Weir falls in his pursuit to be a four-time champion

SPOKANE, Wash. - As Johnny Weir walked from the waiting area to the Spokane Arena ice late Saturday night, the explosion of noise that concluded Evan Lysacek's free skate told him he'd need a miracle to capture a fourth consecutive national title.

For Weir, even though his long program depicted the life of Jesus Christ, there would be no divine intervention.

The Coatesville native's long reign was ended by Lysacek, who turned in what arguably was the greatest performance ever by a male American figure skater in the finale of the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

"He beat me by 30 points," said a still dumbstruck Weir afterward. "He didn't just beat me, he kicked my [butt].

"But I'm proud our U.S. champion did so well," Weir added. "I know how well I skated the last three years, and I wouldn't have wanted to be beaten by something that was subpar."

Lysacek, who had never successfully landed a quadruple jump, completed one early in his 41/2-minute program, and used that most difficult of elements as a springboard to a brilliant free skate.

The 21-year-old California, who led Weir by less than a point after the short program, actually wound up beating his rival by more than 35 points. He scored an astounding 169.89 points in the long program, where his previous best was a 152.58. And his total of 248.88 exceeded his personal mark by nearly 25 points.

"Hopefully," Lysacek said, "the scoring will be the same at worlds. You never know about [mark] inflation at nationals."

Lysacek's total left him nearly 30 points ahead of runner-up Ryan Bradley (219.21), second in the free skate. Weir, with yet another substandard free skate, finished fourth in that category and slipped back to third place with a score of 213.20.

Those three will compete in March's 2007 World Championships in Tokyo.

"Johnny Weir was on top of skating in this country," said Lysacek, a much more subdued personality than the man he replaced. "You don't dethrone him by skating tentatively. You go out and you fight with passion."

With his lopsided victory, Lysacek, who had finished third and second the last two years, catapulted himself into a favorite's position for Tokyo. There, as part of the American contingent with Weir and Bradley, he will attempt to become the first U.S. male to win since Todd Eldredge in 1996.

"It's hard to put into words how badly I wanted to come here and win this," said the suddenly bold and confident Lysacek.

His path has been cleared by a changing of the international guard. Both Russia's Evgeny Plushenko and longtime rival Stefan Lambiel have put their skates aside, perhaps forever.

Skating just ahead of Weir, two skaters from the end of the week's final event, Lysacek turned in the most stirring moment of these wildly successful championships (a record 150,893 fans attended).

When the music from Carmen faded, the audience jumped to its feet with a roar that might have been heard in Seattle, 275 miles to the west. Lysacek dropped to his knees and sank his face into his hands.

"Nobody works harder than him," said his coach, Frank Carroll. "I told him the only reason he would have to worry would be if he hadn't prepared well. But that wasn't the case, and he understood that."

Weir, whose best free skate score is a 225.34, was stunned by the margin of Lysacek's dominance after three years of having bested his taller rival at nationals.

"I heard 90-something for his first mark and I'd never heard that before," he said. "I was really shocked. I was like, 'What the heck did he do?' "

Meanwhile, after several international disappointments and Saturday night's lopsided loss, the free-spirited, flamboyant Weir must be wondering if, at 22, he has passed his peak.

His new long program - set to "Child of Nazareth" - was ethereal and balletic, two elements in which he typically excels. But this time he never got into a comfortable flow.

He double-footed his own attempt at a quad, stumbled on another jump and stepped out of a third. In his defense, the Chester County native who trains in Newark, Del., not only had to listen to the thunderous standing ovation Lysacek had provoked, but then had to wait as the new champion took his bows and the scores of flowers and stuffed animals hurled onto the ice were swept up.

Weir kept bouncing nervously from skate to skate as he waited, attempting to come to terms with the improbability of his quest.

"Having to wait so long, and hearing all that chatter and having all that pressure on me, I knew I was going to have to skate perfect if I was going to win," he said.

Lysacek might be America's best hope for a gold medal in Tokyo, even though University of Delaware-trained Kimmie Meissner, who captured her first national title here, is the defending women's world champ.

Meissner, 17, was solid but not spectacular in defeating a women's field diminished by the absence of Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen. She will face a trio of talented Japanese skaters who are eager to win a world title at home.

"It wasn't my best," Meissner giggled after she'd edged Emily Hughes and Alissa Czisny earlier Saturday, "but I'm pretty happy with the result."

Ice-dance winners Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, world silver medalists in 2006, will also be strong contenders, while the surprise American pairs champs, Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski, will be long shots at best.