Weiss Takes Top Spot After Short Program

Michael Weiss missed most of the figure skating season because of a broken bone in his foot. In his return, the two-time defending U.S. men’s champion picked up where he left off.

Weiss skated an emotive but safe short program Thursday to win the first phase of the U.S. men’s championships. Five-time champion Todd Eldredge was second, despite failing to complete his required combination jump, and Timothy Goebel was third after an erratic performance.

Trifun Zivanovic of Santa Monica, who skates in Lakewood, is fourth.

Skating to music from the movie “Taras Bulba,” Weiss pleased the judges with his artistry and earned seven scores of 5.9 (out of 6.0) and two 5.8s. His marks for the required elements included one 5.9.

Weiss’ only fault occurred when he two-footed the landing on the first part of his combination jump, a quadruple toe loop. He planned to finish with a triple toe loop but reduced that to a double in mid-air because he knew Eldredge and Goebel, who had preceded him, had made mistakes.

“I knew I just had to go out and skate a clean but conservative program,” Weiss said. “I was thinking the bigger battle is Saturday. I wanted to get through it and get on to the real deal.”

The short program is worth one-third of the final score. The long program, worth the remaining two-thirds, will be contested Saturday; whichever of the top three men wins the long program will win the competition. The top two will represent the U.S. at the world championships in Vancouver, Canada, in March.

Goebel, the first U.S. man to land a quadruple jump, did a quad-double combination but went downhill from there. He stepped out of his triple axel and landed shakily on a triple flip, missteps the judges punished with technical scores ranging from 5.3 to 5.7.

“It was a disaster,” Goebel said. “I still did the only clean quad, but the rest of it was a mess.”

Zivanovic, third last year and second in 1999, opened with a triple flip-triple toe loop combination and held onto the landing of his triple axel. His scores for the required elements ranged from 5.4 to 5.6, and his marks for presentation went from 5.5 to one 5.7.

Eldredge planned to open with a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination but did a double toe loop and omitted the second jump. He performed the rest of his program cleanly and got seven 5.8s and two 5.7s for presentation.

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Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev won the free dance to clinch their third consecutive ice dance title. Lang, of Arcata, and Tchernyshev, a Russian who has applied for U.S. citizenship, swept all three phases of the event. Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto were second.