Lysacek Puts U.S. Back On Top Of Figure Skating World 3
Evan Lysacek became the first American man to win gold in figure skating since 1988.
The scintillating Olympic performance by Evan Lysacek not only brought the American a gold medal, but also helped lift the United States back to prominence in an event it once dominated.
From the time Dick Button claimed the first medal by an American with the first of his consecutive gold medal performances in 1948 through the gold medal winning skate of Brian Boitano in 1988, the United States was regularly contending for and winning Olympic medals in men’s figure skating.
Overall, the U.S. won six gold medals and 12 total medals during that 40 year stretch. In 1956, the U.S. became the first country since Sweden during the first Olympic figure skating championship in 1908 to sweep the victory stand.
Other U.S. stars including David Jenkins (1956 bronze and 1960 gold) and Scott Hamilton (1984 gold) continued the American prominence in the sport.
However, following Boitano’s victory in Calgary and a silver medal by Paul Wylie at the 1992 games in Albertville, the U.S. suddenly fell from prominence in the sport while Russia and Canada seized control. Read the rest of this entry →
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