Lysacek aiming for first worlds crown
Just a couple of months ago, some wondered if Evan Lysacek could win his first U.S. title. Today, he's considered a top contender for the gold medal at the World Championships.
What's changed?
Now, he's got a quadruple jump in his arsenal, and in the world of figure skating, that can be the difference between being on the podium and being at the top of the podium.
Lysacek landed his first quad in competition in the long program at the U.S. Championships in January. It helped vault him past three-time U.S. champ Johnny Weir for the national crown. The four-revolution jump also sent a message to top international skaters, particularly France's Brian Joubert, that Lysacek no longer would be content to claim bronze medals at the worlds.
When asked at nationals if the quad was meant as a message to Joubert, Lysacek said yes.
"I think that he has sort of dominated international skating this season, but only because I think it's sort of a transitional period for a lot of countries," said Lysacek, the bronze medalist at the past two World Championships. "He came out like gangbusters and has been doing the quad for four seasons.
"It's a new jump for us," he added. "But there are areas in my skating that are stronger than his. There are a lot of other skaters who have areas of their skating that are stronger than his."
Lysacek proved his quad was no fluke by landing it again a week after nationals at the Four Continents competition in Colorado Springs, Colo. As confident as Lysacek has been, he is trying to downplay any talk about being a gold-medal contender.
"For my own mental sanity, I'm trying not to think about any of that," he said. "For me, I'm going in with the mentality that it's been a great season, whether I'm a contender for the gold or not."
The last American man to win a world title was Todd Eldredge in 1996. Timothy Goebel, dubbed the "Quad King" for his ability to land multiple quads in a program, came close, winning silver medals at the worlds in 2002 and 2003.
Here's a look at some of the other men to watch this week:
Brian Joubert
The Frenchman won both of his Grand Prix events and the Grand Prix Final, but he underwent foot surgery in January that could slow down his dominance at the World Championships. According to overseas reports, he has been able to land difficult jumps again, but remains bothered by the injury. Joubert is a two-time world silver medalist.
Stephane Lambiel
The two-time defending world champion from Switzerland has the unusual ability, especially among men, to both land difficult jumps and perform incredibly fast and well-positioned spins. Lambiel, however, has had an inconsistent season, winning one event in Canada only after placing seventh in the short program. He withdrew from the NHK Trophy in Japan with a virus and then decided to skip the European Championships because, as he told reporters, "The little prince that I am needs to take a step back." He said that he felt "jaded" and lacked the fire to compete. Something happened between January and March, but now he claims to be ready to defend his title. The little prince is back. For now.
Daisuke Takahashi
Competing in his home country might make things difficult for Takahashi, but that didn't stop him from winning the NHK Trophy in Nagano (and earning a personal-best and overall top score of 247.93 points) earlier this season. He went on to claim the silver medal at the Grand Prix Final.
Jeffrey Buttle
The Olympic bronze medalist from Canada missed the entire Grand Prix season while recovering from a spinal stress fracture, but rallied with a third Canadian national title and a silver medal at the Four Continents (where Lysacek won the gold). Buttle was the 2005 world silver medalist, but dropped to sixth in 2006. He's got great style, we'll just have to see if he can put it all together for this competition.
Nobunari Oda
Coached by his mother, Oda was stunning at the start of the season, pulling out a brilliant victory at Skate America. But he was runner-up to Takahashi at the NHK Trophy and third in the Grand Prix Final. Their rivalry has been intense since the Japanese nationals in 2006, when a scoring error flip-flopped their final results. Takahashi wound up going to Torino, while Oda was sent instead to the World Championships. Oda was fourth at worlds; Takahashi was eighth in the Olympics. No bitterness at all. None.
Johnny Weir
The three-time U.S. champion, and perhaps the world's most enigmatic skater, had no chance against a near-flawless Lysacek at nationals. Although Weir came close to landing his first quad there (he two-footed the landing), he crumbled in the free skate, placing fourth in the long program to barely earn a spot on the world team. Still, his coach Priscilla Hill vowed: "We're going to try and kick butt."
Ryan Bradley
Ever the showman, the veteran skater had long been considered more of an entertainer than true competitive threat. This season, however, he buckled down on his training and came up huge at nationals, earning a silver medal and his first trip to the World Championships. He was so excited after his stellar free skate, he came back out onto the ice and did a back flip for the crowd.
Tomas Verner
The Czech skater was 13th in Torino, but captured the silver medal at this season's European Championships. Considering how bizarre this season has been for many of the frontrunners, Verner could sneak into the medal mix.
Amy Rosewater, a freelance writer based in Baltimore, is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.
