| | CLEVELAND -- Michael Weiss heard the rumors saying his injured left ankle hasn't fully healed and that he wouldn't be able to defend his national title.
|  | | Michael Weiss has struggled with an injured ankle all season. |
Well, guess who arrived fashionably late at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships? And not limping at all.
"I'm not," Weiss cracked Tuesday night when asked about reports he might not be coming.
Weiss might have been poking fun at the hoopla surrounding his appearance. But truth be told, with much of the focus of this year's championships on hometown favorite Timothy Goebel and his quadruple aerial show, Weiss has become somewhat of an underdog.
"I think unproven is probably a good word," he said.
Bothered by a stress fracture in his ankle since last summer, Weiss followed a fourth-place finish at October's Skate America by finishing fifth in November at the Trophee Lalique in Paris.
He said the injury affected some of his simplest jumps, and only in the last two months has the ankle responded to therapy and started to feel better.
Because of the injury, Weiss said speculation about his ability to win here is understandable.
"I did have a rough start to the season because of my injury, and any time somebody is injured it's hard to analyze whether they're in good shape or they're going to be a contender or not," he said.
Weiss stayed completely off the ankle for a few weeks and has since been undergoing extensive physical therapy. He's taking a medication aimed at improving his bone density and is using a stimulator 10 hours per day.
"It's healed beautifully," he said. "I feel great right now.I'm back to normal strength and I've prepared incredibly for this. It feels real good right now. I'm psyched."
If he's so pumped, where has he been? "I always come in on Tuesday," he said. "I like to train at home and get that extra time in. I feel comfortable doing that.
Anyway, if people were talking about me before I got here, then that's good news, too."
Weiss, who placed third at the world championships last year, will begin defense of his title on Thursday night when the men skate their short programs. He is expected to be challenged by Goebel and Trifun Zivanovic, who placed second last year.
"But it's the national championships," Weiss said. "Anything can happen. Any time you come to a national championship, you're expected to be pushed to your max in order to win. Even if you're the favorite."
This year, the favorite might not be the defending champion. Goebel has been getting the bulk of the publicity, primarily because of his Cleveland connection and his extraordinary jumping ability.
The quad has become figure skating's equivalent to basketball's slam dunk. It's trendy, the fans love it, but it doesn't guarantee victory.
Weiss has mixed feelings about what the four-revolution jump is doing to the sport.
"I think a lot of people are stressing this as being extremely important and necessary, and it is if you want to win that specific event," he said. "But I think in the long run, the judges haven't put the emphasis on it like the rest of the world has - yet.
"They may do that. But right now, we just have to do the things that impress those people. That's who puts us in our spot."
Weiss isn't worried about Goebel having any kind of home-ice advantage. He's expecting more than 60 family members, including his two small children, to be in Gund Arena when he skates.
He wouldn't admit it, but Weiss seems to be relishing this underdog role.
"I feel real confident in my ankle, and real confident in my skating right now," he said. "I can honestly say that I haven't felt better than I have in the last couple of weeks."
Now, that sounds like a champion.
| |
 |
