Olympic Recap, Day 4: Men's Short Program

The Men's Freeskating event got underway today with the short programs. Yevgeny Plushenko jumped out to an early lead. He skated a clean performance with a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination. His score of 90.66, a personal best, puts him more than ten points ahead of the next skater. I was pleased to see that he chose a simple black outfit instead of the more extravagant costumes he's worn in the past (and similar to those worn by other skaters tonight). I still have a problem with some of his choreography though, particularly some hand and arm gestures that at times seem too over the top and/or ill-fitting to the music. But personal preferences aside, Plushenko was hands down the best of the night -- he was the only skater to turn in a clean program.

In second is Johnny Weir. He turned in a good program, but double footed his triple flip out of footwork. He also chose not to attempt a quad, but his triple lutz-triple toe combination was excellent. His outfit reminded me of what Russian skaters have tended to wear in the past. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise though; Weir has openly admitted his admiration for former Soviet skaters and even practices in apparel bearing "CCCP" logos. A solid performance in Thursday's long program will assure Weir a medal, and if Plushenko isn't careful, America may take the coveted gold.

The reigning World Champion, Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, sits in third place after the short. He doubled his planned triple axel, costing him some points; without the mistake he would probably be in second. Brian Joubert of France and Daisuke Takahashi of Japan rounded out the top five. The other two American skaters are still in the top ten (Matt Savoie placed eighth, while Evan Lysacek placed tenth), but will probably not be a factor in the medal hunt. See the full standings here.

Aside from Plushenko's performance, the mens' field was riddled with a variety of mistakes. And in what Scott Hamilton called "a very unforgiving scoring system," any mistake, large or small, can have a devasting impact on a skater's placement. Hopefully the free skate will go a little smoother, but I doubt it will. Many will be attempting quads, which few can land consistently. The lower placed skaters in particular have little to lose, so they'll likely take some big risks. It may be difficult to catch Plushenko, but anything's possible.

The men will skate their long programs on Thursday, which you can catch on NBC this Thursday starting at 8pm.