Plushenko starts comeback strong at Rostelecom, Pang-Tong lead short program

Plushenko, Chinese take early leads at Rostelecom

MOSCOW — Evgeni Plushenko began his comeback attempt with characteristic skill and boldness at the Rostelecom Cup, landing a clean quad-triple combination Friday.

But a few second later, Plushenko showed that he’s still short of the discipline that made him the Olympic champion, losing focus and doubling a planned triple lutz.

“I got a little relaxed, I felt like I had done everything” after the opening jumps, Plushenko admitted.

The lapse hardly mattered. Plushenko won the short program, finishing well ahead of his challengers in his first international competition since winning the gold medal at the Turin Olympics.

In the pairs competition, former world champions Pang Qing and Tong Jian won the short program, opening a solid lead over Russia’s Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov and Americans Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker.

Plushenko finished with 82.25 points, almost seven ahead of Japan’s Takahiko Kozuka going into Friday’s free skate.

Kozuka didn’t try a quad in his speedy, stylish and loud program to the feedback-drenched guitar music of Jimi Hendrix. But his landings were as precise as Plushenko’s and the calculated audacity of his music choice underlined how the once-punky Plushenko has become, at 26, almost a sedate elder.

After finishing second at the Salt Lake City Games, Plushenko dominated figure skating for the next four years. He won two more world titles — he has three total — and claimed the top spot at every competition he entered in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

With no more titles left to win after taking the gold in Turin, Plushenko stepped away from skating. He decided last year to return — not deterred by the fact no Olympic champion has repeated since Dick Button in 1948 and ‘52.

“Somebody had asked me why I was coming back because I already had everything. I have money, I am famous … maybe I keep wanting to think I am very young,” Plushenko said.

American Johnny Weir was in third after struggling through his opening jumps, doubling the second half of a planned triple-triple combination and putting a hand down on his triple axel.

“I’m disappointed … but I can overcome these barriers,” said Weir, who skated in what was, for him, a conservative outfit: black, with a plunging neckline and hot pink stitching.

Compatriot Brandon Mroz was the only other entrant aiming for a quad, but he fell and the rest of his mambo-themed program frayed, leaving him in last place.

Pang and Tong’s program was distinguished by a soaring triple twist, but they were significantly out of synch on their opening triple toe loop and ended the day less than pleased.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t our best today,” Pang said. “It wasn’t too good and we had a mistake on the side-by-side jump.”

The Russians and Americans were much happier. The two pairs are separated by less than three-tenths of a point heading into the free skate.

“A little slow, a little shaky, but overall a good way to start,” Brubaker said.

Especially since it was their first competition with new coach John Nicks. McLaughlin and Brubaker, winners of the last two U.S. titles, made the switch after a disappointing showing at worlds in March.

Kavaguti fell on the opening triple toe loop, but Smirnov took it all in stride.

“We got to show our new choreography, our new music. A little bit didn’t succeed,” he said.

In ice dance, American champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White took a strong five-point lead after compulsories, followed by Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy and Russia’s Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer. The couples return to the ice later Friday for the original dance.

The Rostelecom Cup, previously known as Cup of Russia, is the second of six events in the International Skating Union’s Grand Prix series.