Evan Lysacek admits he was hurt by Plushenko criticism

From James Toney, Sportsbeat, in Vancouver

EVAN Lysacek has insisted he was a worthy winner of the Olympic men's figure skating title while half a world away Russia is in uproar.

CONTROVERSIAL: Evan Lysacek poses with his Olympic men's figure skating gold - but Russia is in uproar, claiming their man, Evgeni Plushenko, should have won (Getty Images)

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has labelled silver medallist, Evgeni Plushenko, the true champion while the skater's wife has angrily called for an immediate investigation.

The Russian media in Vancouver is equally furious, slamming the decision as ‘a disgrace'.

Plushenko was looking to become the first man in 58 years to defend his Olympic title and was a short-priced favourite to achieve it.

He later claimed he believed he deserved the gold, questioning the scoring system and Lysacek's cautious routine.

"I guess 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," said Lysacek.

"Losing is a tough pill to swallow and maybe he said things at the heat of the moment that he didn't mean and maybe now regrets.

"Evgeni is a great guy that I've admired for many years but for him to discredit the field is not right. 

"It's the strongest men's field that there has ever been and I was honoured to be one single member of a group of outstanding athletes."

Lysacek has been criticised for a safety first routine - which he admittedly executed flawlessly - while Plushenko produced bigger jumps, which he did not always land cleanly, with a higher difficulty tariff.

The Russian - who took a sabbatical after his win in 2006 and only returned to competition this season - has been critical of skating's new judging system, claiming it does not reward his creativity or risk-taking.

In particular he believes that a routine without a difficult quad jump - which Lysacek did not attempt - is not deserving of a champion.

"I don't know why he of all people is making such a big deal of one single element," added Lysacek, the first American to claim the Olympic title since Brian Boitano in 1988.

"It's just one step in a program of a hundred of steps, which are all equally important.

"I don't know why people are hung up on the quad. If it was a jumping competition, there would be no music and no costumes and they'd give you ten seconds to do your best jump

"Our sport is not just about jumps, it's about the entire the performance, with hundreds of elements, and everything else that goes with it."

Lysacek has yet to make a decision about whether to defend his world title in Turin in next month but after initially claiming this would be his last competition, admits victory has revitalised him - although he joked it might be dangerous to travel to Plushenko's back yard in 2014.

"I can't see giving it up just yet. I'm 24 and in the best shape of my life and I want to keep competing," he said.

"I don't know about Sochi, maybe I won't get a visa!"