Evan Lysacek: Figure Skating Gold

An American male figure skater hasn't won Olympic gold since 1988.

That's a long, long drought.

It finally came to an end on Thursday night.

Evan Lysacek, Olympic champion, was two years old when Brian Boitano won gold in Calgary.

From the New York Times:

On what was perhaps the longest night of his life, Evan Lysacek had to wait.

He had to wait for his scores in the men’s figure skating long program on Thursday at the Vancouver Games. Then he had to wait for five other skaters — including two former world champions — to compete.

In the end, nearly 60 minutes ticked by until Lysacek would learn if the Olympic gold medal was his. And, as it turned out, that wait was worth it.

Lysacek, 24, from Naperville, Ill., edged Russia’s Yevgeny Plushenko — the defending Olympic champion — to win the Winter Games gold medal, becoming the first American man to win the Olympic title in 22 years. The last American man to do so was Brian Boitano in 1988.

Lysacek broke an 18-year streak of Russian domination in this event, winning with a score of 257.67 points overall. Plushenko, who had come out of retirement to compete at these Games, had 256.36 points, which was good enough for the silver. Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi, the four-time Japanese national champion, won the bronze, with 247.23.

...[Lysacek] had always been known as a hard worker, and not the most naturally talented skater. On Thursday, all of his worked had finally paid off.

As he stood on the podium, listening to the national anthem being played, he beamed as Plushenko stood stoically, a step down from him.

It was a long night of waiting to find out the gold medal winner.

That was nothing compared to the 22 years since an American man has been the Olympic champion.

Dick Button's record still stands. He's the last male figure skater to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals, 1948 and 1952. Plushenko wanted to achieve what Button did, but he couldn't get it done.

Congratulations, Evan!