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"Update, Feb. 13, 12:30 p.m. ET: Evgeny Plushenko officially retired shortly after withdrawing from the Winter Olympics in Sochi, The Associated Press reported. Original story below.\n\nRussian figure-skating legend Evgeny Plushenko withdrew from the Winter Olympics on Thursday night after injuring himself during warm-ups for the men's short program competition he was about to skate in. It likely marks the end of his storied career. \nThe move isn't a total surprise, however \u2014 Plushenko was known to be battling injuries entering the Sochi games after a career's worth of surgeries. He already won a gold medal in the team figure skating competition earlier this week and the men's contest's deep field of skaters meant medaling there would have been a stretch. \nSee also: Evgeni Plushenko Figure Skating to 'Pony' Heats Things Up\nNonetheless, Plushenko's withdrawal is a big deal, particularly in Russia, where he is among the host country's most famous athletes. The 31-year-old won the men's competition at the 2006 Olympics, is a three-time gold medalist in figure skating's world championships and a seven-time European figure skating champion. \nOn Thursday, he landed awkwardly while attempting a triple-axel in warm-ups. When he came on to the ice for his run in the men's short program he was visibly hampered. Instead of beginning his routine, he spoke to the referee, waved to the home fans and exited the ice. Russian fans rained bouquets of flowers down on the ice as a grimacing Plushenko conferred with coaches. \nThe men's figure skating competition consists of Thursday's short program, then Friday's longer free skate. The skater with the best combined score wins. \n\n\nFaces of Figure Skating\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYuzuru Hanyu of Japan.\n\nImage: Bernat Armangue/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYan Han of China.\n\nImage: Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYan Han of China.\n\nImage: Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvgeni Plushenko of Russia\n\nImage: Bernat Armangue/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMeagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada.\n\nImage: Bernat Armangue/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJeremy Abbott of the United States.\n\nImage: Bernat Armangue/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYakov Godorozha of Ukraine.\n\nImage: Bernat Armangue/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France.\n\nImage: Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFlorent Amodio of France.\n\nImage: Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPeter Liebers of Germany.\n\nImage: Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMeagan Duhamel of Canada.\n\nImage: Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYan Han of China.\n\nImage: Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvgeny Plyushchenko of Russia.\n\nImage: Bernat Armangue/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMao Asada of Japan\n\nImage: Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKevin Reynolds of Canada\n\nImage: Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/02/13/plushenko-olympics/>