Figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Individual	men	ladies
Pairs	mixed
Ice dancing	mixed

The three medalists.

Men's single skating was contested during the figure skating events at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

This individual event was structured in a similar manner to the pairs event, with a short program and a free skate. 30 skaters entered the short program, but only the top 24 competitors continued to the free skate.

The clear favorite before the competition was three-time world champion Evgeny Plushenko, who withdrew from the 2005 World Championships due to injury. Reigning world champion Stéphane Lambiel was considered Plushenko's main competition for the gold. Other notable competitors coming into the event included Canadians Jeffrey Buttle (the reigning world silver medalist) and Emanuel Sandhu, France's Brian Joubert, Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, and the strong American team of Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek (reigning world bronze medalist), and Matt Savoie.

Short Program

The Men's short program took place on February 14. Plushenko took the early lead after the short program. He set a new personal best (also the world record) score with a massive 90.66 points, over 10 points ahead of Weir, who finished in second with 80.00 points. Lambiel doubled his planned triple Axel but still ended up in third place with a score of 79.04 points, less than a point behind Weir. Joubert was fourth in the short program with 77.77 points, followed by Takahashi and Buttle with 73.77 and 73.29 points respectively. Buttle and fellow Canadian Sandhu, who ranked seventh, both had trouble with their jumps, but their high program component scores kept them in contention for medals. Savoie had a solid skate to finish eighth, while teammate Lysacek fell on his triple Axel and doubled his triple flip to finish a disappointing tenth in this phase of the competition.

Free Skate

In the free skate, completed on February 16, Plushenko set another world record by garnering 167.67 points for his free program. He started his program off with quad-triple-double and had only one flaw, doubling his triple flip. He finished with the highest technical and program component scores of the night.

Despite struggling with his jumps in his free skate (completing no triple Axels), Lambiel's opening quad combination and exquisite spins kept him in second overall, though he finished only fourth in the free skate. Buttle's free skate, although marred by a fall on his quad attempt, had the second highest program components scores which helped to finish him second in the free skate and third overall. Joubert had a crowd-pleasing free skate but made several jump errors and finished a disappointing seventh in the free skate, sixth overall.

The Americans got off to a strong start in the free skate led by Lysacek. He skated his best free of the year and landed two triple Axels, getting 152.28 points. This was the third best free of the night and a huge improvement from his short, moving him up to fourth overall. Weir omitted his planned quad toe and only had one jump combination, which left him short on technical content and in sixth place in the free skate. Overall, he finished right behind Lysacek in fifth. Savoie had a solid skate with gorgeous transitions and jumps, though he doubled his two final planned triples to finish fifth in the free and seventh overall.

Takahashi skated fairly strongly in his free but was penalized in the marking for repeating too many jumps and underrotating others. He finished ninth in the free and eighth overall. Belgium's Kevin van der Perren made huge leaps in the free with 132.03 points and moving up from thirteenth in the short to ninth overall. Sandhu, on the other hand, fell apart in his free skate, falling twice and popping a couple of jumps. His high program component scores couldn't keep him in the top ten. He finished thirteenth overall.

Results

Short program

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS	TES	PCS	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Deduction	StN
1	Plushenko, EvgeniEvgeni Plushenko	Russia	90.66	49.69	40.97	8.29	7.82	8.29	8.25	8.32	0	#02
2	Weir, JohnnyJohnny Weir	United States	80.00	40.99	39.01	7.86	7.64	7.79	7.79	7.93	0	#13
3	Lambiel, StéphaneStéphane Lambiel	Switzerland	79.04	40.61	38.43	7.79	7.50	7.68	7.64	7.82	0	#11
4	Joubert, BrianBrian Joubert	France	77.77	40.59	37.18	7.57	7.11	7.57	7.36	7.57	0	#23
5	Takahashi, DaisukeDaisuke Takahashi	Japan	73.77	38.45	35.32	7.21	6.86	7.04	7.07	7.14	0	#01
6	Buttle, JeffreyJeffrey Buttle	Canada	73.29	37.01	37.28	7.46	7.39	7.36	7.46	7.61	1	#05
7	Sandhu, EmanuelEmanuel Sandhu	Canada	69.75	33.00	37.75	7.57	7.36	7.50	7.50	7.82	1	#30
8	Savoie, MatthewMatthew Savoie	United States	69.15	35.22	33.93	6.89	6.68	6.79	6.75	6.82	0	#22
9	Chiper, GheorgheGheorghe Chiper	Romania	67.66	37.12	30.54	6.29	5.82	6.14	6.04	6.25	0	#08
10	Lysacek, EvanEvan Lysacek	United States	67.55	33.80	34.75	7.07	6.68	7.00	6.96	7.04	1	#26
11	Zhang, MinZhang Min	China	67.39	36.29	31.10	6.50	5.93	6.21	6.21	6.25	0	#14
12	Sawyer, ShawnShawn Sawyer	Canada	67.20	35.02	32.18	6.50	6.29	6.46	6.39	6.54	0	#03
13	Van Der Perren, KevinKevin Van Der Perren	Belgium	65.36	33.50	32.86	6.61	6.36	6.68	6.50	6.71	1	#18
14	Davydov, SergeiSergei Davydov	Belarus	64.65	35.58	29.07	6.04	5.61	5.82	5.71	5.89	0	#15
15	Dinev, IvanIvan Dinev	Bulgaria	63.64	34.29	29.35	6.18	5.64	5.82	5.82	5.89	0	#06
16	Kovalevski, AntonAnton Kovalevski	Ukraine	63.41	33.95	29.46	6.07	5.64	5.93	5.86	5.96	0	#21
17	Pfeifer, ViktorViktor Pfeifer	Austria	62.17	34.28	27.89	5.71	5.43	5.61	5.50	5.64	0	#10
18	Klimkin, IliaIlia Klimkin	Russia	61.61	29.90	31.71	6.57	6.21	6.29	6.32	6.32	0	#27
19	Dambier, FrédéricFrédéric Dambier	France	61.17	30.48	31.69	6.54	6.11	6.29	6.32	6.43	1	#09
20	Lindemann, StefanStefan Lindemann	Germany	60.52	27.94	32.58	6.68	6.36	6.43	6.57	6.54	0	#19
21	Li, ChengjiangLi Chengjiang	China	60.23	30.55	30.68	6.46	6.00	6.04	6.14	6.04	1	#04
22	Verner, TomasTomas Verner	Czech Republic	59.71	30.25	29.46	6.04	5.64	5.89	5.89	6.00	0	#16
23	Berntsson, KristofferKristoffer Berntsson	Sweden	59.55	31.34	28.21	5.89	5.43	5.57	5.61	5.71	0	#07
24	Toth, ZoltanZoltan Toth	Hungary	55.07	29.67	25.40	5.29	4.86	5.07	5.00	5.18	0	#29
25	Zelenka, KarelKarel Zelenka	Italy	53.46	27.96	26.50	5.50	5.11	5.32	5.25	5.32	1	#25
26	Zivanovic, TrifunTrifun Zivanovic	Serbia and Montenegro	53.40	29.44	23.96	5.04	4.57	4.71	4.82	4.82	0	#12
27	Othman, JamalJamal Othman	Switzerland	52.18	24.46	27.72	5.71	5.36	5.54	5.50	5.61	0	#17
28	Murvanidze, VakhtangVakhtang Murvanidze	Georgia	49.68	24.32	26.36	5.50	5.00	5.29	5.21	5.36	1	#20
29	Urbas, GregorGregor Urbas	Slovenia	46.48	20.28	26.20	5.46	5.07	5.25	5.21	5.21	0	#28
30	Han, Jong InHan Jong In	North Korea	42.11	19.50	22.61	4.75	4.29	4.57	4.50	4.50	0	#24

Free skating

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS	TES	PCS	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Deduction	StN
1	Plushenko, EvgeniEvgeni Plushenko	Russia	167.67	85.25	82.42	8.46	7.75	8.39	8.18	8.43	0	#19
2	Buttle, JeffreyJeffrey Buttle	Canada	154.30	76.80	78.50	7.79	7.75	7.82	7.89	8.00	1	#22
3	Lysacek, EvanEvan Lysacek	United States	152.58	78.24	74.34	7.50	7.14	7.50	7.46	7.57	0	#13
4	Lambiel, StéphaneStéphane Lambiel	Switzerland	152.17	76.89	76.28	7.75	7.39	7.54	7.64	7.82	1	#20
5	Savoie, MatthewMatthew Savoie	United States	137.52	65.80	71.72	7.25	7.00	7.11	7.21	7.29	0	#14
6	Weir, JohnnyJohnny Weir	United States	136.63	61.27	75.36	7.75	7.25	7.50	7.57	7.61	0	#21
7	Joubert, BrianBrian Joubert	France	135.12	62.54	73.58	7.54	7.11	7.32	7.36	7.46	1	#23
8	Van Der Perren, KevinKevin Van Der Perren	Belgium	132.03	66.01	66.02	6.75	6.36	6.68	6.54	6.68	0	#10
9	Takahashi, DaisukeDaisuke Takahashi	Japan	131.12	58.82	73.30	7.54	7.14	7.25	7.36	7.36	1	#24
10	Klimkin, IliaIlia Klimkin	Russia	130.19	65.97	65.22	6.75	6.29	6.50	6.57	6.50	1	#7
11	Zhang, MinZhang Min	China	128.88	65.16	63.72	6.75	6.00	6.36	6.39	6.36	0	#17
12	Sawyer, ShawnShawn Sawyer	Canada	123.63	55.13	68.50	6.89	6.71	6.86	6.86	6.93	0	#18
13	Li, ChengjiangLi Chengjiang	China	121.98	66.04	56.94	6.25	5.39	5.68	5.54	5.61	1	#3
14	Sandhu, EmanuelEmanuel Sandhu	Canada	120.49	52.27	70.22	7.21	6.86	6.82	7.11	7.11	2	#16
15	Verner, TomasTomas Verner	Czech Republic	120.36	63.14	57.22	5.96	5.50	5.68	5.68	5.79	0	#1
16	Davydov, SergeiSergei Davydov	Belarus	119.94	59.00	60.94	6.36	5.68	6.11	6.18	6.14	0	#9
17	Chiper, GheorgheGheorghe Chiper	Romania	118.53	54.23	64.30	6.61	6.25	6.36	6.43	6.50	0	#15
18	Dinev, IvanIvan Dinev	Bulgaria	116.47	57.97	58.50	6.14	5.57	5.79	5.86	5.89	0	#12
19	Dambier, FrédéricFrédéric Dambier	France	116.42	55.92	62.50	6.39	6.11	6.07	6.36	6.32	2	#6
20	Lindemann, StefanStefan Lindemann	Germany	112.05	51.05	62.00	6.43	5.96	6.11	6.25	6.25	1	#2
21	Kovalevski, AntonAnton Kovalevski	Ukraine	109.43	53.93	57.50	6.00	5.57	5.61	5.82	5.75	2	#11
22	Berntsson, KristofferKristoffer Berntsson	Sweden	102.40	48.32	56.08	5.75	5.50	5.50	5.68	5.61	2	#4
23	Pfeifer, ViktorViktor Pfeifer	Austria	101.70	45.26	57.44	5.79	5.57	5.75	5.79	5.82	1	#8
24	Toth, ZoltanZoltan Toth	Hungary	90.40	42.20	50.20	5.14	4.89	4.96	5.04	5.07	2	#5

Final standings

Rank	Name	Nation	Total Points	SP	FS
1	Plushenko, EvgeniEvgeni Plushenko	Russia	258.33	1	1
2	Lambiel, StéphaneStéphane Lambiel	Switzerland	231.21	3	4
3	Buttle, JeffreyJeffrey Buttle	Canada	227.59	6	2
4	Lysacek, EvanEvan Lysacek	United States	220.13	10	3
5	Weir, JohnnyJohnny Weir	United States	216.63	2	6
6	Joubert, BrianBrian Joubert	France	212.89	4	7
7	Savoie, MatthewMatthew Savoie	United States	206.67	8	5
8	Takahashi, DaisukeDaisuke Takahashi	Japan	204.89	5	9
9	van der Perren, KevinKevin van der Perren	Belgium	197.39	13	8
10	Zhang, MinZhang Min	China	196.27	11	11
11	Klimkin, IliaIlia Klimkin	Russia	191.80	18	10
12	Sawyer, ShawnShawn Sawyer	Canada	190.83	12	12
13	Sandhu, EmanuelEmanuel Sandhu	Canada	190.24	7	14
14	Chiper, GheorgheGheorghe Chiper	Romania	186.19	9	17
15	Davydov, SergeiSergei Davydov	Belarus	184.59	14	16
16	Li, ChengjiangLi Chengjiang	China	182.21	21	13
17	Dinev, IvanIvan Dinev	Bulgaria	180.11	15	18
18	Verner, TomášTomáš Verner	Czech Republic	180.07	22	15
19	Dambier, FrédéricFrédéric Dambier	France	177.59	19	19
20	Kovalevski, AntonAnton Kovalevski	Ukraine	172.84	16	21
21	Lindemann, StefanStefan Lindemann	Germany	172.57	20	20
22	Pfeifer, ViktorViktor Pfeifer	Austria	163.87	17	23
23	Berntsson, KristofferKristoffer Berntsson	Sweden	161.95	23	22
24	Tóth, ZoltánZoltán Tóth	Hungary	145.47	24	24
Did not advance to free skate
25	Zelenka, KarelKarel Zelenka	Italy	53.46	25
26	Zivanovic, TrifunTrifun Zivanovic	Serbia and Montenegro	53.40	26
27	Othman, JamalJamal Othman	Switzerland	52.18	27
28	Murvanidze, VakhtangVakhtang Murvanidze	Georgia	49.68	28
29	Urbas, GregorGregor Urbas	Slovenia	46.48	29
30	Han, Jong InHan Jong In	North Korea	42.11	30

Referee:

• Rita Zonnekeyn

Technical Controller:

• Fabio Bianchetti

Technical Specialist:

• Katerina Kamberska

Assistant Technical Specialist:

• Viktor Petrenko

Judges:

• Kenji Amako
• Hermann Schulz
• Mona Jonsson
• Patrick Ibens
• Alexander Penchev
• Raffaella Locatelli
• Jiang Yibing
• Nicolae Bellu
• Alexei Shirshov
• Philippe Meriguet
• Steve Winkler
• William Thompson

References

• 2006 Winter Olympics at the International Skating Union
• Men's Protocol
• http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/20060218_SKATEMENS_GRAPHIC/index.html