Joubert edges Lysacek in worlds short program
LOS ANGELES - Brian Joubert said everything he needed to on the ice.
The Frenchman botched his quad combination yet still won the short program at the World Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday night because of polished spins, crisp footwork and choreography that was so perfectly matched to his techno pop music he could give any club kid a challenge.
The 2007 champion finished with 84.40 points, putting him 1.7 ahead of Naperville's Evan Lysacek going into Thursday night's free skate.
Lysacek, the two-time U.S. champion, was devastated after a subdued performance at nationals dropped him to third place.
But he looked like a completely different skater Wednesday, doing a powerful program that oozed emotion from the time he took the ice until he triumphantly slid across the ice on one knee after his music ended.
His jumps were big and he made them look effortless, landing on his spaghetti-thin blade with ease.
His footwork was dramatic and he worked every bit of it, using his facial expressions and hands to make it more theatrical.
His spins were quick and tight, and he was pumping his left fist as the final one finished.
He shook both of his fists, screamed "Yeah!" and covered his face with both hands. He skated to center ice and then went down on one knee, delighting the cheering crowd as he slid forward.
"I saw part of Brian's skate, he's a wonderful skater," said Frank Carroll, Lysacek's longtime coach. I know he has a lot of dynamic and fast movement. He did the quad and he's a world champion, so I'm not surprised (that he's ahead of Lysacek). His program marks were just barely above Evan."
Patrick Chan, Canada's up-and-comer, is third. Brandon Mroz showed his second-place finish at his first senior U.S. championships was no fluke, finishing eighth with a solid, clean skate.
U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott, however, ran into a few problems and is in 10th place.
"I want to focus myself on speed, footwork, skating and confidence," Joubert said. "I don't want to do only jumps. The score is good today."