Sochi: Plushenko in Pain but 'Going to Compete' in Individual Event

SOCHI, February 9 (R-Sport) - Russia's now two-time Olympic champion Evgeny Plushenko says he felt pain during a routine that helped his country to gold in the inaugural team figure skating event, but that he will be able to compete in the individual event later in the Games.

Plushenko, 31, said he made a few mistakes in his winning free program at the Iceberg Skating Palace on Sunday but they were down to back pain.

'I felt a bit of pain in my back after the first Salchow, that is maybe why I made the mistakes and did doubles,' he said, in reference to two jumps that were supposed to be triples.

That won't stop the Turin 2006 champion shooting for a third Olympic medal, he insisted.

'I'm going to compete. I want to skate. I want to skate my best performance,' Plushenko said.

Plushenko said last year that he planned to skate only the team event and skip the individuals in Sochi, but a substitute is only allowed in case of injury. He subsequently announced that he would compete in both events.

Plushenko sealed the Russia's only men's singles Olympic place with a test skate for Russian skating officials behind closed doors that followed a fifth-place disappointment for his challenger, Maxim Kovtun, at last month's European championships. Plushenko missed the event to focus on training.

On Sunday, the team gold was secured with Plushenko's free program after Canada faltered in the following women's event, making the host nation uncatchable in the standings.

With the gold already in the bag, 15-year-old prodigy Julia Lipnitskaia produced a second flawless skate of the week to win the women's segment. The ice dance was under way later Sunday.