GREENSBORO, N.C. – Experience trumped sprightliness on Saturday night at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where ancient (well, 23-year-old) Alissa Czisny defeated a crop of hungry teens for her second national title in three years.
The historically inconsistent Czisny was hardly considered the favorite, after her disastrous 10th-place finish last year at nationals. She also cost the U.S. a third spot at the Olympics with a disappointing show at the 2009 worlds.
But Czisny had finished first at the recent Grand Prix final. Saturday night, she came out confidently, hit her early triple jumps and combinations, then finished the program with a lilting layback spin. She wasn’t perfect on her triple loop landing, but Czisny was a willful, efficient ballerina in her blue-and-white chiffon dress. She earned a standing ovation from the sellout crowd, and then her chief rivals, Mirai Nagasu and Rachael Flatt, wowed nobody.
“I knew exactly what I had to do,” said Czisny, a vegetarian. “Before every jump I thought about what I was here for. I fought for every single thing. It went so fast, I landed the last triple toe before I was ready for the program to be done.”
Judges rewarded the Michigan woman with a score of 128.74 on her free skate and 191.24 overall. Three former U.S. champions – Czisny from 2009, Nagasu from 2008 and Flatt from 2010 – were the final three to skate in the nationally telecast event.
Nagasu, 17, who finished fourth at the 2010 Olympics, made several errors and completely butchered her simple sit spin. She suffered a stress fracture in her right foot last summer, and has yet to fully recover her rhythm.
“I can’t believe I messed up on a spin. A spin!” said Nagasu, who finished third and likely will miss worlds. “I’m a perfectionist, so if I’m not satisfied, if every single run isn’t perfect, I let that get to me.”
Flatt, 18, the defending champion, had been the steadiest American in recent years. She was unspectacular last night, a bit slow, but made the world team with a second-place score of 183.38.
“It certainly wasn’t my best,” Flatt said. “I need to pace myself better during training and competition. I guess I was a little tired. I had to skate late, so that was a bit tough. I need to work on that.”
