Lysacek, Weir Live Up to Billing in Men's Short Program
By Mickey Brown
The marquee read “Weir vs. Lysacek” and the headliners didn’t disappoint.
The two dominant names in U.S. senior men’s figure skating put on a dazzling show Thursday afternoon at the 2007 State Farm U.S. Championships, wowing the crowd with two near-perfect short programs to position themselves for a classic showdown in the free skate Saturday night.
Both men withdrew from their last competition, the 2006 Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg, Russia, after hurting their hips, Lysacek during the warm-up for the short program and Weir on the morning of the free skate. But they showed no ill effects of the injuries on Thursday.
Looking for his first U.S. gold medal after capturing a silver and a bronze each of the last two years, Lysacek skated first. With the shadow of past substandard short programs – namely the ones at last year’s U.S. Championships and the 2006 Olympic Winter Games – hovering over him, it was vital for Lysacek to come out and make a statement, which is just what he did.
He landed four clean triples, including a triple Lutz-triple toe combination and a triple Axel. The only negative GOEs he earned were for his spins.
“(Today) was this weight lifted off of my shoulders, and I think this was my goal today — to show anyone that has criticized my short program skating that when I’m really well trained and prepared and want to win something, nothing can stop me,” Lysacek said.
He credited the fact that he has been moving the past week, from his old residence to a place in the Hollywood Hills, with being more relaxed going into the competition.
After the conclusion of his “The Last Temptation of Christ” program, Lysacek put his head in his hands, the emotions rushing over him. The crowd at the Spokane Arena rose to its feet, and he reciprocated by doing a victory lap.
“It’s big to get a standing ovation skating in the first group, when people are still eating their nachos and popcorn, and they’re not that into the event yet,” Lysacek said. “To me that was great.”
It was a very cathartic moment for everyone involved.
Lysacek earned 78.99 points in the short program, easily the highest mark of his career. His previous best was 74.03, set, surprisingly, at the 2006 U.S. Championships.
Weir has owned this competition in recent years, winning his last three times on the national stage. The man known as much for his balletic skating as his flamboyant personality was all business once he took the ice. His program to “King of Chess” (the DeBeers diamond song) was equally good as Lysacek’s; he even earned more points for the Axel and the triple-triple combo than Lysacek did for his.
Weir’s score of 78.14 was well short of the mark of 83.28 he received last year in St. Louis, but it was good enough to put him less than a point behind Lysacek, setting the stage for a drama-filled free skate, beginning at 5:40 p.m.
“A lot of people are counting me out of this championship. I hadn’t competed all season and with all the pressure being three-time champion, I’m trying to keep the title,” Weir said. “I’m so happy that I didn’t fall on my butt and I was able to get through it.”
With all the talk about the top two, it is easy to forget that there is another medal up for grabs, and long-time U.S. Championships competitor Ryan Bradley staked his claim to it by smashing his personal best by more than four points with a score of 73.58. This is Bradley 10th appearance at the U.S. Championships and his seventh as a senior, where his highest previous finish is sixth (2004).
Dressed in a hideous outfit consisting of a bright yellow shirt, blue pants, orange suspenders and green tie with black polka dots, Bradley appeared to enjoy himself the most of all the competitors, smiling and playing to the crowd throughout his upbeat program.
The ugly attire is intentional, of course. He went to a local costume maker to have it made.
“I said I want the tackiest, brightest colors you can find. I want it to be a normal suit, but in awful colors that should never be near each other,” Bradley said. “I look in the mirror and it just makes me laugh. You have to squint to look at it. How can you not enjoy something like that?”
Parker Pennington is in fourth with a career-best 68.56. |