Weir may have the ticket to first medal

There is hope yet.

As long as Johnny Weir’s bus is not late for Saturday’s final, as it was when Weir found himself in this position – second place – before the free skate at the 2006 Olympics.

“Don’t jinx me,” Weir said with a wry laugh via telephone from Sweden.

Weir was brilliant in today’s short program at the World Figure Skating Championships, and the judges rewarded him for it after shamelessly overscoring former world champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland.

They had done the same Thursday for Lambiel’s former heartthrob, Carolina Kostner of Italy, who was up to the task of the fast-tempo sections in music from Dvorak’s breathtaking piano trio, the Dumky, but was sloppy throughout what became a silver-medal-winning performance.

But that’s yesterday’s news. Today’s is Weir, who skated better than he has since 2006, when he made an Olympic bus molehill into a psychological mountain and had a poor free skate to place fifth.

“I’m not about to count my chickens,” Weir said of the possibility he could win his first world medal.

Weir, the three-time U.S. champion, needed to be at his best to stay among the medal contenders today, so scintillating was much of the skating.

All his jumps were clean, flowing, effortless. His spins all were rated at the highest level of difficulty (level 4), his footwork sequences level 3. Add that quality of skating to his obvious artistic talents, and you had a compelling 2 minutes, 45 seconds.

“I think I’ve skated consistently strong performances this season, but this was a great performance for me,” Weir said.

Only 2006 Olympic bronze medalist Jeffrey Buttle of Canada was better, deservedly taking first by 1.31 points.

When he is on, Buttle is as good as it gets in the artistry department. So is Lambiel, but the judges conveniently overlook his consistent inability to land the triple Axel, a litmus test jump.

He put a hand down on both that landing and on a quadruple jump landing. Although he wound up fifth, Lambiel is much closer (1.67 points) to Weir than he should be.

“It’s still a political sport,” Weir said.

As it stands after the short program, the U.S. team is right on the bubble for the 13 points (Stephen Carriere was 11th in the short) to earn three places at the 2009 worlds.

It won’t be easy for Weir (or Buttle) in the free skate, where quadruple jumps come more into play. Weir never has landed one in competition.

With U.S. champion – and two-time world medalist – Evan Lysacek sidelined by injury, Weir finds himself the standard-bearer for a U.S. team that has had a horrible worlds.

He prepared wisely for that role, spending a week before worlds in his adopted “hometown,” Moscow, to get over the time difference and get used to foreign ice.

“I took myself out of my element, and it helped,” Weir said.

Rarely has he looked more in his element than today.

Philip Hersh covers Olympic sports for The Times and the Chicago Tribune.