http://www.bucharestherald.com/city-life/4...evin-in-romania 29/03/2010Plushenko: I'm working on new steps and promise an unforgettable show... I can hardly wait to return to RomaniaFormer Olympic champion and current vice-champion in Vancouver, Evgeni Plushenko is preparing an unforgettable show with a series of new steps for the Kings On Ice: Olympic Tour performance that will be held in the capital's Mihai Flamaropol Skating Rink on April 11. Plushenko says the surgery he will undergo at the end of May will not affect his Bucharest performance in any way.
"I am working on a series of new steps and I promise to all those who will be present an unforgettable show! Regardless of my presence or absence from some competitions, my main mission continues to be that of skating in order to make those around me happy," Plushenko said.
The famous skater says that to him, skating means first of all the joy of giving and adds that he can hardly wait to return to Bucharest. "I skate for people, not for prizes. They give me all the energy that I need and this is why I want to offer them in return everything better in me, every time! I can hardly wait to return to Romania and meet once again all those who supported me in these difficult times. For them, I will skate and offer an exceptional show on ice!" Plushenko added.
Plushenko's comments come only a few days after the "czar" of world skating announced he will take a small break from competitions this year to recover, at doctors' orders. At the end of May, he will undergo surgery.
"The show that the athlete has prepared for Romania will be a true premiere, not only through its new artistic program and the exceptional choreography, but also through the fact that Evgeni will be joined in the capital by 15 of the world's best skaters at the moment," said Raluca Popescu, general manager of event organizer Amphitrion.
In his 14-year career, Plushenko won no less than 50 gold medals
(55 by our count! 
) in 76 competitions, practically writing figure skating history with the delicacy and complexity of his moves, taking skating techniques to a new level and earning unanimous praise from both critics and the audience. His talent was rewarded both by fans' applause and by juries, as over the years, he was named world champion three times, Grand Prix winner four times, European champion six times and winner of the Russian National Skating Championship seven times.
(8 times! 
)
Does this mean, that figure skaters can't do shows at all, if they want to compete?
.. or in my folder on medifire:
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