Weir able to land another

PORTLAND, Ore. -- All week long, Johnny Weir had been waiting to exhale. He'd arrived here as the reigning king of American figure skating, with all the perks and pressures that came with it.

"I was very nervous coming to this," Weir confessed. "As much as I tried not to let it affect me, it's hard coming in as the champion."

No man since Michael Weiss (a deflated but deserved fifth here) in 2000 had defended his crown. So when Weir kept himself together for 4 1/2 minutes at the Rose Garden yesterday, he was both elated and relieved.

"I'm just completely floored and thrilled and anything possible good," said the 20-year-old Weir, after he'd posted five 6.0 artistic scores to keep his title ahead of former champ Tim Goebel and promising teen-ager Evan Lysacek.

Weir had lived through everything possible bad in Dallas two years ago, when he slammed into the dasher, then crashed on an axel and had to withdraw during the long program.

"In a way, the Dallas nationals helped make my career," said Weir. who should win a medal at the world championships in Moscow in March. "Because I had to fight back and I had to become stronger."

For Goebel, his implosion at last year's championships in Atlanta was the impetus for a renaissance to a career that had gone into a tailspin after he won the Olympic bronze in Salt Lake City.

"Making it back to the world team, considering I didn't even finish last year, is a success for me," said Goebel, who turned in his best performance since he won the 2001 title in Boston.

Time was when Goebel, the only domestic competitor who lands a quadruple jump consistently, was the man of the future in American skating. But injuries, equipment problems, and motivational issues had knocked him askew and opened the door for Weir, who grabbed the title with poise and panache last year.

This year, though, he felt the squeeze of expectation. More people watching him practice. More cameras, more microphones, more notepads around him. He knew he couldn't kid himself about what was at stake.

"It was so much pressure," said Weir, who'd been outskated by Goebel in Thursday's short program. "It was so difficult to wait backstage."

When he took the ice, the building was still rocking from the ovation for Goebel, who'd landed a quad toe-triple toe combination that Weir won't even try in competition. But when Goebel staggered out of one triple axel and barely held the other, he provided some wiggle room for Weir.

Still, with a quadless program, Weir knew he had little margin for error. He had to land all eight triples, nail his spins, lay down his footwork. Which he did, with a grace and smoothness that have made Weir the best artiste since Brian Boitano.

Whether it was worth five 6.0s -- the most by a man at the US championships since Boitano's eight in 1988 -- was debatable. "If the judges want to give me 6.0s, I'm completely down with that," Weir shrugged.

What mattered was the first-place marks, and Weir gathered all nine. The only question now was who would nail down the third spot on the world team -- Lysacek or Matt Savoie, last year's bronze medalist.

Savoie, who has battled injuries for the last few years ("I'm chronically injured"), omitted his planned quad and doubled the back end of both his triple-triple combos. So the ticket to Moscow was there for the taking for the 19-year-old Lysacek, who took the ice while the crowd was still saluting Weir.

He used the energy to jump-start his sprightly "Singing in the Rain" routine, landed seven triple jumps, and ended laughing with joy. After missing two summer months with a hip stress fracture, coming in third here was an unexpected delight. For Lysacek, the squeeze will come later. Johnny Weir can tell him about that.