Naperville's Lysacek wins gold medal in men's figure skating
She might have tried her best to relax, but Candy Brown Burek's body language told another story.
From the edge of her seat, she tensely watched her former figure skating pupil - Naperville native Evan Lysacek - give his gold medal-winning free skate performance Thursday night.
Brown Burek sat amid a dozen of her current pupils in Geneva, decked out in "Candy's Crew" T-shirts. All erupted along with their coach as Lysacek performed a nearly flawless 41/2-minute routine.
It was the second-loudest moment of the night, followed only by the instant they and the rest of the world learned Lysacek won the gold.
"I thought it was an excellent performance," Brown Burek said. "He had great speed and was a little reserved in places, but considering the stage, it was excellent."
Lysacek became the first U.S. man to win the Olympic gold medal since Brian Boitano in 1988, shocking everyone - maybe even himself - by upsetting defending champion Evgeni Plushenko. Plushenko came out of retirement with the sole purpose of making a little history of his own with a second straight gold medal.
Plushenko, the last to skate, held up both index fingers when he finished, as if to say, "Was there ever any question?" As it turned out, yes, there was.
And it wasn't really that close.
When Plushenko's scores were posted, someone in the arena screamed out, "Evan Lysacek has won the gold!" Backstage, surrounded by longtime coach Frank Carroll and pairs gold medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, Lysacek threw back his head in disbelief and utter elation.
Lysacek, the reigning world champion, finished with a career-best 257.67, 1.31 ahead of the Russian.
Back in Geneva, student Jason Schlicher backed up Lysacek's former coach's assessment.
"I didn't know how he would do because he's messed up before," the 12-year-old from Batavia said, "but he did amazing."
This was the second Olympic performance for the 2003 Neuqua Valley High School graduate. He placed fourth in Torino, Italy, in 2006 after a poor short program and a redemptive free skate.
Thursday night, Lysacek was the first of the top six skaters to perform - a spot one of Brown Burek's current students prefers.
"I like to go first," said 16-year-old Madeline Stammen of St. Charles. "I like setting the standard because then all the others have to skate at your level."
Lysacek played it safe for the first three minutes. He had long ago decided against doing a quad, not wanting to risk further damage to the left foot he'd broken last spring. But everything he did was technically perfect.
His jumps were done with the control and dependability of a fine Swiss timepiece, and his spins were so well-centered one could see the tight little circle of his tracings clear across the ice.
He didn't skate with all his usual flair and charisma. But when he landed his last jump, a double axel, Lysacek let loose. His face was so expressive budding actors should take note, and he fixed the judges with a kingly glare during his circular steps. Fans were roaring their approval as he finished his final spin.
The last note of his music was still fading when Lysacek pumped his fists and screamed, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" He clapped his hands and skated to center ice, throwing his arms out wide to the crowd and blowing kisses. He put his arm around Carroll, who had yet to coach a gold medalist despite a list of past and present skaters that reads like a Who's Who on Ice.
"It was definitely my best, and that's what I came here to do," Lysacek said.
Lysacek caught Brown Burek's eye when he was a 9-year-old practicing at a Glen Ellyn ice rink. She recognized his passion for the sport almost immediately, she said.
She also remembers an impatient pupil who wanted greatness immediately.
"Patience was the biggest problem because he was so ambitious," Brown Burek said. "He was accelerating at lightning speed, but he wanted consistency to come quickly. The body had to catch up with the brain."
"He loved jumping and turning, but he wanted it all."
In previous years, he has struggled with short programs at big events. However, Lysacek entered Thursday's free skate in second place narrowly behind Plushenko.
Lysacek also was just ahead of Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, but the battle between the Lysacek and Plushenko was the storyline. The free skate pitted the Russian master of the quadruple jump against the American who places form ahead of flash.
Lysacek's parents credit Brown Burek with pushing their son to excel in all aspects of the sport, not just aerobatic stunts and tricks. Brown Burek rather enjoyed the feather in her cap herself.
"To start something many years ago and see it come to fruition like this is awesome."
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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<li><a href="/story/?id=360410">No quad for Evan, just gold <span class="date">[02/19/10]</span></a></li>
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