Evgeny Plushenko won his ninth Russian title this week in his competitive comeback. He is still nursing a knee injury but plans to compete at the European championships. Plushenko landed a quad toe loop in the free skate but it doesn't sound like the greatest performance. Still, he was victorious.
"Frankly speaking I almost forgot how to compete," Plushenko, the 2006 Olympic champion, said.
"I'm still on the way to my top form and there's plenty of work to do for it. I'm happy to win my ninth Russia title and now I will start my preparations for the European championships."
Plushenko, returning to amateur competitions after his 2010 Vancouver disappointment, added that he would have to undergo surgery on his left leg after next month's European championships in Sheffield.
"I will have an operation on my leg after the European championships -- I will be completely ready for the event," he said.
Meanwhile, Adelina Sotnikova was in first after the ladies short program, followed by Ksenia Makarova and Julia Lipnitskaia.Sofia Biryukova is in fourth place, while Alena Leonova botched her triple/triple to place fifth. Elena Rodionova is in sixth, and Elizaveta Tuktamisheva has lost her magic it appears, for she is in seventh place.