Lysacek to take over as leader of U.S mens skating over Weir fully, for good next yr.

And that's the difference between a competitive skater and a show skater.

Joe

Joesitz said:

And that's the difference between a competitive skater and a show skater.

Joe

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Exactly.

Sorry, but I don't believe the USFS has already decided who's going to win the next US championship. I would hate to think ANY federation would automatically award titles based on the previous Worlds' results. I believe the 2007 men's championship will be decided on the ice, by the skaters, and if Weir outskates Lysacek, he will rack up still another US title.

If US titles were based on international success, then Cohen would have been the 2004 and 2005 US Champion. Same with Sarah Hughes in 2003. Sasha and Sarah lost out, because Kwan outskated them on all 3 occasions, despite finishing behind the others at major competitions.

I recall that slutskayafan pooh-poohed Lysacek's World bronze in 2005 as a fluke and said it wouldn't happen again, but it did. Generally speaking, slutskayafan seems to hold US skaters in low regard compared to skaters of other countries. I don't know why she/he feels that she/he is an expert at internal USFS politics.

I think Weir and Lysachek will both have to turn in solid performances to win. And their is always the off-chance Ryan Jahnke puts it all together for one comp or Scott Smith outjumps them and gets COP friendlier- or Ward pulls a Galindo. And sooner or later Lysacheks habit of bombing the Sp could catch up to him.

But the truth is it will comedown to competition.

AFAIK, Ryan Jahnke is not planning on competing next season. As for Scott Smith, even if he landed every jump (including his quad) in every program, he is so uninspiring a skater that both Lysacek and Weir could skate imperfectly and still leave Scott in the dust. Scott has competed internationally for years, in both the GPs and "B" Internationals, and twice at 4CC. The best he's ever skated in the GP was a 5th place; and at 4CC, he was 8th in 2003 and 5th in 2006. He has done better at "B" Internationals, but his "B" results have not been duplicated in the more prestigious competitions. That was true before CoP as well as since CoP.

I hope he does. I'll be cheering him on.

I think Lysacek already has got the numero uno spot in the USFS.

It'll be a free for all in the battle of the Bravura v. Lyrical. If both skater their best, it will be a matter of taste.

Joe

If US titles were based on international success, then Cohen would have been the 2004 and 2005 US Champion. Same with Sarah Hughes in 2003. Sasha and Sarah lost out, because Kwan outskated them on all 3 occasions, despite finishing behind the others at major competitions.

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Hughes had been injured almost the entire 02-03 season, as had Kwan, everybody considered Hughes an underdog to both Kwan and Cohen even after her Olympic Gold though, and being injured almost the entire season did nothing to change that. Based on international results in the 02-03 season Cohen would have had the edge, and since the judges were willing to give her so many 5.9s for presentation for her badly flawed performances she probably did have their edge but made so many mistakes they had no choice but to place her 3rd.
Going into the 2004 U.S Nationals Kwan had been injured most of the season, but Cohen had still never medaled at Worlds, while Kwan had won the previous Worlds where Cohen had been 4th, and Cohen had just recently been upset at the GP final by Suguri where she had 3 falls over 2 programs. So no real reason Cohen would have had the advantage based on international results going into those Nationals, particularly after her big upset loss at the GP final. In 2005 both had been injured, Cohen had placed higher at Worlds(2nd)to Kwans(3rd)but Kwan had beaten Cohen in the free skate at Worlds, and likely only placed below Cohen at Worlds because of a timing deduction in the short program. There was the added hype of Kwan going to tie the record. In the short Kwan had the much sharper cleaner performance, in the long both were similarly flawed in their skating.

I recall that slutskayafan pooh-poohed Lysacek's World bronze in 2005 as a fluke and said it wouldn't happen again, but it did. Generally speaking, slutskayafan seems to hold US skaters in low regard compared to skaters of other countries. I don't know why she/he feels that she/he is an expert at internal USFS politics.

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You are one to talk, you also pooh-poohed Lambiel's gold at the 2005 Worlds, and said dont expect such continued success from him, and referred to me as very biased to call him as clearly one of top 2 skaters in the World(conceding a healthy Plushenko as the best), and also argued Weir's superiority and his better chances of success. Well a year later Lambiel is the Olympic Silver medalist, and 2-time World Champion, and did it all on a badly injured knee which had him considering to withdraw from both Worlds and the Olympics up until a week before the event. His results clearly prove him as the best mens skater, outside of Plushenko today, as much as it must pain you you have no basis anymore to argue otherwise and would look like an idiot trying to do so. If Plushenko does move on he clearly in leading the way heading into the next quadrennial, and the skater to beat. As for Weir, Johnny who? He would love Lambiel's mental toughness or resume, but he has neither, and never will.

slutskayafan21 said:

As for Weir, Johnny who? He would love Lambiel's mental toughness or resume, but he has neither, and never will.

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Lambiel's resume at this point will be hard for most people to match. Two time world champion. He's great. But why bash Johnny Weir? Johnny may not be consistant, but he has shown that he is capable of pulling off victories on the heels of his injuries and defeats. If he had no mental toughness, he would never have won Nationals in the first place--much less three times in a row. And he does have a quality about his skating that is unique.

I admire all of them really. If I had fractured my leg training for the quad, like Johnny did in 2001, and faced a combination of injuries and humiliation like he did in 2003, I doubt I would have been able to have the strength he did to come back in 2004 and win Nationals. And do it again in 2005, and fight through a bad season to do it again in 2006.

debdelilah said:

Lambiel's resume at this point will be hard for most people to match. Two time world champion. He's great. But why bash Johnny Weir? Johnny may not be consistant, but he has shown that he is capable of pulling off victories on the heels of his injuries and defeats. If he had no mental toughness, he would never have won Nationals in the first place--much less three times in a row. And he does have a quality about his skating that is unique.

I admire all of them really. If I had fractured my leg training for the quad, like Johnny did in 2001, and faced a combination of injuries and humiliation like he did in 2003, I doubt I would have been able to have the strength he did to come back in 2004 and win Nationals. And do it again in 2005, and fight through a bad season to do it again in 2006.

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chuckiem was raving about Weir after the 05 season, and saying how lucky people like Lambiel and Buttle were that he was injured at Worlds, how wrong I was to talking new World Champion Lambiel up so much, how dismissing Weir would come back to bite me. Well here we are a year later and Lambiel is the 2-time World Champion, Olympic silver medalist, did that all despite a chronic knee injury that had him close to withdrawing altogether from both events, and despite getting zero credit for his incredable spins under the ridiculous scoring system(that would be like taking away Stojko's quads in his prime and then seeing what he could do). Weir on the other hand is still a 0-time World and Olympic medalist who has lost to Lambiel 5 straight times dating back to the 2004 Worlds(where Weir had the competition of his life, and Lambiel had alot of mistakes and still finished above I might add); Buttle 4 straight times dating back to the 2005 Worlds; and Lysacek in 3 straight World/Olympic events.

Sorry but I have been proven wrong on far less then the individual who chooses to bring up something I said over a year ago.

Oh conspiracy theories. LOL.

slutskayafan21 said:

chuckiem was raving about Weir after the 05 season, and saying how lucky people like Lambiel and Buttle were that he was injured at Worlds, how wrong I was to talking new World Champion Lambiel up so much, how dismissing Weir would come back to bite me. Well here we are a year later and Lambiel is the 2-time World Champion, Olympic silver medalist, did that all despite a chronic knee injury that had him close to withdrawing altogether from both events, and despite getting zero credit for his incredable spins under the ridiculous scoring system(that would be like taking away Stojko's quads in his prime and then seeing what he could do). Weir on the other hand is still a 0-time World and Olympic medalist who has lost to Lambiel 5 straight times dating back to the 2000 Worlds(where Weir had the competition of his life, and Lambiel had alot of mistakes and still finished above I might add); Buttle 4 straight times dating back to the 2001 Worlds; and Lysacek in 3 straight World/Olympic events.

Sorry but I have been proven wrong on far less then the individual who chooses to bring up something I said over a year ago.

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I don't think you're wrong about Stephane at all. But results speak for themselves. Stephane is a strong jumper who is also artistic and extremely successful right now. You don't have to bash Johnny to strengthen Stephane.

Being currently less accomplished than Stephane doesn't mean that he's a mentally weak nobody. I admire his skating.


(By the way, I'm not sure what years you're referencing above. Johnny didn't skate in Worlds in 2000. He won Junior Worlds in 2001. I think you're probably talking about later years.)

Sorry I am always thinking in the past quadrennials. I often post years wrong in 4 holes, thinking in the quadrennial sense.

I am not looking to diminish anyone beyond reason. I am just stating that chuckiem to bring up my possably being wrong on Lysacek being a fluke bronze medalist at last years Worlds, hardly makes me look back with regret, when he was the one trumpeting how Lambiel's World win was a flukish result which was far from a foreshadowing of his 05-06 season as I made it out to be, which Lambiel proved dead wrong of course on a wonky knee, and how Weir was vastly underrated by me and was going to really show me something in the coming season which he did nothing of the sort.

slutskayafan21 said:

Sorry I am always thinking in the past quadrennials. I often post years wrong in 4 holes, thinking in the quadrennial sense.

I am not looking to diminish anyone beyond reason. I am just stating that chuckiem to bring up my possably being wrong on Lysacek being a fluke bronze medalist at last years Worlds, hardly makes me look back with regret, when he was the one trumpeting how Lambiel's World win was a flukish result which was far from a foreshadowing of his 05-06 season as I made it out to be, which Lambiel proved dead wrong of course on a wonky knee, and how Weir was vastly underrated by me and was going to really show me something in the coming season which he did nothing of the sort.

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Yes, I understand, but predicting that Weir will never accomplish anything great is similar to what he(chuckm) was saying about Lambiel last year.

I hope that just as Lambiel proved strong this season, Weir can thrive next season. I would like that very much. And I don't care whether Lambiel beats him either--I'd just like to see him improve, and skate well, and be neither injured nor depressed.

slutskayafan21 said:

Hughes had been injured almost the entire 02-03 season, as had Kwan, everybody considered Hughes an underdog to both Kwan and Cohen even after her Olympic Gold though, and being injured almost the entire season did nothing to change that. Based on international results in the 02-03 season Cohen would have had the edge, and since the judges were willing to give her so many 5.9s for presentation for her badly flawed performances she probably did have their edge but made so many mistakes they had no choice but to place her 3rd..

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Hughes "injured almost the entire 02-03 season...as had Kwan"? Since when? Hughes reported she had a slight knee strain and backed out of 2002 Campbell's and her GP events, but the "injured" Kwan replaced Slutskaya at Campbell's (which she won) and Hughes at Skate America (which she won). In fact, Kwan went on to win the Winter Cheesefest, Nationals, Worlds and the Spring cheesefest for her first undefeated season in years. Pretty good for someone who was "injured" all season.

As for Hughes, after miraculously recovering from the 'injury' that kept her out of Campbell's and the GP events in October, she skated at the Crest competition in November and the Hallmark competition in December before competing at Nationals and Worlds.

Sasha had finished 4th at both Worlds and Olympics in 2002, and despite doing well in the GP (and winning Crest), she did not exactly have a winning hand going into 2003 Nationals since at that time, the GPF was held AFTER Nationals and GP events alone did not have any particular cachet.

slutskayafan21 said:

Going into the 2004 U.S Nationals Kwan had been injured most of the season, but Cohen had still never medaled at Worlds, while Kwan had won the previous Worlds where Cohen had been 4th, and Cohen had just recently been upset at the GP final by Suguri where she had 3 falls over 2 programs. So no real reason Cohen would have had the advantage based on international results going into those Nationals, particularly after her big upset loss at the GP final. In 2005 both had been injured, Cohen had placed higher at Worlds(2nd)to Kwans(3rd)but Kwan had beaten Cohen in the free skate at Worlds, and likely only placed below Cohen at Worlds because of a timing deduction in the short program. There was the added hype of Kwan going to tie the record. In the short Kwan had the much sharper cleaner performance, in the long both were similarly flawed in their skating..

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I don't know where you are getting all these fictitious injuries. Kwan had NOT been injured in the 2004-2005 season. She simply chose not to compete in the GP, and at no time gave injury as a reason. She DID skate at Campbell's, where she finished 2nd to Sasha for the first time. Sasha won all 3 of her GP events but faltered in the Winter cheesefest, where she finished 3rd behind Kwan and Arakawa, then lost to Suguri in the GPF. But this was the inaugural CoP season in the GP, and Sasha had racked up the highest scores of any lady. She was considered by most in the skating community to be a cinch to win the US Champonship, but it did not happen.

There is no way that Kwan could have beaten Sasha at 2004 Worlds, since she had finished 3rd in the QR and 4th in the SP, while Sasha had won her QR and the SP, as well. Under 6.0, Sasha would have to have finished 5th or lower in the FS for Kwan to pass her.

There was no such thing as the "added hype of tying the record" for 2004 Nationals. That was a factor for 2005 Nationals. 2004-2005 was the season where SASHA was injured and sat out the GP (after Campbell's, of course, where she lost to Kwan), but Kwan did as well. Going into 2005 Nationals, Sasha was the one with the better international credentials, as she was the World silver medalist and the CoP veteran. Kwan's programs were notably CoP deficient, but Sasha still finished 2nd.

slutskayafan21 said:

You are one to talk, you also pooh-poohed Lambiel's gold at the 2005 Worlds, and said dont expect such continued success from him, and referred to me as very biased to call him as clearly one of top 2 skaters in the World(conceding a healthy Plushenko as the best), and also argued Weir's superiority and his better chances of success. Well a year later Lambiel is the Olympic Silver medalist, and 2-time World Champion, and did it all on a badly injured knee which had him considering to withdraw from both Worlds and the Olympics up until a week before the event. His results clearly prove him as the best mens skater, outside of Plushenko today, as much as it must pain you you have no basis anymore to argue otherwise and would look like an idiot trying to do so. If Plushenko does move on he clearly in leading the way heading into the next quadrennial, and the skater to beat. As for Weir, Johnny who? He would love Lambiel's mental toughness or resume, but he has neither, and never will.

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I said Lambiel would not beat a healthy Plushenko, and that turned out to be 100% true. Lambiel was a distant 2nd to Plushy at Torino. And Weir beat Lambiel in the SP.

Lambiel's knee is the main reason why he will probably not be dominant into the next quadrennial. He's already had two surgeries which have not been able to stand up to the stresses of quads and 3As.

Never say "Never will". It could come back to haunt you.

Well I honestly think Evan is the U.S's #1 for the next quadrennial, and it is not bias as I hate Evan much more than Weir who I am fairly neutral on even though I find him way overhyped. That is just reality. The U.S men are not strong enough for their #2 guy to have much chance, only their #1 guy will have some podium aspirations, the U.S men are not the equivalent of the U.S women, even the #1 guy is an underdog guy on the World scene. So if indeed Weir is only second fiddle in the U.S, and that becomes even more clear througout the figure skating community then it already is, his hopes of ever winning a World/Olympic medal are next to nil barring a meltdown Worlds. However if I am wrong and either Johnny does take back his former role as the top American skater(even as we speak I dont believe he is this based on his very narrow U.S title, when Even is beating him repeatedly at big events internationaly), or they dont have a clear #1 and it is a pretty even thing, then he might still have some viable hopes on the international stage.

chuckm said:

I said Lambiel would not beat a healthy Plushenko, and that turned out to be 100% true. Lambiel was a distant 2nd to Plushy at Torino. And Weir beat Lambiel in the SP.

Lambiel's knee is the main reason why he will probably not be dominant into the next quadrennial. He's already had two surgeries which have not been able to stand up to the stresses of quads and 3As.

Never say "Never will". It could come back to haunt you.

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Oh please, that is not what you said, too bad your statements or so old I probably couldnt dig them up, but saying you merely said he would not beat a healthy Plushenko is rich. Yes Weir barely beat Lambiel in the short program by less then a point, where Lambiel gave up about 6 points with his doubled triple axel, and shaky two-footed quad combo; and Weir skated his best. It is the only time in 10 programs in the last 2 years Weir has even beaten Lambiel in a single program. Bravo to Weir.

Lambiel dealt with his knee problems just fine this past year, and he claims they are getting better. He has sounded very optimstic about his future in amateur skating in recent interviews. I know you would love him to go away, but I think you will be dissapointed and he will continue to add to his medal haul over the next 4 years. Unlike Weir he does not bag a competition because he is a bit sore in one part of the body.

chuckm said:

Hughes "injured almost the entire 02-03 season...as had Kwan"? Since when? Hughes reported she had a slight knee strain and backed out of 2002 Campbell's and her GP events, but the "injured" Kwan replaced Slutskaya at Campbell's (which she won) and Hughes at Skate America (which she won). In fact, Kwan went on to win the Winter Cheesefest, Nationals, Worlds and the Spring cheesefest for her first undefeated season in years. Pretty good for someone who was "injured" all season.

As for Hughes, after miraculously recovering from the 'injury' that kept her out of Campbell's and the GP events in October, she skated at the Crest competition in November and the Hallmark competition in December before competing at Nationals and Worlds.

Sasha had finished 4th at both Worlds and Olympics in 2002, and despite doing well in the GP (and winning Crest), she did not exactly have a winning hand going into 2003 Nationals since at that time, the GPF was held AFTER Nationals and GP events alone did not have any particular cachet.

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Hughes finished only 3rd at that Hallmark competition between both Sato and Slutskaya, and lost easily at the Crest competition to Cohen. Her Olympic win was considered a fluke by most people, and Kwan and Cohen were still seen as more likely prospects to win the World title. I see no reason it would be assumed she would have had any upper hand going into 2003 Nationals if it was based on international stature, even as the Olympic Champion.

Sasha had alot of hype after her GP season which she almost went through undefeated. Maybe the comeptition was not the hardest, but she still had more buzz going into Nationals then Hughes, and Kwan also did, so I dont see where anyone would get the idea Hughes would have had the upper hand going into Nationals based on international results despite her shock Olympic Gold.

I don't know where you are getting all these fictitious injuries. Kwan had NOT been injured in the 2004-2005 season. She simply chose not to compete in the GP, and at no time gave injury as a reason. She DID skate at Campbell's, where she finished 2nd to Sasha for the first time. Sasha won all 3 of her GP events but faltered in the Winter cheesefest, where she finished 3rd behind Kwan and Arakawa, then lost to Suguri in the GPF. But this was the inaugural CoP season in the GP, and Sasha had racked up the highest scores of any lady. She was considered by most in the skating community to be a cinch to win the US Champonship, but it did not happen.

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So according to you Cohen had more buzz as the favorite going into 04 Nationals then 03? What would that be based on, as you said in 03 the GP final had not happened yet. So in 03 she did not have a failure at the GP final, she only had a controversial loss to Volchkova at COR, despite a perfect performance, as her lone blemish. In 04 she had an upset loss to Suguri at the GP final, where she fell 3 times over 2 programs and looked very shaky. In 03 she had impressive 4th places at her debut Olympics and Worlds the previous year. In 04 she had a 4th place finish from the previous years Worlds that would be seen in a different light since much more was expected of her at the 03Worlds then the 02 Olympics and 02 Worlds.

Since COP was not being used for Nationals and Worlds I am not sure how her scores under COP would have any barring going into Nationals either.

There is no way that Kwan could have beaten Sasha at 2004 Worlds, since she had finished 3rd in the QR and 4th in the SP, while Sasha had won her QR and the SP, as well. Under 6.0, Sasha would have to have finished 5th or lower in the FS for Kwan to pass her.

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Your point? I all but said the same thing. I pointed out Kwan beat Sasha in the long program, and probably would have overall had it not been for the short program controversy of her getting deducted for going "overtime". So Sasha's stature being over Kwan's based on defeating her at the 04 Worlds would be tenous at best.

There was no such thing as the "added hype of tying the record" for 2004 Nationals. That was a factor for 2005 Nationals. 2004-2005 was the season where SASHA was injured and sat out the GP (after Campbell's, of course, where she lost to Kwan), but Kwan did as well. Going into 2005 Nationals, Sasha was the one with the better international credentials, as she was the World silver medalist and the CoP veteran. Kwan's programs were notably CoP deficient, but Sasha still finished 2nd.

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At the 05 Nationals Kwan had the hype of tying the record, and as I said her loss at the 04 Worlds to Cohen was hardly in a way that would show Cohen to have any clear edge at the World level yet. Since the Nationals did not use COP, their scoring did not neccessarily reflect COP-effectiveness in anyway.



Bringing up Cohen-Kwan examples is a poor choice anyway, since Cohen and Kwan were always fairly close in stature and momentum going into events at all times from 03-05; and Hughes absolutely never would have been seen as the chosen one over either of those two, even in the 03 season, I have no idea where you get that idea. I am not predicting that to be the case when it comes to Weir-Lysacek, which would make it totally different then Cohen-Kwan. Anyway Weir and Lysacek are not the equivalent of Cohen and Kwan in their mutual primes, they are not as prominent on a World stage, so you are better off backing one more then the other, and as you can see by many of the responses other sense that backing going more towards Lysacek at the moment. As somebody said earlier my thread is the 3rd started on the subject here, that is telling.

slutskayafan21 said:

Well I honestly think Evan is the U.S's #1 for the next quadrennial, and it is not bias as I hate Evan much more than Weir who I am fairly neutral on even though I find him way overhyped. That is just reality. The U.S men are not strong enough for their #2 guy to have much chance, only their #1 guy will have some podium aspirations, the U.S men are not the equivalent of the U.S women, even the #1 guy is an underdog guy on the World scene. So if indeed Weir is only second fiddle in the U.S, and that becomes even more clear througout the figure skating community then it already is, his hopes of ever winning a World/Olympic medal are next to nil barring a meltdown Worlds. However if I am wrong and either Johnny does take back his former role as the top American skater(even as we speak I dont believe he is this based on his very narrow U.S title, when Even is beating him repeatedly at big events internationaly), or they dont have a clear #1 and it is a pretty even thing, then he might still have some viable hopes on the international stage.

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Johnny lost 7.5 points in the long program at Nationals this year because of a COP mistake he made--he lost out because of the rule that prevents credit for a repetition of jumps, and would have scored substatially higher if he hadn't lost credit there.

I'm not sure how you think he's being overrated. At this moment, I think he's underrated, not in terms of what he did this season, but in terms of what he can do. He was mocked, belittled, and recieved hatemail after placing fifth at the Olympics, while Evan received great praise for his perseverance in placing fourth. At Worlds, he was criticized for not wanting to be there, and people who doubted him after the Olympics doubted him even more after he skated in the free program at Worlds.

At this moment, he has probably lost fans that he had last year and the year before, not because his skating was bad this season per se, but because expectations were so high. But he's still the same person who raised those expectations in the first place. He's a person who didn't put on skates until he was 12, and may reach his peak later than others who started earlier. I don't know how successful he'll be, but I expect he'll try not only the quad but the 4-3-2 this season. He is a fighter, whether or not he wins.

debdelilah said:

Johnny lost 7.5 points in the long program at Nationals this year because of a COP mistake he made--he lost out because of the rule that prevents credit for a repetition of jumps, and would have scored substatially higher if he hadn't lost credit there.

I'm not sure how you think he's being overrated. At this moment, I think he's underrated, not in terms of what he did this season, but in terms of what he can do. He was mocked, belittled, and recieved hatemail after placing fifth at the Olympics, while Evan received great praise for his perseverance in placing fourth. At Worlds, he was criticized for not wanting to be there, and people who doubted him after the Olympics doubted him even more after he skated in the free program at Worlds.

At this moment, he has probably lost fans that he had last year and the year before, not because his skating was bad this season per se, but because expectations were so high. But he's still the same person who raised those expectations in the first place. He's a person who didn't put on skates until he was 12, and may reach his peak later than others who started earlier. I don't know how successful he'll be, but I expect he'll try not only the quad but the 4-3-2 this season. He is a fighter, whether or not he wins.

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Given his "free spirit" personality and his insistence on making up his programs as he goes along, which he has done at EVERY event this year in the long program, seeing him sticking to very COP-friendly programs that Evan skates is hard to see to be honest. Evan makes up huge points on Johnny by scraping and pinching for every point he can get on the TES scores by using the system. Johnny is the polar opposite to him in that regard.

You are right alot of people were down on Johnny and high on Evan after this years major events. I am surprised you wouldnt see why exactly that is though.
Evan as overscored and overhyped as I find him to be, showed himself to be a much more determined competitor, and willing to fight adversity this past year much more then Johnny did.

The late bloomer theory would seem to mean more if he wasnt being passed by so many skaters in recent years. He used to bet Buttle regularly as a junior, but has lost to him regularly in the last 2 years, Buttle is older and has skated many more years since he started skating when he was 5, yet he has passed Johnny in the last 2 years after being behind years in the past. 18-year old Oda beat Johnny in both of their meetings this year, including his debut at Worlds. Lambiel has distanced himself more and more from Johnny since finishing 1 spot above him at the 04 Worlds. Evan has beaten Johnny at the last 3 World events, after Johnny coming to the 05 Worlds as the clear-cut U.S #1 and a huge medal hopeful.