This Washington Post piece is one of the myriad articles being written right about now about the lack of medal potential in America's female skaters, so here you go. Nothing really new or particularly insightful unfortunately. But I do have to say something (of course):

Some figure skating insiders say the new judging system, which was adopted just before the decline, might be contributing. Because the system emphasizes technique over pure artistry, they say, the United States has lost one of its historically greatest assets in the sport. Also, they say, pre-pubescent skaters who can best execute difficult spins and jumps with their small, lean bodies are best suited to accruing high technical marks.

I just want to point out that, while little girls are obviously at an advantage in jumping and such, Yu-Na Kim, Carolina Kostner, Miki Ando, Joannie Rochette, Mao Asada, etc., have all hit puberty (or I'm guessing they have), and have been excelling on the international stage. I also want someone to look at Miki Ando's results this season and tell me that artistry doesn't matter. It definitely gives Kim a bit of an edge (in addition to her great technique). Another response to that graf is that America is just as likely to have young teen stars (Tara Lipinksi, Sarah Hughes) as any other country.

Chicago Tribune's Philip Hersh is contending that Alissa Czisny was propped up by the program components score at the U.S. Nationals. I'm not necessarily going to argue, although I liked the outcome. Hersh points out that Czisny only landed three triples in the free skate, which is pretty much unheard of these days. Here is what else he has to say:

All five of Czisny's presentation scores were between 7.21 and 7.89. Other than Mirai Nagasu, who had two scores over 7 while she finished fifth in the free skate, Czisny was the only skater with any 7s.

Does it look as if the judges decided beforehand that the graceful, elegant Czisny would get 7s, even if she skated like a hippopotamus?

I say yes, because Czisny simply lost the usual high quality of her skating after she fell on a triple lutz jump and reduced the next planned triple jump to a double. She plowed through the spins and footwork that followed without the effortless elegance that can make her skating special.

For all that, I was not outraged by the result, even if the judges overscored Czisny, 21, enough to make her PCS scores more than six points higher than any of the next three overall finishers -- Rachael Flatt, 16, Caroline Zhang, 15 and Ashley Wagner, 17, (who won the free skate).

He is obviously saying they scored her based on how she usually performs PCS and not how she performed on Saturday night. He concludes, though, that nobody really clearly beat her. So....what is the problem here? I dunno.

Unsurprisingly, Hersh also has some harsh words for Johnny Weir, who was lobbying to make the world team despite his terrible performances at nationals. For a recap, Johnny was sick for a lot of November and December. But it should be added that one of the illnesses (the one where he had to go to a Korean hospital) was not from a competition, but from Korean champ Yu-Na Kim's charity ice show (and I have no idea if he was paid for it).

The three-time U.S. champion all but begged U.S. Figure Skating's international committee to give him a place on the world team, as rules alllow, despite thoroughly lackluster skating at the national championships. Weir argued that his past record and experience should trump everyone but Jeremy Abbott and Evan Lysacek.
The committee said no, giving the place to Brandon Mroz, who finished second and deserved it far more than Weir.
For two weeks, Weir has let everyone know how hard it was to prepare since getting so sick at a Christmas show in South Korea that he said left him in a hospital with an IV in his arm.
``It's an unenviable position when you're feeling the worst you've ever felt in your life, trying to prepare for something so important,'' Weir said.
But it apparently wasn't important enough for Weir to skip a payday at a Christmas show in South Korea.

The argument against Weir is later complicated in the article with an absolutely ridiculous comparison to Michael Jordan, who had the flu and still went out and scored 48 points in the NBA Finals. Um, apples to oranges, much? I am sure it must be hard for someone like Weir to come back from a dramatic weight loss brought on by illness. I also think he wasn't ready for this competition, and there's no reason the judges should have chosen him over the top three finishers. It's not like he would get the spot over Lysacek, and Mroz had the skate of his young career, while Weir has had one problem after another this season. I am quite sad to see Weir not on the team though, and I have to be honest that I don't blame him for actively lobbying for a spot. Hopefully, he will come back from this the way he came back from disappointments in 2006 and 2007 - even stronger and with more focus (think 2008 season).

The United States world championship teams have been named. Here they are:

Pairs:
Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett

Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker

Alternate:
Rena Inoue and John Baldwin

Ice Dance:

Meryl Davis and Charlie White

Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto

Alternate:

Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre

Ladies:

Alissa Czisny

Rachael Flatt

Alternate:

Caroline Zhang

Men:

Jeremy Abbott

Brandon Mroz

Evan Lysacek

Alternate:

Johnny Weir

Jeremy Abbott won his first U.S. National Championship last night. It was only a fair free skate (although his short program was a thing of beauty, as usual) but it was enough to keep the lead. Charging hard behind him was Brandon Mroz, who landed a quad and had a great skate. Man obviously has to work on his program components to up that score, but wow. Evan Lysacek went for the quad/triple combination, which he landed beautifully in practice but then of course fell on in the competition. I know he was going for broke, but it would have been interesting if he had just skated triples and skated cleanly, because Abbott's skate had watered down jumps and it would have been nicer to see him really focus and go for it. Maybe he did, but there was something about his loop that made me think he figured he had it in the bag or something. Anyway, we'll see more at worlds... Sadly, Johnny Weir popped another triple axel, and fell on a jump. He did not look good here - came in fifth overall.

2009 U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

01/18/2009 - 01/25/2009

Championship Men

Final Results

Meryl Davis and Charlie White waltzed through the door that was left open for them when Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto withdrew from the national championships by winning the free skate to top off their competition. Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates were in second, as they were the whole competition. And happily, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommetre were able to battle back from their original dance and climb into third again.

2009 U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

01/18/2009 - 01/25/2009

Championship Dance

Final Results

Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker won their second pairs title in a row last night. She was fighting a virus and was gutsy even to go out there; she fell but the strength of their program and quality of the elements pulled them through. Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett, surprise leaders after the short, skated a clean free skate but only scored enough for the silver medal. However, they really inspired me. They fought for every move, and hopefully when they mature a bit more and get some better choreography, they'll be rewarded more for their performances (although the crowd was definitely on their side, I heard some boos after it was determined they were only in second). Rena Inoue and John Baldwin held on for the bronze.

Championship Pairs

Final Results

The arena went wild last night when Alissa Czisny won the ladies figure skating championship in Cleveland, Ohio (she's from Bowling Green). She won the spectators, commentators, and myself over with a mature performance. Unfortunately, she was one of the few top ladies who didn't skate cleanly; she actually placed third in the free skate, but Rachael Flatt (who placed second in free and second overall) didn't have enough on her to win the whole thing. I was so happy to see Czisny finally do enough to win.

There are a few other amazing ladies I want to discuss from last night. A big HOORAY for Mirai Nagasu, who you may know has had a rough year. First, a stress fracture and a growth spurt. Then, poor performances in the Grand Prix. Then the news this week, with all these weird interviews about rebellion and her coach Charlene Wong saying she shouldn't be skating. Then she crashed into the boards during her short program and maybe has a bone bruise as well. It's no wonder she was in tears at the start of her free skate. And to see her quickly compose herself, and go out there and land everything, it just showed this girl has guts! It was especially ironic because the commentators were essentially saying how it would all pass, etc. Well, open your eyes, guys, she just skated a clean free skate at nationals!!! Unfortunately, she likely had some downgrades, but she came in fifth in the free skate and fifth overall, and hopefully will work out whatever demons or physical problems have been plaguing her this year.

Another HOORAY goes to Ashley Wagner, who I love, and who won the free skate last night. She wasn't perfect either, she sort of stepped out of a jump landing, but she was so impressive and I so admire her ability to come back from 12th place to finish in fourth. I am sure she is thinking of what might have been had she had skated cleaner in her free skate, but this girl is the full package. She can do the triple/triple, she has the energy, grace, and speed (despite the fact that I still do not like her Spartacus costume or step sequence!), and I hope that she does some big things next season.

And Rachael Flatt - I have to be honest, if I were completely objective (which I wasn't, but hey, neither were the commentators!) I might have given her the win. But her program components score was so much lower than Czisny's, and I agree that's something she definitely has to work on. She is beyond consistent, but her skating is just not as nice to look at as some of the other ladies, and the choreography is fine, but perhaps not as difficult, I can't tell. She has to work on capturing that audience. Sometimes she does a better job, but last night it was almost a checklist performance, and I didn't really feel anything.

Caroline Zhang came in third, and I loved her attitude in the kiss and cry, heh. She was OVER the downgrading, although some of her jumps were obvious cheats. She is so lovely!! She tries a triple/triple, which I have so much respect for (since it is rare in U.S. ladies these days, and pretty necessary to contend internationally I think), but her technique just doesn't allow the full rotation. She's so young and so little, I hope that they can fix these issues. A good performance from her.

I have to say, that was a good championship. Clean skates, fire, someone winning on the basis of the overall package and not just because she is a jumping bean...I was pretty impressed.

See the full results below. I also have some links here to articles that might interest:

Chicago Tribune

Fabulous Forum

New York Times

Championship Ladies

Final Results

Jeremy Abbott solidified his place as one of the top American male skaters with a win in the short program last night at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. He edged out reigning champion Evan Lysacek by fewer than three points to get the top spot. Lysacek sits in second, while former U.S. novice and junior champion Parker Pennington is a surprise third. Brandon Mroz is in fourth. I haven't been able to watch the performances yet, but it sounds like Ryan Bradley started out very strong with a quad/triple combination, but he doubled an intended triple lutz later on and is in fifth place. Sadly, former U.S. champion Johnny Weir popped his triple axel and is in seventh place.

Short Program

Final Result Details