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Anyone who knows anything about American Men's figure skating is aware of the disappointing, but true reality of a lack of an Olympic gold medal for America in the past 22 years. However, that all changed on February 18 in Vancouver as Evan Lysacek, this year's American skating star, edged out his rival Evgeni Plushenko to win the gold medal.
Lysacek's outstanding performances in both the free program and the short program garnered him a total of 257.67 points, resulting in a decisive win over the defending Olympic champion, Evgeni Plushenko. Plushenko, who skated an artistically brilliant program, could not deliver a second consecutive gold medal, and had to make do with silver.

After his performance, Lysacek and longtime coach Frank Caroll, who is also the former coach of Michelle Kwan and Timothy Goebel, waited anxiously for the judges to make their decision. It did not take long, Lysacek's score came up soon enough. The crowd inside the skating arena went wild, as Lysacek watched with what appeared to be disbelieve and absolute elation, as the scores were finalized. Carroll, offered his own congratulations. It did not escape his notice that an American man had not won gold since the last time the games were held in Calgary, Canada in 1988. The dramatic 'Battle of the Brians' that took place between American Brian Boitano and Canadian Brian Orser ended with a very narrow win for Boitano, who turned professional soon afterwards.

Granted, Lysacek and Plushenko's rivalry did not have a name. However, the performances by both men were no less impressive. Lysacek, who is also the current world champion, now looks to defend his title in a month.

Once on the podium, Lysacek watched with a mixture of disbelieve and elation as the American flag was lifted with the national anthem in the background. He then took an American flag from a nearby fan and twirled it around his head while skating around the arena.
Meanwhile, Plushenko the three -time Olympic medalist, could do nothing but watch as his rival captured the gold medal. He confessed to having thought that he won the medal, and showed no signs of even contemplating the notion of retirement remarking, "I knew I would accept any outcome. After this defeat, I'm not going to put my hands down and stop." Ultimately though, it all came down to the jumps. Lysacek who did not do the all-important quad in his performance leading Plushenko to comment, "If the Olympic champion doesn't know how to jump a quad, I don't know." Still, Lysacek landed all of the rest of his jumps decisively and gave his performance an artistic flair.

However, when all was said and done both men delivered very good programs, with Lysacek having the better night and performance. Plushenko who can jump without even looking, was definitely off in his game. While his artistic portion was sassy at times making the audience laugh and coo, his jumps lacked his usual command over the ice. He also narrowly saved a triple axel towards the end of the program. Inevitably, Plushenko seemed accepting of his silver and looked ready to move on.

Lysacek on the other hand, will savor this moment for the rest of his life. Becoming the sixth American male skater to win gold (following Boitano in 1988, Scott Hamilton in 1984, David Jenkins in 1960, Hayes Jenkins in 1956, and the legendary Dick Button in 1952 and 1948), Lysacek has left a legacy and mode of encouragement for young aspiring male and female American skaters.

The bronze medal went to Daisuke Takahashi of Japan. Takahashi, who became the first Japanese male figure skater to stand on the Olympic podium, looked absolutely elated with his win. With a score of 247.23, Takahashi openly admitted that the win felt just like a gold. Japan, who also won the ladies gold medal in Torino with Shizuka Arakawa, has shown a steady increase and competitive edge in the skating games. Delightfully sassy and happy, Takahshi, skated from his heart and had the spirit of the audience with him as he zoomed through his program.

When all was said and done though, Lysacek wrote his history, got the gold, and made many American figure skating fans very proud.

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