Don Markus
January1998
PHILADELPHIA---As Michael Weiss walked over from the hotel to the CoreStates Center for his afternoon skate yesterday, he wore a big smile on his face.
When his wife Lisa asked what he was smiling about, Weiss said, "This is what everybody has been talking about for the past 13 years, since the first time I was asked, 'Do you want to go to the Olympics?' "
Weiss, 21, took a big step last night toward being one of the two male skaters to represent the U.S. in Nagano, Japan, next month by overcoming what had been a significant career obstacle.
Beset by mistakes big and small in the short program at previous major championships, Weiss skated a solid routine at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Weiss made made only one slight stumble coming out of a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination and finished the night second behind four-time U.S. champion Todd Eldrege.
"I think it gives me a lot of confidence, said Weiss, who came into the competition second behind Eldrege in the selection process to determine who'll go to Nagano.
Admittedly, Weiss was thinking about his past miscues in the short program. He was also thinking about the fact that doing triple Axel-double toe loop combinations that had hurt him before.
"The way skating is going, you have to skate a triple Axel-triple toe loop," he said.
With the help of the strength he has gained through weight training, Weiss was able to hang onto the trile toe loop enough not to have a significant deduction. "It has a lot to do with having done it before," said Weiss. "Everything is not perfect in practice all the time. When you can still pull it out when you're slightly off, that will help you down the road."
It will help Weiss tommorrow night. He needs to hang onto second place to make the Olympic team since Eldrege, a former world champion, will likely go regardless of what happens in the long program.
Even with a strong hold on second after former U.S. champion Scott Davis faltered badly in his routine, Weiss plans to go ahead with his much publicized attempt at the quad Lutz, a jump that no male skater has ever landed.
"I've always been one to go after things,"he said.
