing a quadruple jump.

His return seems to have pushed the rest of the field into putting the tricky jumps into their routines.

"I was really glad that today people were doing two quads, maybe they understood that you need a quad to win. My task next time is to do two quads," said Plushenko, who has six European and three world gold medals as well as the Olympic gold.

"The most important competition is still to come, the Olympic Games. There the fight will be very hard."

When asked what the main differences between the Plushenko of 2006 and today were, the Russian quickly fired out a list.

"I have everything right now. I have all titles, I have money, I have a great wife, the best one," he said.

"My spins are much better, my steps are much better and I feel much better, that's the difference."

Another man making his comeback and also eyeing Olympic success is Stephane Lambiel, who won the silver with a routine oozing charm and dizzying spins.

While Plushenko spoke of the need for quad jumps, Swiss Lambiel emphasised the artistic aspect of the sport.

"People come to see a show as much as a competition," the twice world champion and 2006 Olympic silver medallist said.

"You must show your emotion, you must express the music, that's what I like about the sport."

With France's Brian Joubert winning the bronze, the podium lineup was the same as at the 2006 Europeans. Joubert is hoping that is not a sign of things to come.

"I hope it's not going to be the same thing for the Olympics, I don't want to be sixth again," he said after Thursday's mistake-ridden performance, which he put down to a lack of confidence.

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