Jeremy Abbott, of The USA, reacts as he skates off the ice following his short program in the men's competition at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Friday, December 9, 2011 in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul ChiassonPaul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Two-time U.S. figure skating champion Jeremy Abbott first showed up at a competition practice in Canada several years ago with a t-shirt that said: "Pigs can fly."
Seven years ago, when he won the junior men's title at the U.S. figure skating championships, he had blurted: "Stranger things could happen. Pigs could fly!"
Afterwards, it became his motto. After his victory, he set up a fund to help other young skaters pay for their training costs. Flying pigs became his mascot and the slogan of his charitable fund.
Abbott has proved his slogan correct many times since, winning two U.S. senior championships, and bragging rights as the champion of the Grand Prix Final in 2008.
Quietly, down in San Jose, Ca. this week, at the U.S. figure skating championships, Jeremy Abbott is trying to mount a serious challenge to world champion Patrick Chan.
Abbott didn't even make it to the world championships last year when he finished only fourth at the U.S. championships last season and was forced to watch the event at home on TV.
But this year, he has shed problems with skating boots. He endured a roller coaster of discomfort last year, going through seven or eight pairs of boots to find the right ones, but this year those problems are behind him. And this week ,he intends to try a quad-triple jump combination in the free skate at the U.S., nationals, replacing an easier triple flip-triple toe loop.
Once he accomplishes that, he plans to add the quad-triple to the short program at the Four Continents Championship in a couple of weeks in his hometown of Colorado Springs. It's a risky move, but with others in the world doing it, like Chan, Abbott needs to go for the gusto.
Abbott did land the elusive quad-triple at a show at the Detroit Skating Club earlier this month, and if he lands it the rest of the year, he'll become a force.
Abbott landed a clean quad for the first time since the 2010 U.S. championships (which he won). At 26, Abbott is five years older than Chan. And he's more like Chan than any other skater in the world with his fine edges and footwork. The first year that Shae-Lynn Bourne did choreography for Abbott, she gave him steps that an ice dancer would do: difficult, intricate. Abbott met every challenge.
In San Jose this week, Abbott's competitor, Brandon Mroz, who became the first man to land a quad Lutz in competition last September, is scaling back his gusto, will take the formidable jump out of his short program this week although he may try it again in his long program.
Reports out of the United States say Mroz was hitting four different quads in practice before Christmas (toe loop, Lutz, loop and flip) but he battled a cold, which explains his plan at U.S. nationals. No man has ever landed a clean quad loop or flip in competition, although Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C. attempted his first one at the Canadian championships last week in Moncton, N.B.
The men's short program is on Friday, while the final is on Sunday.
Nothing seems impossible for these intrepid U.S. skaters. We'll see if pigs can fly.