Russian Olympic figure skating champion Yevgeny Plushenko, who has not competed since January, is training twice a day and still wants to compete at the Sochi Olympics.
“I’m trying to compete,” Plushenko, the 2006 gold medalist, told R-Sport. “Only victory. I’m training and my goal is the Sochi Olympics, exactly that, and to compete. Not to be a spectator, but to compete.”
The 30-year-old is trying to return from a back injury and win a medal at a fourth straight Olympics.
Russia only earned one men’s figure skating spot at the Olympics, but the coach of one of Plushenko’s top competitors for the berth recently said Plushenko will be given the spot if healthy.
Plushenko is entered in the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, a Grand Prix event from Nov. 22-24. The Russian National Championships are in December, though the winner there is not guaranteed to be given the Olympic spot.
Should he get to Sochi, Plushenko will have two chances to become the second figure skater to win four career Olympic medals. He has the singles event and the new team event, where Russia figures to vie with the United States, Canada and Japan for gold.
Plushenko’s rival from the 2010 Olympics, American Evan Lysacek, is also training for a comeback. Lysacek has not competed since winning gold at the 2010 Games and pulled out of last weekend’s Skate America with a hip injury.
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