Plushenko retires, US sweeps slopestyle

SOCHI, Russia — From wild cheers to stunned silence, the Sochi Olympics said goodbye Thursday to one of figure skating’s all- time greats.

Evgeni Plushenko, the first figure skater in the modern era to win medals in four Olympics, retired from competitive figure skating shortly after withdrawing from the men’s competition for medical reasons. The Russian said he injured himself during practice on Wednesday, then fell on a triple axel during warmups Thursday.

When Plushenko limped out of the arena, the cheering stopped, eventually turning into mild applause.

Plushenko’s announcement came hours after an Olympic worker was injured when he was hit by a bobsled near the finish line at the Sanki Sliding Center. He was taken by helicopter to a local hospital.

Six medals were awarded on Day 7. In the first final, the U. S. freestyle skiers swept the podium in slopestyle, with Joss Christensen leading the way in his Olympic debut.

Germany completed a sweep of the four luge events by winning the team relay; Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland, skiing with a fractured foot, won gold in the women’s cross- country 10- kilometer classical race; and Li Jianrou of China won gold in 500- meter short track speedskating after all three of her opponents in the final fell.

The 31- year- old Plushenko is the only modern- era figure skater to win medals in four different Olympics. He helped Russia win the team gold over the weekend. He also won figure skating gold in 2006 and silver in 2002 and 2010.

Plushenko said he said it felt “like a knife in my back” when he fell on a triple axel during Thursday’s warmups.

“I think it’s God saying, ‘ Evgeni, enough, enough with skating,’” said Plushenko.

In the short program, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan led with a score of 101.45.

The competition concludes today with the short program.

Slopestyle skiing

For only the third time in Winter Games history, a U. S. team swept the podium.

Christensen yurned in a dominating performance that featured four near- perfect runs over the rails and jumps at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. Gus Kenworthy and Nick Goepper captured the silver and bronze, as the U. S. skiers matched the country’s previous sweeps in men’s figure skating in 1956 and men’s halfpipe snowboarding in 2002.

“I am stoked to be up here with my friends,” Christensen said. “America, we did it.”

Christensen, 22, of Park City, Utah, was the last add- on to the American team, hitting his form at just the right time after a six- month period of heartbreak that began when his father, J. D., died of a heart condition. Christensen was traveling to New Zealand for a contest when his dad died. He landed, turned around and flew back home.

“I hope he’s looking down and smiling, and I hope I made him proud,” Christensen said.

Kenworthy, 22, of Telluride, Colo., has generated buzz at the Olympics as a dog lover. He found a stray mom and her litter of four near a bus stop in the mountains and has been tweeting photos of himself with the dogs, making arrangements to bring them back to America.

“Kind of a fairy tale,” Kenworthy said.

Goepper, 19, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., grew up in hoops country, but as a kid, he preferred bumming rides to the 300- foot- high ski resort nearby. He sold candy bars and worked odd jobs to pay for the start of his career.

“Wow, really?” Goepper said when he learned about his place in history. “It’s crazy. I think it’s going to give the U. S. a lot more confidence and it’s going to get a lot of people really excited.”

Cross- country

Kowalczyk led virtually all the way, finishing in 28 minutes, 17.8 seconds and beating silver medalist Charlotte Kalla