In their heyday, Yevgeny Plushenko (41) and Alexei Yagudin (44) were irreconcilable rivals. Russian figure skating legends collected one success after another and often fought among themselves for gold medals. However, their rivalry has faded over the years and the former has now appreciated the lifelong work of his older colleague.
Although both Russian veterans were trained by the famous coach Alexei Mishin, there has always been a huge rivalry and even hatred between them. To a large extent, this was due to the fact that in their time they belonged to the absolute top of figure skating and several times deprived each other of valuable medals. Their most legendary fight then took place at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where Jagudin won the gold medal and left Plushenko behind.
Since then, the relationship between them has been very strained, and after their end in professional sports, they often poked fun at each other through the media and social networks. Three years ago, for example, Jagudin shared a video from the World Cup in Stockholm, in which Plushenko often fixes his hair, and scolded him for caring more about his hairstyle than his wards.
But now the tables have turned and it seems that the two Olympic champions are slowly finding common ground. Three-time world champion Yevgeny Plushenko recently called Yagudin a role model not only for athletes, but also for all other people, surprising the public. “Woman, thank you very much, finally something nice. I’ve always admired what you’ve accomplished in sports. I’m glad you finally appreciated it.” Yagudin responded to Plushenko’s kind words.
Yagudin (center) and Plushenko (left) buried the hatchet
Topics: figure skating, Russia, Olympic Games, rivalry, blitz sport, model, world champions, Stockholm, Yevgeny Plushenko, Salt Lake City, Alexei Yagudin, Alexei Mishin
