Lysacek heeds hand, skates clean short program
By Bonnie DeSimoneATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Evan Lysacek used the back of his left hand as a memo pad Thursday night, scrawling a message in blue ballpoint ink that marched unevenly from his knuckles to his wrist.
Instead of the usual mundane reminder to buy milk or call Mom, it was a motto to compete by: "I Skate Clean Programs."
Lysacek might have been asking for motion sickness if he'd tried to read the message in the middle of a flying sit spin or a triple jump. The idea seemed to sink in, however, as he skated a solid short program that landed him in third place at Skate America, the first event in figure skating's prestigious Grand Prix series.
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2. Kevin Van Der Perren, Belgium, 68.79. 3. Evan Lysacek, United States, 67.75. 4. Brian Joubert, France, 62.88. 5. Yannick Ponsero, France, 61.95. 6. Timothy Goebel, United States, 58.72. 7. Dennis Phan, United States, 53.92. 8. Sergei Davydov, Belarus, 52.71. 9. Song Lun, China, 51.50. 10. Kristoffer Berntsson, Sweden, 51.19. 11. Christopher Mabee, Canada, 42.40. 12. Sylvio Smalun, Germany, 42.40. 2. Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, France, 36.43. 3. Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, Russia, 32.41. 4. Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe, Canada, 31.49 5. Christina Beier and William Beier, Germany, 28.55. 6. Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O'Meara, United States, 28.44. 7. Lauren Senft and Leif Gislason, Canada, 25.59. 8. Julia Golovina and Oleg Volko, Ukraine, 24.77. 9. Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer, Russia, 24.32. 10. Siobhan Karam and Joshua McGrath, Canada, 24.04. 11. Tiffany Stiegler and Sergei Magerovski, United States, 23.71. 12. Laura Munana and Luke Munana, Mexico, 22.43. |
"I just kept saying it to myself all day, and I think it helped me stand up on that triple,'' Lysacek said, referring to his opening triple Axel, which he fought to land.
Japan's Daisuke Takahashi leads the standings with a score of 69.10 points, while dynamic Belgian skater Kevin Van Der Perren, the first world-class competitor to emerge from his country in almost 60 years, was second with 68.79.
Lysacek logged a score of 67.75 and looked better than he did in a tentative performance at the season-opening Campbell's Classic in St. Paul, Minn. earlier this month.
The 20-year-old Naperville, Ill. native needs to simplify things this season. His surprising third-place finish at last year's World Championships vaulted him from relative obscurity to potential Olympic podium contender in a year where the men's field yawns open for aggressive newcomers.
"It's been difficult,'' Lysacek said. "People have been pulling me in all different directions. But I'd rather be here than where nothing is expected of me.''
He has a strong ally in the psychological wars ahead -- veteran Los Angeles-based coach Frank Carroll, who has ushered many skaters through the transition from unheralded to much-trumpeted.
"Evan needs to let go a little more,'' Carroll said. "He needs to learn to chill out, get on the ice like a tiger, skate like he has nothing to lose. If he has any kind of doubts, he holds back a little bit. He has to feel like, 'I'm a killer.' ''
Lysacek said skating's new scoring system, which has been used in international competition but will be implemented for the first time at the upcoming U.S. national championships and the Olympics, also works in his favor. It aims for more precise quantification of skills and less consideration of past results, clearing a wider path for athletes without long, distinguished resumes to succeed, he said.
"They're trying for less name recognition in skating, and I think my success last year was almost solely based on hard work,'' Lysacek said.
Competing first out of a dozen men before a sparse crowd at historic Boardwalk Hall, Lysacek appeared to loosen up toward the end of his program, playing to the audience at one end of the rink as he skated to a saucy Gypsy Kings number.
He said his hand-written credo was inspired by an anecdote in a book that described a man who bowled a perfect game after doing similarly, but added that he isn't striving for perfection at this point in the season.
Lysacek started slowly and progressed methodically last year and wants to do the same this year, peaking for the January U.S. national championships. By that time, Carroll said, he'd like to see Lysacek include a quadruple jump in his short program.
Van Der Perren, 23, clearly delighted after completing his first quad in competition Thursday (a loop, followed by a triple loop in combination), looked almost too adrenalized as he hooked the back of his blade on the follow-through of his next jump -- the only major interruption in his program.
When he won the silver medal at the Trophee Lalique competition two years ago, Van Der Perren became the first Belgian skater to place that high in an important international event since 1947.
His nation's tastes run toward cycling and soccer, where his own parents tried to steer him, arguing that he'd make more money. After Van Der Perren's 12th-place finish at the 2002 Olympics, however, even they had to agree he'd picked the right pair of boots.
"It's true that there's no history in our country, but I wanted to do something no one else did,'' said the articulate Van Der Perren, who sports a pierced eyebrow and a greased blond cowlick reminiscent of the children's cartoon character Tintin. He said he has no desire to "be recognized on the street," then ruefully acknowledged that it's starting to happen.
He told reporters he does as many as 50 quad repetitions during a practice session -- a statement that drew raised eyebrows from Lysacek, who said he is limited to three per day to avoid overuse injuries. Van Der Perren takes a fatalistic view, listing his worn body parts like a mechanic (right knee, left heel, lower back) and saying, "I don't think I can get more hurt than I already am.''
The 19-year-old Takahashi, making a valiant effort to use his limited English, said he was "surprised and happy" Thursday. He was fifth at the Four Continents championship last year, his most significant international result to date.
Two other top men had less satisfying nights. France's Brian Joubert, runner-up at the 2005 world championships, is fourth with a score of 62.88. Timothy Goebel, the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist, fell on his quad combination attempt and suffered through other errors, coming to rest in sixth place with a score of 58.72.
Goebel wasn't overly distressed. "I certainly wanted to skate better than I did tonight, but this year is about building,'' he said. "Whoever does their job at nationals will be on the [Olympic] team.''
The men's competition concludes with the long program Friday night.
In other competition Thursday, U.S. duo and world silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto lead the compulsory ice dancing standings.
Bonnie DeSimone is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to ESPN.com.
