The men's singles figure skating competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on 16 and 18 February at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada, and featured 30 skaters from 20 nations. Evan Lysacek of the United States won the gold medal, Evgeni Plushenko of Russia won the silver medal, and Daisuke Takahashi of Japan won the bronze. The results of the competition generated some amount of controversy when Lysacek won the gold medal without performing a quadruple jump, which many felt was a necessary component of men's figure skating.

Background The men's single skating event was one of four figure skating competitions contested at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada. It was held at the Pacific Coliseum over two nights: the short program took place on 16 February and the free skating on 18 February. The competition featured 30 skaters representing 20 nations. Evgeni Plushenko of Russia, who had won the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics and retired shortly thereafter due to knee problems, came out of retirement with the goal of winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals. No man had won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in figure skating since Dick Button in 1952. Plushenko had just won the 2010 European Figure Skating Championships, finishing more than sixteen points ahead of Stéphane Lambiel of Switzerland. Plushenko credited his wife with encouraging him to return to competitive skating. "I wasn't certain, but it's such a great feeling," Plushenko explained. "I think that maybe I was missing that and didn't really know it." In addition to his gold medal from the 2006 Winter Olympics, Plushenko won the silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and was a three-time world champion, six-time European champion, four-time Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final champion, and eight-time Russian national champion.

Unlike the 2006 Winter Olympics, where Plushenko had been favored to win, he faced stiff competition in 2010. Stéphane Lambiel had finished second at the 2010 European Championships, and was a two-time world champion, two-time Grand Prix Final champion, and nine-time Swiss national champion. Brian Joubert of France, who finished in third place at the 2010 European Championships, was the 2007 world champion, a three-time European champion, the 2006 Grand Prix Final champion, and six-time French national champion. Other skaters seen as potential medalists included Patrick Chan of Canada, the 2009 Four Continents champion and three-time Canadian national champion; Evan Lysacek of the United States, the reigning world champion, two-time Four Continents champion, and two-time U.S. national champion; Daisuke Takahashi of Japan, the 2008 Four Continents champion and four-time Japanese national championship; and Jeremy Abbott of the United States, the 2008 Grand Prix Final champion and two-time U.S. national champion.

Qualification

Twenty-four quota spots in the men's event were awarded based on the results at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships. Six additional quota spots were made available at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy. +Qualifying nations in men's singles Event Skatersper Qualifying NOCs Totalskaters 2009 World Championships 3 24 2 1 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy 1 6 Total 30

Required performance elements Men performed their short programs on 16 February. Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds, the short program had to include the following elements: one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump immediately preceded by connecting steps; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination consisting of sit, upright, and camel positions and a change of foot; and two different step sequences.

The twenty-four highest-scoring skaters after the short program advanced to the free skating, which they performed on 18 February. Lasting 4 minutes 30 seconds (+/− 10 seconds), the free skate had to include the following elements: eight jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one a flying spin, and one a spin with only one position; and two different step sequences.

Judging

Skaters were judged according to the required technical elements of their program (such as jumps and spins), as well as the overall presentation of their program, based on five program components (skating skills, transitions/linking footwork and movement, performance/execution, choreography/composition, and musical interpretation). Each technical element in a figure skating performance was assigned a predetermined base point value and scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from −3 to +3 based on the quality of its execution. Each Grade of Execution (GOE) from –3 to +3 was assigned a value as indicated on the Scale of Values. For example, a triple Axel was worth a base value of 8.20 points, and a GOE of +3 was worth 3.00 points, so a triple Axel with a GOE of +3 earned 11.20 points. The judging panel's GOE for each element was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (the average after discarding the highest and lowest scores). The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a Total Elements Score. At the same time, the judges evaluated each performance based on the five aforementioned program components and assigned each a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25-point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the chart below; the results were added together to generate a total Program Component Score.

+Program component factoring Discipline Short program Free skate Men 1.00 2.00 Deductions were applied for certain violations, such as time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls. The Total Elements Score and Program Component Score were then added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.

Results

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Short program The men's short program was held on 16 February. Evgeni Plushenko of Russia finished in first place with what Dan Barnes of the Vancouver Sun described as an "awe-inspiring" performance that included a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop jump combination and a "perfect" triple Axel. Evan Lysacek of the United States and Daisuke Takahashi of Japan were the only other skaters to approach Plushenko's score of 90.85, placing second and third, respectively. Lysacek scored 90.30 and Takahashi scored 90.25. Although neither included a quadruple jump in their routines, their performance scores for choreography, skating skills, and musical interpretation were enough to place them close to Plushenko. Brian Joubert of France fell on his triple Lutz and stumbled on his attempted quadruple toe loop, leaving him in eighteenth place. Stéphane Lambiel of Switzerland also stumbled on an attempted quadruple toe loop, performing only a double toe loop in combination and leaving him in fifth place.

Evan Lysacek began celebrating before he even performed his final spin, pumping his fists, and when the music ended, he dropped to his knees, dazed at his performance. His performance was described by Philip Hersh of the Los Angeles Times as commanding, his jumps solid, and his spins dynamic. Lysacek had had a bad short program at the 2006 Winter Olympics, which he described as a "little monkey on [his] back from Torino four years ago". To make up for that by delivering what he felt was one of his best short program performances led to his emotional release on the ice. While he did not perform any quadruple jumps, Lysacek explained that performing an intricate routine was as difficult as performing a quadruple jump. Lysacek's jumps – all triples – received strong scores. Evgeni Plushenko responded to criticism of his choreography and skating skills: "I don't care today about the transitions or the scoring system. I care [that] I did a clean program." Plushenko's coach, Alexei Mishin, stated that "to do a good quad, you have to lose transitions," and that anyone dismissing quadruple jumps as unnecessary were just making "fake explanations" because they could not perform the jumps. Plushenko added that "without quadruples... it's not men's figure skating".

+Men's short program results Skater Nation 1 90.85 51.10 39.75 8.20 6.80 8.65 7.85 8.250.00 2 90.30 48.30 42.00 8.20 7.95 8.60 8.50 8.750.00 3 90.25 48.90 41.35 8.30 7.50 8.55 8.30 8.700.00 4 84.85 46.00 38.85 8.00 7.15 8.00 7.80 7.900.00 5 84.63 41.48 43.15 8.50 8.20 8.65 8.65 9.150.00 6 82.10 42.90 39.20 7.90 7.45 7.90 7.80 8.150.00 7 81.12 41.42 40.70 8.30 7.85 8.00 8.25 8.301.00 8 79.59 42.14 37.45 7.60 7.25 7.55 7.60 7.450.00 9 78.80 42.50 36.30 7.35 7.00 7.35 7.30 7.300.00 10 76.24 41.24 35.00 7.20 6.55 7.10 6.90 7.250.00 11 75.35 41.90 33.45 6.65 6.40 6.80 6.65 6.950.00 12 72.90 39.20 33.70 6.95 6.35 6.95 6.60 6.850.00 13 72.24 39.94 32.30 6.50 5.95 6.70 6.55 6.600.00 14 70.60 36.60 35.00 7.15 6.60 7.10 7.00 7.151.00 15 69.40 30.70 38.70 7.90 7.75 7.30 7.85 7.900.00 16 68.69 37.64 31.05 6.25 5.85 6.30 6.15 6.500.00 17 68.50 37.70 30.80 6.40 5.85 6.30 6.05 6.200.00 18 68.00 31.90 37.10 7.90 6.80 7.45 7.35 7.601.00 19 65.32 30.02 36.30 7.50 7.05 7.20 7.30 7.251.00 20 64.42 34.82 29.60 5.90 5.55 6.00 6.00 6.150.00 21 63.81 36.66 27.15 5.60 4.90 5.60 5.40 5.650.00 22 63.13 32.78 30.35 6.25 5.85 6.25 6.00 6.000.00 23 60.88 34.08 26.80 5.45 5.05 5.50 5.25 5.550.00 24 57.22 30.22 27.00 5.80 5.05 5.35 5.40 5.400.00 25 56.60 33.40 23.20 5.15 4.15 4.80 4.60 4.500.00 26 55.88 32.48 23.40 5.05 4.45 4.80 4.50 4.600.00 27 53.02 28.92 24.10 5.10 4.45 4.85 4.90 4.800.00 28 52.14 28.44 23.70 4.80 4.60 4.80 4.80 4.700.00 29 51.95 27.40 25.55 5.25 4.75 5.25 5.10 5.201.00 30 44.62 22.72 22.90 5.00 4.30 4.50 4.70 4.401.00

Free skating The men's free skate was held on 18 February. Evan Lysacek edged out Evgeni Plushenko to win the gold medal, setting a personal-best score of 257.67. Lysacek outscored Plushenko in his performed elements (jumps and spins), but their Program Component Scores – the measure of skating skills, transitions, choreography, and musical interpretation – were tied. Lysacek's performance, set to Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, featured eight triple jumps, including a triple Axel, and complex step sequences. Lysacek's win was the first gold medal in over twenty years for an American skater in the men's event.

Plushenko's performance, set to "Tango Amore", featured only one quadruple jump: a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop jump combination that was meant to have a double loop added as a third element, but was omitted. Additionally, Plushenko had difficulty holding the landing of a triple Axel. Plushenko and his coach, Alexei Mishin, both disparaged Lysacek afterward for winning the gold medal without performing a quadruple jump. "If [an] Olympic champion doesn't know how to jump quad, I don't know," Plushenko stated, "now it's not men's skating; now it's dancing." Lysacek responded to Plushenko's criticism graciously. "Plushenko is... a great skater. I've admired him for years. For him to discredit the field is not right. It's probably the strongest men's field there's ever been." Lysacek later added: "All I know is that he's been a positive role model for me... I was a little disappointed that someone who was my role model would take a hit at me at one of the most special moments of my life, but it's tough to lose."

Lysacek's victory over Plushenko generated much press. Reuters reported that Russian president Vladimir Putin sent Plushenko a telegram telling him that his "silver is worth gold". However, a technical analysis demonstrated how Lysacek was able to outscore Plushenko after they both received identical artistic scores: