Vancouver, British Columbia — Alexei Yagudin's courage was more than matched by Yevgeny Plushchenko's artistic and technical brilliance.
After four pain-killing injections to numb his injured right foot, Yagudin performed well in Tuesday men's short program at the World Figure Skating Championships.
But the three-time defending champ was outdone by his countryman, who is seeking his first world title. Plushchenko was first and Yagudin third heading into Thursday's free skate, worth 50 percent of the total score.
Americans Todd Eldredge and Timothy Goebel stood second and fourth overall. Goebel, watching on television backstage, even applauded Eldredge's performance.
Eldredge came close to Plushchenko in his presentation, and his whirlwind spins made it look like he would corkscrew himself into the ice. But, despite his speed and footwork, his marks were somewhat low, partly because he didn't attempt a quadruple jump.
"You play the course, you don't play the other guys," Eldredge said. "I know I did technically an easier element in my combination than the other guys, so I knew it would be a little lower. It's all right. I did
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