Lysacek doing double, triple jumps again
NEW YORK — Olympic figure skating champion Evan Lysacek says he's doing double and triple jumps in practice as he tries to come back from injury in time to defend his title in Sochi.
The Naperville native tore the labrum in his left hip in a fall on a quad in training Aug. 21. He hasn't competed since winning gold in Vancouver in 2010, sidelined last year by a torn abdominal muscle.
His doctors have yet to give Lysacek the go-ahead to attempt quads again. He can't predict when that will be, but he remains optimistic after missing more than a month of training.
“I'm not worried that I'm not in shape,” he said Monday. “It's just really going to be dependent on the rate at which I heal, and unfortunately that's out of my control.”
Lysacek needs to post a minimum technical score in an international competition within the next couple of months to be eligible for the Olympics, which start Feb. 7 — 100 days from Tuesday. But he can accomplish that without his full repertoire of jumps.
He's learned from past injuries to listen to his doctors and not risk making it worse.
“I've come back from every single one of them,” Lysacek said. “I have faith that this is no different from those.”