Curiously, it was Plushenko's talk before these Games of the sport's still-subjective judging that prompted a French skating official to suggest the "North American lobby" was preparing to favor Canadian and American skaters.
At Turin four years ago, Weir was second to Plushenko after a personal-best short program. Then he missed a bus to the arena before the long program and, after removing some jumps, stumbled to a fifth- place finish.
He dismissed talk that he is a victim of his own excesses, too distracted by his TV show and the controversies his words sometimes create to focus on skating.