TURIN, Italy - The cheers filled the venue, the fans waving Russians flags in tribute to their country’s second Olympic gold medal in figure skating.

“ROS-SI-YA, ROS-SI-YA.”

No country has swept the four figure skating events at the games and the Russians are halfway there.

Evgeni Plushenko became the fourth straight Russian men’s winner, and Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin took the pairs. Their compatriots are favored in ice dance and the women’s competition in Turin.

But with all that gold and glory, there is a downside. The end may be in sight in the men’s event and possibly the others.

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Since the Soviet Union’s breakup early in the 1990s, Russia has won the four men’s Olympic golds — Victor Petrenko of Ukraine won in 1992, making the streak five for the training system developed by the Soviets. Russians also won four pairs golds and two ice dance titles since 1994.

Alexei Urmanov won in Lillehammer with a combination of grace and jumping. Ilia Kulik in 1998 did it with effortless jumps and a boyish grin. Alexei Yagudin won in 2002 over Plushenko with a fiery passion that kept him in front in their not-so-friendly rivalry.

Plushenko’s program Thursday night wasn’t nearly as memorable as those that produced gold for Petrenko, Urmanov, Kulik and Yagudin. He didn’t need much as the other contenders crashed and burned. Plushenko stood up easily — even on combinations such as a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop, and won going away.

“I did nothing special today, I did my job, what I needed for a gold medal today,” Plushenko said after the event.

What will be needed for another men’s gold in Vancouver in 2010 depends on whether Plushenko stays around four more years. He insists he is not being pressured by the Russian federation to continue competing, but there’s no clear successor to him back home.

“I am only 23, and in four years I will be only 27. It’s a good age for a skater,” Plushenko said.

He has been an elite skater since winning the junior world title nearly 10 years ago. Often he has said he has grown weary of winning the same championships again and again. He now has three worlds and five Europeans to go with the Olympic gold.

Injuries have been catching up with Plushenko, too. He was forced out of last year’s world championships with a groin problem that required surgery.

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It would surely ease the transition to whomever might take over as the top Russian if Plushenko remains on the scene.

“You know we have the skaters, but they are young, 12-13 years old,” he said. “In our group we have some very good students of my coach. This is going to be star of the future.”

But not in the immediate future.

“Four years is a very big period,” said Plushenko’s coach, Alexei Mishin, who worked with Urmanov and was the early coach of Yagudin before Yagudin went to Tatiana Tarasova. “No one can predict what can happen and who will skate better.”

Indeed, after capturing the 2001 world title, Plushenko was considered a favorite, along with Yagudin, heading into the 2002 Olympics. But Plushenko fell in the short program and Yagudin outclassed the field.