The son of propagandist Yevgeny Plushenko failed his short program at the Junior Grand Prix
13-year-old Russian figure skater Alexander Plushenko had a disappointing performance at the Junior Grand Prix in Ankara. After the short program, he was in 16th place.
Thanks to nepotism (his father, Evgeni Plushenko, is a multiple Olympic champion in figure skating), Alexander Plushenko has been gradually climbing the ranks of his athletic career. At first, he performed in ice shows alongside his father, and later his father even tried to push him onto the Russian national team. However, the Russians found Plushenko Jr. completely unsuitable due to his lack of skating skills, which led to the decision for him to compete for Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan, known for funding the “import” of athletes from other countries, accepted the offer and welcomed the 13-year-old figure skater. This came as no surprise, since the leader of the Azerbaijani senior team is Russian Vladimir Litvintsev, and the former top skater in women’s figure skating was Ekaterina Ryabova.
However, by the time of the Grand Prix, it had become quite clear why Plushenko Jr. had been rejected in Russia. Even considering his very young age, everything went haywire for the former Russian skater. He “caught a butterfly” on his axel (he landed a double axel instead of a triple because he opened up too early in the air), and the jump itself turned out so poorly due to an 180-degree under-rotation that he received a mere 0.57 points for the entire element instead of the usual three or four points. He also under-rotated the second jump in the “triple flip–triple toe loop” combination, and his step sequences and spins were executed at a low second- or third-level quality.
As a result, Alexander Plushenko scored 57.12 points thanks to a generous gift from the judges in the form of decent marks for skating technique and presentation. This allowed him to finish only in a modest 16th place.
As a reminder, Plyushchenko’s son is facing the possibility of being stripped of his Russian citizenship due to his decision to compete for Azerbaijan.
Thirteen-year-old Russian figure skater Alexander Plushenko, the son of two-time Olympic champion and Kremlin supporter Evgeni Plushenko, has received official permission to represent Azerbaijan at international competitions.
Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko commented on his 13-year-old son Alexander’s move to the Azerbaijani national team. The athlete, who is known for his support of the Kremlin’s policies and the war against Ukraine, explained the reasons behind this decision to pro-Kremlin media outlets.
