This anthem was stirring
Kim rises to the top of a new worlds mix
LOS ANGELES - The spectators at previous World Figure Skating Championships had heard everything from Beethoven to the Beatles, from Puccini to Pink Floyd. One bit of music they'd never heard was the anthem of the Republic of Korea - until Saturday night inside the
Not that it was a surprise. The axis of women's skating began shifting to Asia in 2004 when Shizuka Arakawa won the global crown and then went on to claim the Olympic gold medal in Turin two years later.
Kim, who's already the most popular female athlete in Korean history, had won bronzes the last two years. This, finally, was her time.
"Always when I heard the anthem before, I got to the verge of crying, but I always kept it in," said the 18-year-old Kim. "But today when I heard it, I couldn't keep it in."
Change at the top was inevitable after Jeff Buttle retired and ice dance titlists Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder opted out after his shoulder surgery. After Kim dethroned Mao Asada, that left the pair of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy as the only champs to retain their crowns.
The four titles were won by four countries, with eight countries accounting for the 12 medals. The United States claimed the men's gold for the first time since 1996 with Evan Lysacek and Canada won its first women's medal since 1988 with Joannie Rochette (silver). The podium diversity, uncommon in a pre-Olympic year, might well have been a product of the scoring system, which makes for dramatic movement in the standings that was unlikely under the old 6.0 format.
What was equally as notable at these championships, though, was the rebuffing of the theory that any man without a quadruple jump or woman without a triple axel couldn't win. Lysacek didn't attempt a quad and Kim didn't try an axel and both won.
"This is the second year in a row that the champion has won without a quad," said Canada's Patrick Chan, who took the silver. "The answer's right there."
France's Brian Joubert, the former champ who'd complained that Buttle had lifted his crown without having to do a quad, opened his long program with one, then botched a triple axel and fell on a double axel and ended up third.
"Brian landed a beautiful quad," acknowledged Chan, who also didn't try one. "But he was lacking in other aspects, which is why he didn't, like, win."
While Asada, last year's champ, opened with a stunning triple axel-double toe combination, she fell on her solo triple axel and finished fourth behind countrywoman Miki Ando. In this system, it's more about execution than difficulty. Five skaters, including Rachael Flatt, who placed an encouraging fifth, had higher base values than Kim's, but she still had the best element score, plus a whopping margin on the component score, which is the former artistic mark.
Kim's most difficult element was a triple flip-triple toe combo, but she prevailed because she piled up extra points for execution in everything from spins to spirals, faltering only on her triple salchow, which she doubled.
Added to her 8-point lead after the short program, it was more than enough for a historic gold.
Lysacek did much the same, avoiding the quad because of a stress fracture in his foot but skating cleanly, most notably landing triple axel-double toe and triple lutz-triple toe combos.
"Most of the guys are doing the same stuff," said Lysacek, who's bidding to become the first US male to win at Olympus since Brian Boitano in 1988. "What sets us apart is how well we do it."
Like Todd Eldredge in 1996, Lysacek won the gold without having won the US title, which would have been rare, back when judges gave the benefit of the doubt to national champions. Here, it was a curse, as the American titlists had their worst combined showing in the event's history. Jeremy Abbott, who'd dethroned Lysacek in Cleveland, finished a dispirited 11th here, even behind rookie teammate Brandon Mroz.
Alissa Czisny also was 11th, as was the pair of Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker. Only ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who missed the bronze medal by .04 points, had a satisfying outing.
Still, the Americans left town with Lysacek's gold and a silver from dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, who returned to the podium after a year's absence.
That was a significant upgrade from last year's showing, where Johnny Weir's bronze was the only medal.
There was a time, though, when two medals for Uncle Sam at a world championships was considered an off year. That was when the arena needed to have only a half-dozen anthems on tape. From now on, the ROK's had better be standard stock.
John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com. 
