Canadian
Jeffrey Buttle may have won the gold, and sexy Frenchman
Brian Joubert may have captured the silver, but a mistake-free program by three time national champion
Johnny Weir proved the American was back on top of his game. After a season of controversy and renewed strength, Weir’s bronze winning performance at the 2008 World championships was the only US medal awarded.
For the past few years, Weir has been scrutinized and heavily criticized for his often flamboyant and extremely outspoken behavior. Without a world or Olympic medal to his name, his potential for greatness seemed to be waning, and the skating community began focusing its attention in other directions.
This season, however, the 23 year old from Pennsylvania made a crucial coaching change switching to the legendary
Galina Zmievskaya, who had been ,instrumental in the success of
Oksana Baiul and
Victor Petrenko.
At the national championships, the rival between Weir and powerhouse
Evan Lysacek reached a boiling point, and after a controversial tie, Lysacek was awarded the title.
Lysacek had to withdraw from the World Championships held in Goteborg, Sweden due to injury, leaving Johnny with the ultimate responsibility of securing two spots for the United States for next year’s event.
Weir was brilliant in the short program and placed second heading in to the free program on Sunday.
He offered up a performance that he himself considered to be “overly cautious”, but without mistakes, it was good enough to put him on the podium.
Joubert, who was in sixth after the short, brought down the house with an electrifying performance to a Metallica medley. Excellent footwork and superb jumping paces secured him huge marks, and many felt that he was going to regain his title.
A consistent and decidedly artistic program from Buttle, however, earned the Canadian the gold medal.
Buttle became the first Canadian man to win the title since
Elvis Stojko captured his third in 1997.
