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| | Monday, February 14 | |||||
CLEVELAND -- When it comes time to hand out the medals, Trifun Zivanovic is usually standing nearby. And yet, for some reason, Zivanovic is often overlooked.
It's no different at this year's U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Zivanovic, who finished second at nationals last year, is being overshadowed by defending champion Michael Weiss, hometown hero Timothy Goebel and all the talk about quadruples, quintuples and wild combinations.
Zivanovic is skating with more confidence than at possibly any time in his career. He credits his renewed enthusiasm to reuniting with long-time coach Gary Visconti, with whom he split for three months last summer. "There's some personal stuff that we had to work out," he said. "Now we're back, though, and better than ever. I wouldn't be able to come here and skate as well as I am if it wasn't for Gary.He's great. He's been a real support." Visconti, the 1967 U.S. champion, has been Zivanovic's coach since Zivanovic was 7. The breakup, he said, may have been unavoidable. "Do you know when a kid gets 18 or 20 and they need to get away from their parents?" Visconti said. "Then when he gets away from his parents, he decides I don't want to be there, I want to go back. That's exactly what happened. "We've never gotten on as well. I'm better with him and he's better with me." Zivanovic also got a boost when he received a pep talk from Scott Hamilton, the four-time national and world champion and Olympic gold medalist in 1984."We talked to him about hanging in there and building on what he's done," Hamilton said. Zivanovic's chances here could rely on being as artistic as Weiss, and matching jumps with Goebel, the local favorite who could unload as many as four quads in his free skate. Zivanovic has landed a quad in practice and has one planned for his long program. "I'd better," he said with a laugh.He has changed the music for his short program this year, skating as a pharoah to "The Mummy." Visconti has added some artistic touches to Zivanovic's free skate, which again will be to "West Side Story", a score that perfectly suits his personality. "There's a lot more moves," Visconti said. "We put in a quad and another triple. It's a good character for him. He's kind of rough and macho." And although this is his ninth U.S. championships, Zivanovic is also kind of underrated, good enough to maybe win it all. "They never talk about Trif," Visconti said. "He's never been a threat to anybody, but he's always right there. I told him, `You've got everything to gain and nothing to lose.' He is looking at it as an open window." | ALSO SEE Weiss is a champion in role of underdog  | |||||
