Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko wins 7th European figure skating title

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko produced a career-best performance Saturday, Jan 28, to beat protégé Artur Gachinski and win his seventh men's European figure skating title.

The 2006 Olympic champion put together a compelling routine to "Tango de Roxanne" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack and scored a personal-best 176.52 points in the free skate for a total of 261.23 - Plushenko's highest ever overall mark.

His breathtaking display included a perfectly judged quadruple jump - an exploit he claimed he couldn't perform this week because of injuries to his left knee and back, The Associated Press reported.

"I did a little bit of history in figure skating today," an overjoyed Plushenko said.

The 18-year-old Gachinski led his mentor, idol and training partner by 0.09 points after the short program but finished 14.96 points behind in second with 246.27. Gachinski, the bronze medalist from last year's worlds, scored 161.47 points in his free skate for a 246.27 total.

Defending champion Florent Amodio of France rallied from fifth place to take the bronze with an overall score of 234.18, ahead of Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic (153.17).