ST. PETERSBURG, February 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russian ice skater Yevgeny Plushchenko said Friday he was in two minds about leaving amateur skating for a professional career after his triumph in the Turin Olympics.
"I haven't decided yet whether to stay or go," Plushchenko told reporters in St. Petersburg, where he had come for a four-day training session after winning the Olympic men's figure skating title on Thursday. He said he would be back in Turin for his exhibition performance February 24.
Earlier on Friday, Plushchenko got in a serious road accident while en route to the Turin airport. Luckily, neither he nor any of his travel companions were hurt in the accident, which reportedly involved about thirty cars and was blamed on foggy weather.
Plushchenko, 23, has five European titles and three world titles under his belt. He was the first skater to perform a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop-triple loop combination in competition. He finished second to compatriot Alexei Yagudin in the 2002 Olympics.
