“The Sochi bid for the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is not only a technically excellent bid, but hosting the Games will also leave a lasting legacy that is unprecedented in Olympic history. I hope that I am still competing at the highest level in 2014, so I can fulfil my dream of winning Olympic gold in Russia. The dream of Sochi 2014 is not only mine, but one of a nation ready to embrace Olympic values and demonstrate the new Russia to the rest of the world.“

Evgeny Plushenko is the reigning Olympic men’s figure skating champion after securing the gold medal at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Plushenko is also the three-time World Champion, five-time European Champion and six-time National Champion in his chosen discipline.

Plushenko started skating at the age of four and appeared on the international stage at a young age, winning the 1998 World Junior Championships as a 15-year-old and taking the bronze medal at the Senior World Championships the same year.

At the age of 16, Plushenko was the youngest male figure skater to receive a perfect score of 6.0. Before the new Code of Points scoring system was introduced, Plushenko had received a total of 70 6.0s. He now holds the world record under the new scoring system introduced at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Plushenko was born in Solnechny, Russia. He is married to Maria and has a young son, Kristian.

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