Plushenko was sent to the ice rink by his mother at age four. His mother liked figure skating and had some friends

at the rink. When Plushenko was 11 years old, his ice rink in Volgograd closed, and the boy moved alone to St.

Petersburg to train there. His mother followed later, while his father (a carpenter) and elder sister stayed in

Volgograd. Plushenko is the first skater to perform a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop-triple loop combination in

competition (Cup of Russia 2002). His trademark is a Biellmann spin. He decided to learn this famous spin soon

after he started to skate when he saw a girl doing it. Plushenko's parents never watch him competing live, even if

competitions are held at home, in St. Petersburg. "This has been a tradition since I was a kid, and we don't want to

change it now", he explains. Plushenko's Free Skating music has been especially arranged for him by the

composer. Plushenko has landed quad Lutzes in practice and attempted it in competition.