Plushenko finds feet on Sochi ice
Russian figure skating star Yevgeny Plushenko landed a quad but was tightlipped as he found his feet on the ice in Sochi for the first time on Wednesday, a day before his Olympic challenge begins. "Everything's good. We'll see you tomorrow," said Plushenko briefly, as the 31-year-old left the rink after going through sections of his short programme. Plushenko was relaxed as he warmed up rinkside for an hour before taking to the ice, looking at home as he was greeted by coaches, including 1992 Olympic champion Viktor Petrenko, and fans. Skating to Tango De Roxanne from the "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack he focused on his spins and jumps as he practiced alongside Japanese skaters -- Yuzuru Hanyu and Tatsuki Machida -- with Olympic bronze medallist Daisuke Takahashi missing the session. The 2006 Olympic champion landed a quadruple toeloop jump and triple axel and toeloop combinations. Plushenko took time to appraise Grand Prix final winner Hanyu, a gold medal favourite alongside Patrick Chan and applauded the teenager on his quad jump in his free skate to Nino Rota's Romeo and Juliet. The three-time Olympic medallist then practised some spins before he put on his vest, skated around a little more and left the ice. He was the first of the men to leave the rink. Coach Alexei Mishin said: "This was our first practice, it went according to plan. "The day off was dedicated to other things. It was the first practice, and it was positive." After his own session, Hanyu said: "Plushenko is my hero. I was so proud to be skating with him." "The Japan team is strong -- especially the men. I will do my best for Japan and I hope we can get a medal." Machida however fell during his practice routine. "I really slammed both of my knees. I couldn't move for a second there, but I'm fine. I've iced it down." But he insisted he would be ready for the team competition if needed. "I'm likely skating the free," said Machina. "It's an important competition, but I'm not treating it any differently than the other events." Chan, the reigning three-time world champion, had also looked strong as the Canadian practiced in an earlier group. Plushenko will represent Russia in the men's short programme in the team event starting on Thursday. Germany's Peter Liebers also shared the ice with the Russian star. "He is quite a big deal here in Russia," commented the German amid the scrum of journalists.
