Skater Weir Reaches a Turning Point

To Quad or Not May Well Determine Medal Standings

TURIN, Italy, Feb. 15 -- Priscilla Hill has been with U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir since he began skating 10 years ago. She says she can tell whether he will fall before he takes off on a jump. Out and about town, she carries a silver blue Fendi tote he gave her as a gift. For the long program Thursday, she will carry the mink purse he presented her for Christmas. Weir's mother, Patti, calls Hill "family."

Hill believes she can read Weir like a sheet of music, yet she shrugs her shoulders when asked whether he will attempt a quadruple jump in Thursday's long program, a tactical move that could solidify his precarious position in second place behind the dominant Russian Evgeni Plushenko or -- if it went awry -- kick him down in the standings behind Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel, in third, or Frenchman Brian Joubert, who is fourth.

"There's no decision," she said after Wednesday's morning training.

Weir hit three out of four quads at a strong practice in which he did not fall or put a hand down on any of the nearly two dozen jumps he tried. He two-footed the landing of the quad he missed. He opened up on one triple axel, meaning he did not get around for three rotations.

Hill rated Weir's quads on par with those that Plushenko executed, and said she wished Weir would try one in competition. Weir, however, declared after the short program he wouldn't insert a quadruple jump into his long unless his execution in practice was perfect.

"He has to decide whether he wants to do it," she said. "He's such a perfectionist. He wants to make sure he can do it really easily. To me, I would, but I don't know about him."

Weir seemed to be leaning toward adding the quad Wednesday morning.

"It's been going really well, so I don't see why I won't try it, but there's still one more practice before the event so we'll see how it goes there," he said in a release from U.S. Figure Skating Association.

The decision could be critical.

Though the new judging system installed after the 2002 Olympics has reduced the emphasis on the quadruple jump -- some skaters have argued that it should be worth more points than it is -- it remains a powerful weapon in a close competition, and it could mean the difference Thursday between a silver medal and fourth place. Though many, Weir included, believe Plushenko has all but wrapped up the gold with his 10.66-point lead, Weir stands just .96 ahead of Lambiel, the reigning world champion, and 2.23 ahead of Joubert, a former European champion.

The judges showed they preferred Weir artistically to Lambiel and Joubert, but despite skating a mistake-free program, Weir barely edged both with his technical marks. Lambiel turned a triple axel into a double. Joubert did a quadruple-double jump combination instead of a quadruple-triple.

Weir's technical score was 40.99. Lambiel achieved 40.61 and Joubert, 40.59.