This was supposed to be American figure skater Jeremy Abbott's Olympics. Twenty-eight years old and looking to avenge a disappointing ninth-place finish in Vancouver in 2010, this year's great hope of American men's figure skating had it all lined up for a huge Sochi experience. 2010 gold medalist Evan Lysacek withdrew from the Games, opening up a door for Abbott to steal the show in Russia. The Team Event. The Short Program. The Free Skate. He'd ace them all, as he'd done all year, and he'd finish his Olympic career as the next American figure skating legend.
Alas, it hasn't gone as planned.
Abbott awkwardly fell and finished in seventh place during the men's short portion of the team event earlier this week. On Thursday, he started his short program by immediately stumbling and falling hard on his right hip on the first quadruple jump of his program. Abbott, who'd endured a week of reporters asking questions about his ability to handle pressure and the spotlight, spent a solid 12 seconds lying on the ice in pain. As Abbott lay nestled against a padded wall, the Iceberg Arena crowd let out a collective gasp. When Abbott finally rolled over, he grabbed his hip, gingerly rose to his feet, and dutifully finished what remained of an abridged routine.
Abbott rebounded well, finishing with a respectable score of 72.58.
He landed a triple lutz-triple toe combination, followed by a clean triple axel. But the damage had already been done. After nearly 30 seconds of tense silence in the crowd, the mostly Russian fan base responded to Abbott's finish with buzzing horns and the waving of Russian and American flags.
"I'm not in the least bit ashamed," Abbott said. "I stood up and I finished that program and I'm proud of my effort and I'm proud of what I did under the circumstance."
Thursday wasn't Abbott's night. Truthfully, this hasn't been his week. The 2014 Sochi Games haven't been what was long hoped for.
Minutes later, 19-year-old American Jason Brown took to the ice with little fanfare or expectations. He finished his short program with an 86.00, his career best, sixteen points ahead his American counterpart, Abbott.
"All year in this program, in every competition I have gone to, I have gotten a personal best," the 19-year-old Brown said. "I didn't want to stop in the Olympics."
Brown, a long shot to make the team six months ago, currently sits in sixth place heading into Friday with a legitimate chance at a bronze medal.19-year-old Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan) leads the men with a 101.45 score. Patrick Chan (Canada) currently sits in second with a 97.52 and Javier Fernandez (Spain) is in third with a 86.98.
Brown and Abbott will both skate Friday evening. If it's Abbott's last time on Olympic ice, as has been rumored, it could be a chance at redemption. A medal, however, looks to be out of the question.
