Amy Shipley
January 1998
Weiss 2nd in Short Program/Eldrege leads U.S. Figure Skating Championships PHILADELPHIA---After the music ended, Fairfax's Micheal Weiss punched the air in exultation. Or was it relief? After four straight years of numbing mistakes in the short program of the U.S. figure skating championships, Weiss did not trip, stumble, or fall.With a stylish and strong performance at the CoreStates Center tonight, Weiss erased a few haunting memories and achieved something substancial: a second-place finish behimd four-time national chmapion Todd Eldrege, making Weiss the leading contender for the second of two U.S. Olympic men's singles spots.
The fact that Eldrege, who is all but guaranteed to go to the Olympics, finished ahead of Weiss was neither unexpected nor disturbing to Weiss. For him, the fact that neither Scott Davis nor Dan Hollander surpassed him was reason for satisfaction.
The enormity of the day's challenge dawned on Weiss hours before the competiton, as he left his hotel with his wife. "when I was 8 years old, the question everybody was asking me was: Do I want to go to the Olympics someday?" Weiss, 21, said. "that was my main goal. I think I realized today: This is it. This is what everyone has asked me about my entire life, and here you are. It's right before you."
The long program, which accounts for 2/3 of a skater's score, takes place Thursday night. Immediately after, the Olympic selections will be made. Only the first place finisher is assured of a place on the team, with a second pick at the discretion of the U.S. figure Skating Association.
Tonight, Davis, a two-tome national champion, finished third and Shep Clark, a little0known skater from Atlanta finished fourth. Hollander, a two-time U.S. bronze medalist, landed in seventh after a mistake filled performance.
"Figure skating is many different steps," Weiss said. "This is a big step for me, to come in in an Olympic year and skate a solid short program. But we are only third of the way done. The big part is on Thursday."
The two minute forty second short program requires each skater to complete eight required moves--three jumps, three spins, and two fast step sequences. The long program has no required elements
The fact that Weiss, who has never gone to an Olympics, sailed through his short program withour a major mistake bodes well. Weiss's long program has always been his strength. Im his short program at last year's nationals, he put his hands down on his triple axel. The year before he stepped out of the same jump. In 1995, he fell, and in 1994, he put a hand down.
"As an athlete, you always have little [negative] thoughts in your mind," Weiss said. "I think that's ...a step to becoming a champion, realizing you have doubts inyour mind, and going through and doing them anyway."
If Weiss skated a very good program, rescuing a near fall out of his triple Axel-triple toe loop combination, Eldrege's effort was the class of the evening. Immediately after Weiss's lively flamenco piece stirred the crowd of 5,425 into clapping and cheering, Eldrege took the ice and incited even more rousing applause, begining with a silky smooth triple Axel-triple toe combination. He received all nine first-place votes. Weiss received eight seconds.
"I just feel real good," said Eldrege. "Hopefully Thursday I will feel good out there too."
If Weiss felt upstaged, he didn't show it after.
"That's what sports is ll about, having the best going back-to-back," Weiss said. "That's what makes it exciting."
After Eldrege's program, Weiss had to wait for the results of Hollander and Davis, considered his main competition. Both skipped required jumps. Both did triple-doubles instead of triple-triple combinations. Davis's high finish seemed to be earned more on reputation then performance.
Hollander finished barely above world junior champion Derick Delmore of Fort Washington, who was ninth among the 18 skaters.
Thursday, Weiss intends to become the first skater ever to execute a quadruple Lutz--a jump he completes only 10% of the time in practice. He said he will attempt that jump evenwith the Olympics on the kine. "When I put that time and effort into [something], I've alwaty been someone to go for it," Weiss said. "You never leave anything on the practice ice."
