Russian figure skater Plushenko leads after short program
MOSCOW. February 17. KAZINFORM Russia's Evgeni Plushenko took the lead after the men's figure skating short program with 90.85 points, only 0.45 points less than his personal best; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
His closest rival, U.S. skater Evan Lysacek is only 0.55 points behind the Russian. Japan's Daisuke Takahashi is third, only 0.05 points behind Lysacek.
Another Russian skater, Artem Borodulin, scored his personal best of 72.24 points, and is now in 13th place.
Plushenko told journalists that he was "pleased" with his performance and his short program marks were "just."
"The free skating will certainly be a fight," he said.
Plushenko retired after winning the gold at the 2006 Turin Olympics in Italy with a virtuoso performance to Puccini's Tosca.
After an almost 3-year period of break, he took the gold of the 2010 European Figure Skating Championship in Estonia's Tallinn earlier this year; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.
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