Russian Skater Evgeni Plushenko Leads 2010 Men's Olympic Skating After Short Program, American Evan Lysacek on His Heels in Second

Russia'sEvgeni Plushenko, 26, the reigning gold medallist, came out of retirement because he missed competing. In an interview, he said he wanted to "be like Dick Button," who got back-to-back gold medals in 1948 and 1952, a record that still stands. Plushenko is an excellent jumper. He did complete a quad/triple combination, and both of his triple axels and a triple lutz. However, his quad/triple combo landing was a bit slow, and the triple axel and lutz landings were just a tad shaky. As intricate as Plushenko's footwork and dancing is, he is still only a level 2 of 3. He went on to complete his footwork and spins, with a lot of directional change, which the judges like, and a lot of arm movements that may or may not have helped. He is mesmerizing to watch, as Dick Button says, "He commands you to look at him." His score of 90.85 put him in first place going into the free skate.

USA's Evan Lysacek, 2009 World Champion and winner of the 2009 Grand Prix, is right behind Plushenko, with a 90.30. Lysachek took the ice with a contagious energy. He nailed his opening triple axel, as well as his combination triple lutz/toeloop and triple flip. Coming off a left foot injury, after landing his jumps, it was obvious that it was all downhill from there. His footwork was exquisite and he skated to a dramatic finish.

Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, the 2007 World silver medallist, who missed all last season with torn ligaments, says he doesn't need a quad. He opened with a triple flip/toeloop, went right into his triple axel and a huge triple lutz, all of which he landed sweet. His skill, dance ability and choreography showed in his footwork and spins, and his personality radiated from the ice. He is right on Lysacek's heels with a 90.25.

Japan's Nobunari Oda, the 2009 Japanese champion, is the 17th descendant of Nobunaga Oda, the 14th century warlord who is the inspiration for the Super Nintendo game, "Nobunaga's Ambition." Oda's opening triple axel/axel combination was huge and he got tremendous height on his jumps. He flew into his triple lutz/toeloop, and his triple flip, and he landed softly and with ease. He seemed to struggle with the footwork sequences, and his spins could have been faster, but he made no mistakes, grabbing fourth place with a score of 84.85.

Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel is the two-time World Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist in 2006. He is considered a "skaters skater," and is very romantic looking. His problem is that he can't do a triple axel, and makes up for it with a quad. He landed his opening double axel/axel combination, but on his quad/triple combination, he two-foot landed his quad and doubled his toeloop. The rest of his program went smoothly, and he is considered the best spinner in competition. His footwork was excellent and he presented with emotion. I thought Weir was better, but Lambiel's score of 84.63 puts him in fifth place.

USA's Johnny Weir's roomie, Tanith Belbin, has made him the envy of every man in America. But he wasn't thinking about that as he skated a short program as close to perfect as possible. He pulled off his opening triple lutz/toeloop, nailed his triple axel and but had to hung onto his triple flip. His footwork sequences highlighted his dance ability and his choreography was entertaining as he played to the audience, right to the little kiss he blew them. He ended with what seemed like an eternal spin. There were a few boos heard when his 82.10 score was announced, but he evidently lost two points on his triple flip, and one announcer said he needs more transitions in his step sequences. He is in sixth place.

Canadian Patrick Chan is the World silver medallist. He moved out of the Olympic Village because he said he couldn't sleep. He put on a very good performance, but a few little mistakes cost him. He fell out of his opening triple axel combination, but nailed his triple flip/toeloop and lutz. He excelled on footwork, travelling in the opposite direction than the other skaters, which is more difficult. His spins were good, but he fell out one during a footwork sequence. Finally, he ended after his music. His skate was good enough to land him an 81.12, which puts him in seventh place.

USA's Jeremy Abbott had a heartbreaking and disastrous night. He hit his opening triple flip/flip, but singled his triple axel, double his triple lutz. While his footwork flowed, and the rest of his program was error free, his score of 69.40 puts him in 15th place and out of medal contention. Chan's Canadian teammate, Vaughn Chipeur, 25, the Canadian silver medallist, was another contender who had a heartbreaking skate. He fell on his first jump, and turned a triple/triple combination into a triple/double, and slipped on his footwork. He scored a disappointing 57.22, ending in 24th place.

I hope Abbott and Chipeur go out for a beer or two (or three, or four....).

More Olympic Stories from this author:
China Takes Gold Medal; 2010 Olympic Figure Skating Schedule and List of American Skaters; China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo in First Place After Olympic Skating Pairs Short Program; U.S. Olympic Ice Skaters Tanith Belbin and Johnny Weir Sharing Olympic Village Quarters; The 2010 Winter Olympic Medals Design; Winter Olympians from Philadelphia Area; Philadelphia Area Olympic Ice Skaters; 100,000 Condoms to be Distributed at 2010 Olympics in Vancouver
Sources: NBC-TV 10 Philadelphia; Men's Short Program results