If you need to know exactly how many days there are until the 2014 Sochi Games, you can either log on to NBCOlympics.com or simply ask figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek. Though one of those might be tougher than the other.
“I’m counting the days [to Sochi],” Lysacek told USA Today - and it’s currently 247. “And keep saying there’s not a single day to waste.”
The 2010 champ hasn’t stepped onto the ice for a competition since winning gold in Vancouver, but he said Tuesday in Los Angeles that he’s on schedule to try something no man has accomplished since American Dick Button in 1948 and 1952: win back-to-back Olympic figure skating titles.
“It’s my 11th week back on the ice,” Lysacek explained. “I’m working my way back through program run-throughs and I’m at the point of where I’d be in any season in June. I’m feeling really good. From a physical standpoint I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.”
Lysacek, 28, had planned to return to competition last fall before a groin injury and a sports hernia surgery ended his season before it began. Now, seemingly 100 percent after focusing on conditioning and core strength with coach Frank Carroll, Lysacek has marked October’s Skate America in Detroit as his official return to the sport. Which is 136 days away.
Until then, Lysacek said he’s been working on his quad jump, which “encompasses every element of physical strength,” to match his skills against hockey player turned newly crowned American champ Max Aaron, three-time world champ Patrick Chan, and “Quad King” Javier Fernandez of Spain.
"[The quad is] such a glamorous thing to talk about since it’s such a dangerous trick and it’s taken our sport to a new level, but a clean program is what skating is about,” Lysacek suggested. “My focus is on getting that quad in, but also doing a clean program and not losing any points.”
