Naperville Skater Jumps His Way to the Top

By Laura Oppenheimer in News on Jan 29, 2007 3:15PM

Chicagoist can't even imagine what it takes to hurl yourself up in the air, turn around four times, land on a skinny metal blade, hurl yourself up again, turn around three more times, land again, and make it look easy, but that's what Naperville native Evan Lysacek did on Saturday night to win his first national championship in figure skating. Lysacek, who entered Saturday night's free skate less than one point ahead of defending national champ Johnny Weir, dominated the free skate, beating Weir by 35 points and second-place finisher Ryan Bradley by 19 points. "This," said four-time world champion Kurt Browning of Canada, "was a clinic."

Lysacek not only landed the quad-triple combination, but also eight other triple jumps. His music was from the opera Carmen, and by the end of the program, the crowd was clapping along. After hitting the last note of his program, Lysacek dropped to his knees on the ice, while the crowd gave him a standing ovation. The next two skaters, Weir and Bradley, could neither match Lysacek's athleticism nor his artistry.

You may remember hearing about Lysacek during the 2006 Olympics, where he was part of the American contingent representing in Torino. Lysacek didn't medal there — he placed fourth, just out of medal contention — but came back to win the bronze medal at the 2006 world championships. We hope this is the first of many gold medals for Lysacek ... anyone else thinking Vancouver in 2010 for the hometown hero?