With reigning world champ and impressive depth, US men enjoying their time in the spotlight

Lights, camera, skate! Your turn, American men

SPOKANE, Wash. — Get ready for your close-ups, Evan, Jeremy and all the rest of you guys. And no, we’re not talking about Johnny Weir’s new reality show.

It’s the men, not the women, who are the star attraction at this year’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Evan Lysacek is the world champion, Americans made up half of the six-man field at last month’s Grand Prix final and the battle for Olympic spots will be the fiercest it has been in years.

“We’re the strongest skating country in the world as far as men’s figure skating is concerned,” said Weir, who joined Lysacek on the podium at the Grand Prix final. “Of course Russia has Evgeni Plushenko, Switzerland has Stephane Lambiel — one athlete. One athlete. The U.S. has eight athletes that are amazing that could all make the Olympic team.

“I think we’re definitely the strongest nation.”

Nationals begin Friday with the men’s and pairs short programs. The men’s final is Sunday.

It wasn’t that long ago that men’s skating in the United States was little more than the “Evan and Johnny Show.” The two had a stranglehold on the U.S. title from 2004-08, and last year was the first since 2004 that both were not on the podium. Lysacek was the world bronze medalist in 2005 and 2006, while Weir was third in 2008.

That rivalry helped drive the other Americans, who were eager to show that they, too, deserved a place in the spotlight.

Jeremy Abbott won the U.S. title last year, a month after becoming the first American man to win the Grand Prix final, skating’s biggest competition after the Olympics and world championships. Brandon Mroz pulled off the silver medal in his very first nationals as a senior, finishing ahead of Lysacek and Weir last year. Ryan Bradley has not one, but two quadruple jumps in his free skate this year, and does a quad in the short program, too.

As for Adam Rippon, all he’s done is win the last two junior world titles — easily.

“All of us have very different things to offer. There’s the artists, there’s the jumpers, there’s the guys that do a little bit of everything,” Bradley said. “It’s really going to come down to who does it on that day, and that’s really exciting.”

Especially because the men traditionally have been in the women’s shadow.

It’s not that the United States hasn’t had some strong men. Todd Eldredge was the world champ in 1996, and Timothy Goebel was “The Quad King,” pushing the technical envelope with three quadruple jumps in his free skate. But the Russian men have dominated the men’s scene since Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano won back-to-back golds in 1984 and 1988, winning the last five Olympic titles.

And Michelle Kwan, well, everybody in every discipline took a backseat to her.

But the United States is still looking for its next “It” girl, a female star who can fill Kwan and Sasha Cohen’s skates. The men, meanwhile, have been slugging it out — on the ice, of course, this isn’t “Fight Club” — and climbing the international ranks.

“If you’d just show up at an event and just win it, like Michelle Kwan did — no disrespect to Michelle Kwan, she did an amazing thing and was always prepared and skated better than everyone else. But it kind of got a little boring for people sitting at home watching,” Weir said. “The men, I’m Johnny Weir so I can say this, it was always a catfight. That’s what’s exciting about it. That’s what always drew me to watching the men’s event.

“Thank God I’m competing in them now,” Weir added, “because it’s so intense and so exciting and everyone’s trying to outdo the other person.”

The judging system has played a role, too. The points-based system is so technically demanding that critics say it has cost the women some of that artistry that made them so appealing. For the men, though, it has elevated the athleticism of the sport.

Sure, the quad became something of an endangered species for a season or two because of the way it’s valued. But it’s back with a vengeance this year. Plushenko has been working on quad-quad and triple axel-quad combinations, jumps so demanding few people even try them, and quads have been a staple of Abbott, Bradley and Mroz’s programs. At practice Wednesday night, Lysacek tossed off a quad-triple combo with ease.

Add in all the other elements the guys do, and the men’s event is a true test of strength and stamina.

“There’s not really a break,” Goebel said of the current programs. “Our spins and our footwork were kind of throwaways. Yes, they counted. But no one really cared what we did, as long as it wasn’t a mess. The footwork I know takes a lot more energy now.”

Added Bradley, “It’s just cool to watch. We’re going all out and we’re trying things that maybe we shouldn’t be trying, but we’re going to try them anyway because we’re athletes. Maybe that’s kind of caught the attention of the public.”

And there’s nothing like an Olympic medal — or two — to really create a buzz. Especially when the games are in the United States’ back yard.

“To have the world watching the men’s event with such gaping mouths and be totally invested in everything that’s going on … it’s just an amazing thing,” Weir said.