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Lysacek lands quad but can't catch Chan at Four Continents
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Vancouver, British Columbia -- Evan Lysacek managed to land his first quadruple jump of the season, but it wasn’t enough to catch Canadian Patrick Chan, who used the home-ice advantage to win the Four Continents Figure Skating Championship Saturday.
Japan’s Takahiko Kozuka finished third in what might be a preview to next month’s World Championships in Los Angeles and a practice run for the 2010 Olympic Games next February here at Pacific Coliseum.
Jeremy Abbott, the U.S. national champion, was fifth and Brandon Mroz, Abbott’s training partner who was the surprise national runner-up, was eighth.
Lysacek has to be feeling better about his chances at worlds after what happened here. He skated much better than at the U.S. Championships in January, where newcomers Abbott and Mroz stole the show from veterans Lysacek, who was third, and Johnny Weir, who finished out of the medals.
Chan, 18, of Toronto, entered the free skate with a seven-point lead over Lysacek and managed to extend it despite a conservative program. Chan landed seven triples, posting a score of 249.19, easily beating Lysacek’s 237.15.
Chan did a double axel instead of a triple and put a hand down on a triple loop.
“It was the whole package, not just the jumps,” Chan said. “At worlds, I’ll have to focus more on every element and detail.”
Crowds cheered loudly for Chan, in the mix for a medal when the Olympics come to town.
"It's a great thing about being Canadian," he said. "It made me a bit nervous. When walking around, everyone is like `I believe in you' and `You can do it.'"
Lysacek said he felt immense relief upon landing the quad, finishing the program on one knee, his head bowed and with one hand on the ice.
“It was starting to be a little bit of a monkey on my back,” Lysacek said.
Also, some pride was at stake.
“I wanted to beat those other guys who were ahead of me at nationals. I wanted to prove that the old guys aren’t going out,” he said.
Lysacek, the two-time world bronze medalist and two-time national champion, opened with the long-sought quad but lost points when he put his hand down on a triple axel. He also subbed a triple flip for a double axel late in the program in an attempt to catch Chan.
Abbott’s skate went poorly right off the bat, he turned a quadruple toe loop into a double, then fell on a triple lutz.
“To start a program with a big pop is not ideal,” Abbott said.
Mroz, who will represent the U.S. at worlds along with Abbott and Lysacek, touched his hand to the ice on his opening quad, stumbled on one triple axel and fell on another.
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