Flu knocks Weir flat at national championships
Unable to train because of illness, skater flops, could miss worlds
 Tony Dejak / AP Johnny Weir falls during his men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland on Sunday. |
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CLEVELAND - Johnny Weir isn’t like Mike.
Weakened by a severe case of the flu over Christmas, Weir wasn’t nearly as well trained as he should have been when he arrived at this week’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships. It showed, with awful performances in the long and short programs that knocked him off the world championships team for the first time since 2003.
“I hope the federation and the (selection) committee can see all the hard work I’ve put in and not overlook but understand the circumstances I was in,” Weir said Sunday after his free skate.
It didn’t. Or it didn’t care, sticking with the top three skaters — Jeremy Abbott, Brandon Mroz and Evan Lysacek — for both the world championships and Four Continents teams. Weir was chosen as the first alternate to the world team despite finishing fifth, behind Ryan Bradley.
Weir lost 8 pounds in a single day when he got sick while in South Korea for a benefit show. He spent Christmas Day in a hospital, hooked up to an IV, yet was back on the ice just a few days later. But that big of a weight loss will disorient even the best of skaters, altering their center of gravity and changing the way they jump.
Though coach Galina Zmievskaya “was pushing chicken cutlets down my throat” to get Weir’s weight back up, there wasn’t enough time to get him in proper shape for this competition.
Weir popped a triple axel in the short program, a jump he could do in his sleep, and that left him in seventh place. While he was likely too far down to win the title, a strong free skate could have lifted the three-time U.S. champion onto the podium — and the world championships team.
But he popped the axel again Sunday, the very first element of his program. He also doubled a planned triple loop, and fell on a triple flip. His footwork was incredibly difficult, filled with intricate steps, turns and hops, but he appeared to just be going through the motions with it.
His entire performance, in fact, was dull — and that’s really saying something for the colorful and quirky Weir.
“I completely take primary ownership of my illness and the fact I wasn’t prepared,” he said. “But at the same time, I can’t push myself and expect something that I know is impossible.”
Reminded that Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to victory in a critical Game 5 of the NBA finals despite being dehydrated and feverish only hours before tipoff, Weir said the circumstances were completely different.
“It may sound like an excuse, but you have to remember that Michael Jordan had a whole team around him,” Weir said. “I’m a single, skinny, sparkly boy standing by myself.”
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