Evan Lysacek healthy, eyeing 2 medals in Sochi
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP)
Another three weeks, and Evan Lysacek might have been a competitor at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships instead of a spectator.
The reigning Olympic champion said Sunday he's fully recovered from November surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle and is already able to do some of his triple jumps.
''I'm glad to be here - with mixed emotions, of course,'' Lysacek said. ''I wish so badly I was on the ice. I miss this. This is what I love about skating: competitive skating and the competitive atmosphere.''
No man has repeated as Olympic champion since 1952, and most don't even bother trying. But Lysacek is determined to go to next year's Sochi Olympics, when the new team competition will offer the chance for two medals.
He planned on returning to competition this season after a two-year break that included a runner-up finish on ''Dancing with the Stars.'' Lysacek had programs done, and his quadruple toe loop had gotten so consistent he planned to do two in his free skate.
But all those quads took a toll, and he began having groin pain. As the summer wore on, the pain only got worse. He withdrew from Skate America and hoped that rest would be enough to take care of the injury.
It wasn't. Tests showed that he'd actually torn a muscle, and he had surgery Nov. 20.
''Like so many athletes, I said, `I can push through this,''' said Lysacek, whose training regimen is among the most intense of any athlete, in any sport. ''Again, like so many athletes, it got to the point where I couldn't push it anymore and I had to address it.''
Groin injuries can be tricky for athletes, often flaring up when they ramp up their training. But Lysacek said he's confident there won't be setbacks, and he's sure giving the repair a test.
To build the strength he needs for those quadruple jumps, he's spending four hours a day in the gym, six days a week - double what he did before Vancouver. Though he says he's starting slowly, the 100 jumps he's doing each day would be a full load for most other skaters.
''I'm probably stronger than I've ever been,'' Lysacek said. ''I have total faith, total trust the surgery worked. That's why I did it now, because I wanted to nip it in the bud and make sure over the course of the next year, 15 months that I'm totally healthy and ready to compete.''
That would be good news for the Americans, who haven't had anyone close to the podium at the world championships since Lysacek won the title in 2009. Their best showing was Jeremy Abbott's fifth-place finish in 2010, but it came against a watered-down, post-Olympic field. Lysacek never finished lower than fifth in four appearances at worlds and two Olympics.
The Americans have failed to keep pace technically, too. While Patrick Chan and the Japanese and European men are popping off quads like doubles, U.S. men managed three clean quads during the Grand Prix season.
That's three total. New European champion Javier Fernandez of Spain did three in his free skate Saturday.
''All it takes is one incredible skate. Nail those quads one time and, just like that, we're caught up,'' Lysacek said, snapping his fingers.
But the U.S. will have to catch up, Lysacek said, because figure skating has gone extreme.
''The truth is, the skills and tricks the best guys in the world are doing now are the most extreme tricks done in the world,'' he said. ''(There are) 1,400 degrees rotation in a quad. What other sport does that? ... And we're doing it off two feet.
''I watched Chan at (the Canadian championships), saw Daisuke Takahashi, they were incredible, they were fearless,'' he added. ''That's what I strive to be as I get back to competition.''
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