Lysacek edges out Weir for US title

The skate gods were shining down on U.S. Figure Skating this week at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. In recent years, the sport has taken a hit in popularity as interest wanes for a variety of reasons.

Fourteen years removed from the whack heard around the world, the casual fan has been losing interest as the soap opera known as competitive figure skating has become stale. Michelle Kwan has not competed in almost three years, a cheating scandal was exposed at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, and a new judging system has been introduced that has left even the most devoted fans sometimes shaking their heads in confusion.

But what a difference a week of great skating, compelling stories, and heated…

McLaughlin and Brubaker take second US title

Pairs skating at the U.S. Championships has been average at best in the past several years, but there are now signs of life being shown if today’s Championship pairs free skate competition is any indication. The pair teams each performed with great promise, and the medals were not decided until the last beat of the last competitor’s music.

The wunderkind team of Keauna McLaughlin (Los Angeles FSC) and Rockne Brubaker (Broadmoor SC) earned their second U.S. title in as many years with a performance that brought the audience to their feet before the music was over. Last season, McLaughlin (15) and Brubaker (21) won their first national title on…

Belbin and Agosto win fifth consecutive US title

Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto joined an elite group of American ice dancers when they won their fifth consecutive title at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Saint Paul, Minn. Judy Schwomeyer and James Sladky were the first to accomplish this feat back in 1972, and ironically, this team along with Ron Ludington, invented the compulsory dance that was used in the first phase of the competition here in Saint Paul.

Belbin and Agosto (Arctic FSC) also join Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert (1981-85), Elizabeth Punsaan and Jared Swallow (1991, 1994, 1996-1998), and Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernychev (1999-2003) as five-time champions, but remain the only team from the United States to…

Nagasu wins US National title

It was a phenomenal competition that included four of the most prolific ladies’ free skating programs in U.S. history. The top four ladies, all podium neophytes, each landed a triple-triple combination en route to knocking three of last year’s medalists off of the podium; while the fourth, Emily Hughes didn’t even compete due to injury.

To make matters more interesting, Mirai Nagasu (Pasadena FSC) is the first lady since Peggy Fleming to win the national championship in her first try. Nagasu was joined on the podium by girl-next-door Rachael Flatt (Broadmoor SC) who won the silver medal, Audrey Hepburn look-alike Ashley Wagner (Washington FSC), and the human rubber band, Caroline Zhang (All Year FSC).

As the results were posted, the International Selection Committee met behind closed doors to…

Paetsch and Nuss take Junior pairs US title

The junior pairs medalists were decided today at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Saint Paul, Minn. Jessica Rose Paetsch and Jon Nuss (Broadmoor SC) moved up from second place after Thursday’s short program to clinch the gold medal with a total of 143.19 points.

Overnight leaders Chelsi Guillen and Danny Curzon (Coyotes SC of Ariz.) had an uneven performance and had to settle for the bronze medals.

“It’s a great relief for us to win the national championships,” said Nuss. “We have been working so hard these last few months, and it’s nice to have all that work pay off.”

“This is our second year as juniors,” Paetsch added. “Last year we got third, and we tried to work more to try to…

Rippon wins Junior men’s US title

The junior men took to the ice this afternoon, and put on a show for the spectators at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Adam Rippon, the leader after the short program, showed why he has been having so much success internationally by laying down a sensitive yet commanding performance. As a result, the teen from The Skating Club of New York, Inc. won the gold medal over one of the toughest fields in recent memory.

Rippon, who trains with Nikolai Morozov in Hackensack, N.J., qualified for and won the Junior Grand Prix Final in December with the highest score ever awarded in a junior international competition. The 18 year-old came into this competition with a lot of buzz, and was able to live up to his and the skating community’s expectations by…

Weir leads men in St. Paul

Tension was in the air at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as the championship men opened their chapter of these championships with their short programs.

The stage was set from the start with both the reigning champion Evan Lysacek (DuPage FSC) and three-time champion Johnny Weir (SC of New York) drawing to skate in the first warm-up group of the event. Weir would skate second, his favorite place to skate in a competition, while Lysacek was the fifth skater to take the ice. Both men seemed so into their own warm-up that they barely noticed that anyone else was on the ice with them.

Weir got the competition off to a great start, skating an elegant program to Yunona I Avos by Svetlana Pikous. The 2007-08 Grand…

Kostner defends European title

In the final event of the 2008 European Figure Skating Championships, Italy’s Carolina Kostner defended her title despite finishing second in the long program.

The 2007-08 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist opened her routine with an exquisite triple flip-triple toe loop-double loop combination, but later doubled a Lutz and doubled her second jump in a double Axel-triple toe loop combination.

In total, the 2007-08 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist landed five clean triple jumps, but she run into problems with her non-jumping elements. Her spiral sequence was graded a level 1 and her final flying combination spin was severely flawed after she lost her edge on the landing.

Overall, the Italian champion’s performance to Dumsky Trio was very smooth as she glided effortlessly from one element to another, and her high presentation score almost allowed her to make…