Abbott wins third U.S. skating title

Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif.

Rust will no longer be Johnny Weir and Olympic champion Evan Lysacek’s only worry if they come back.

Jeremy Abbott proved he’s capable of contending with the best in the world — past and present — in winning his third title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Sunday.

Needing only to stay on his feet to claim the title, he put on a sublime display of quiet elegance and superior skill that was simply bewitching.

“I skate to give a performance like that, and so I felt really good,” Abbott said. “I was really nervous when I started; I was shaking a little bit.

“But from the second I set for the quad I was like, ‘I’m going to do this.’ I just really took it into my hands and made sure that I did what I needed to do.”

His final score of 273.58 was the highest ever at the U.S. championships, and puts him within striking distance of world champion Patrick Chan. It was about 12 points better than 2006 Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko scored in winning his seventh European title Saturday.

Adam Rippon, a two-time junior world champion, was second. Ross Miner finished third for a second straight year.

Earlier Sunday, Caydee Denney and John Coughlin won their first pairs title together after winning the previous two years with other partners.

The U.S. men have been in a bit of a funk without Lysacek and Weir the past two years. No one’s come close to winning a medal at the world championships.