Canadas Patrick Chan sits in second place in mens figure skating after a solid performance in his short program at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. One of his main rivals, Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu, sits just ahead of him in first place. Chan skated a largely clean routine, although he stumbled slightly in landing one of his triple axels — a jump that CBC figure skating analyst Kurt Browning said is "not his favourite comfort jump." Chans score of 97.52 was only one point off his all-time personal best of 98.52 in the short. It was not enough to surpass Hanyu, however, who beat his own world record in the short program with a score of 101.45 today in the event. Chan is the world record holder in the long program, which starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET. Despite having been home to several prominent figure skaters over the years, no Canadian man has ever won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Spanish skater Javier Fernandez is in third place, atop a group of skaters bunched tightly together, with only four points separating third place from eighth. Plushenko retires Earlier in the day Evgeni Plushenko surprised the figure skating world by withdrawing during warm-ups to his short program because he injured himself while awkwardly landing a jump. He then went to the judges table before bowing to the crowd and leaving the ice, saying later it felt like "a knife in my back." "After the first triple axel I stepped out and felt terrible pain in my leg and the second one was just a terrible landing," Plushenko said. "I couldnt feel my legs after it." He later announced his retirement from competitive skating. "I am sorry for my fans and for everybody, but I tried till the end. I almost cried," he said. "This is not how I wanted to end my career. I am very disappointed. But I tried to do my best." Plushenko, a three-time medallist in the mens event, was a darkhorse for the podium this time around and the host countrys only representative in the event. Another Canadian skater, Kevin Reynolds, failed to land two jumps and hit the ice twice during his short program, scoring a 68.76. Thats well off his personal best in the event of 85.16. "It was a disaster out there," Reynolds said after he finished skating. "I lost it on the first jump and it just snowballed from there. The result is where Im sitting now. Its incredibly disappointing for me." Reynolds performance was good enough to make the cutoff to perform in the free skate tomorrow. With files from Olympic News Service Diogo Dalot Jersey . Notes on P.K. Subban, Dale Weise, Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund, Ilya Bryzgalov and more. Ander Herrera Jersey .The Canadian teenage golf sensation announced Thursday shell join the LPGA Tour in 2015 instead of attending the University of Florida. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer....ted-jersey/.com) - The Los Angeles Kings peppered Ryan Miller with shot after shot. Chris Smalling Jersey . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt. Luke Shaw Jersey .Voegele will next play Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia, who saved 10 of 16 break points to defeat Annika Beck of Germany 7-6 (6), 6-4.Also, Marina Erakovic of New Zealand defeated eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.SOCHI – If its not Canada, it could be the inspired bunch from the host-country. If its not the Russians, it could be the Swedes, Finns, Czechs or Americans. The gold-medal winner likely will come from this group in Sochi, but forecasting the Olympic champion in the mens hockey tournament has never been easy. Since the participation of NHL players in 1998 there have been three different winners in the Czech Republic, Canada, Sweden and Canada again in four Winter Games. Its a short-term event and things can go wrong in a hurry for the top teams. A hot goaltender can steal a game in the medal round and all of a sudden a favourite is sitting on the sidelines. Just ask Hockey Canada. Were the Canadian teams that won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 or in Vancouver in 2010 any better than the 1998 group that was stoned time and time again by Dominik Hasek in Nagano? Just ask Sweden about 2002, when goalie Tommy Salo surrendered that fluky late-game winning goal offf his bean from 70 feet out off the stick of Belarus defenceman Vladimir Kopat.dddddddddddd Who would have thought Switzerland could have pulled off its surprise run to the final at the world championship last spring? Like the sophisticated watches the Swiss are known for, the hockey teams timing was impeccable. It peaked at the perfect moment for wins over the Czech Republic and United States in the quarterfinal and semi-final, respectively, only to lose to Sweden in the finale. So, with all that in mind, what country will give Canada the biggest challenge in its gold-medal defence at the 2014 Winter Games? Here are the odds as of Monday night from bodog.ca. • Canada 19-10 (about 2-1)• Russia 12-5• Sweden 9-2• USA 6-1• Finland 11-1• Czech Republic 12-1 And, if you like to play the long odds: • Switzerland 25-1• Slovakia 33-1• Norway 200-1• Latvia 400-1\• Austria 750-1• Slovenia 1,000-1 ' ' '