Lysacek's Finally on the Cutting Edge

21-Year-Old Nipping At Heels of Defending U.S. Champion Weir

"I've made improvements in pretty much every aspect of my skating and worked really hard," said Evan Lysacek, 21, who finished fourth at the 2006 Turin Olympics. (Elaine Thompson - AP)

SPOKANE, Wash., Jan. 24 -- Evan Lysacek has upgraded his athleticism and fine-tuned his artistry with each appearance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and the sport's judges have taken approving notice, rewarding him with a fifth-place finish in 2004, third in 2005 and second in 2006.

This week, Lysacek arrived in Spokane, Wash., poised to fulfill what appears to be his destiny: snapping the reign of defending national champion Johnny Weir, who has claimed the last three national titles. With his coach, Frank Carroll, seated beside him, Lysacek told reporters at Spokane Arena that he has momentum at his back, having completed his best season to date, and little pressure on his shoulders.

"I've made improvements in pretty much every aspect of my skating and worked really hard," said Lysacek, 21, who finished fourth at the 2006 Turin Olympics. "So for me, it's really exciting to say, 'Look at what I've done,' try my best and go out and perform."

Both during his practice on the ice and his interview afterward, Lysacek was a portrait of control -- as deliberate with his words as he was his movements.

Weir, as has become his custom, was a different story, not hesitating to lift a veil on his inner thoughts, his motivation and his often controversial artistic choices, such as doing a recent fashion shoot for Blackbook magazine in high heels and a Gucci dress ("It's very artistic -- it's not gaudy, and it's not campy."); taking part in a fashion show for the clothing line Heatherette in February; and, more germane to the weekend's competition, basing this season's free skate program, which is set to "Child of Nazareth," on the life story of Jesus.

There may be 18 men competing at the 2007 U.S. championships, but the competition -- which gets under way with the short program Thursday and concludes with the free skate Saturday -- shapes up as a two-man show between Weir, of Quarryville, Pa., and Lysacek, of Naperville, Ill.

Weir, 22, is coming off two major disappointments last season -- a fifth-place finish at the Olympics, followed by a seventh-place finish at the world championships. He wondered in the aftermath whether to recommit to figure skating and another shot at an Olympic medal in 2010. He had developed a new passion -- the fashion industry and clothes design -- in the interim. But in the end, he said, his coach and choreographer, Marina Anissina, pulled him back to figure skating by challenging him to be more creative and continue pushing the sport's limits while he traveled the world performing in ice shows with a forced smile.

"It's something I enjoy doing," he said, recalling the decision he finally reached, "and I don't want to give it up until I'm actually finished."

It comes as welcome news to the fans who enjoy his showmanship and the journalists who revel in his candor, which has frequently made U.S. skating officials wince.

Lysacek, by contrast, has been a more conventional contender. A striking, long-limbed skater with majestic lines, he is the figure that U.S. skating officials would love to present as their champion. He isn't likely to shock or offend with his free skate, set to music from "Carmen," which is a reworked version of a program he has done for more than a year.

"It has gotten kind of a face-lift and got a lot of new parts to it," Lysacek said of the program, which he executed brilliantly at the Olympics, salvaging a dreadful short program that doomed his medal hopes. "It's probably the strongest it has been since it debuted a little over a year ago."

Clearly, Lysacek senses that his moment may have arrived.

"I always come into the event with the mentality of trying to learn from the older competitors and kind of soaking up everything like a sponge," Lysacek said. "Now, this year, I feel like a lot of those, quote-unquote, veteran skaters are either retired or have fallen down the ranks, and now it's up to me and a few other skaters to sort of set the bar. It's a position I've kind of been working toward for the last two or three seasons."

If the comment represented an oblique jab at Weir, who admittedly isn't skating 100 percent, still fending off lingering soreness from a badly bruised hip suffered in December, Weir landed a subtle jab of his own Wednesday.

Asked why he takes such artistic risks in his life and his sport, Weir said: "Of course it's more exciting to walk in a fashion show or portray the story of Jesus -- it's more than sitting at home and learning to play the piano and skating to -- straight-up 'Nutcracker' or something like that. I want to do things that are interesting. I don't want to be stagnant and always do the same thing over and over again.

"All the chatter about being an underdog or not really having a chance against Evan -- it's just talk. And it's not something I take very seriously. It doesn't change the way I'm preparing."