Evgeni Plushenko withdraws due to injury from Sochi Olympic

There was some stunning news on Thursday morning, as men were warming up for their short programs at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. During warm ups for the routing, Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko came down awkwardly during a jump and tweaked his back.With his removal from the competition, Russia will not have a man competition in the individual competition, which was heart-breaking for those in attendance.They are desperate to make at least a decent splash in their home-country Games, and Plushenko, well, he throws up a churning wake, always has. From the tip of his aquiline nose to the bottom of his jump-launching feet — quad-triple-double is his signature trick — he’s a platinum blond superstar.”When his name was called, Plushenko came onto the ice slowly, his hands on the small of his balky back. He waved to the home crowd and then skated slowly to the referee.After his withdrawal was announced, he waved again to the crowd and put his hands on his heart.That decision paid off when he finished second in the team short program and first in the free skate, helping Russia to its first gold of the Sochi Games.In his final full practice Wednesday, he fell three times, but was laughing and joking with Mishin after two of the flops. Mishin even said Plushenko was "ready" for the men's event. That changed Thursday, and when Plushenko limped out of the arena, the cheers turned to mild applause from the stunned audience.