Spokane 'Nails' U.S. Figure Skating event

01/29/2007

The United States Figure Skating Championships came to a dramatic end over the weekend in Spokane, Washington. From record-breaking ticket sales to an upset in the Men's final, correspondent Elizabeth Wynne Johnson has this wrap-up of the weekend's highlights.

THE BIGGEST FACE-OFF IN THIS YEAR'S NATIONAL FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS TOOK PLACE SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE MEN'S LONG PROGRAM. LAST YEAR'S SILVER MEDALIST EVAN LYSACEK TOPPLED REIGNING U.S. CHAMPION JOHNNY WEIR. LYSACEK EXPRESSED APPRECIATION FOR THE WARM WELCOME HIS SPORT RECEIVED IN THE LILAC CITY.

LYSACEK: "And it's cool for us to come to Spokane where skating is so big here - like we feel kind of important. …And it feels great because it's such an amazing sport and it's very unique and has things to offer audiences and fans that probably no other sport has. "

THE DREAM OF A GREAT PERFORMANCE, THE YEARS OF HARD WORK THAT GO INTO ONE BRIEF MOMENT OF TRUTH, THE EVER-PRESENT POSSIBILITY THAT SOMETHING COULD GO WRONG… SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT SKATING. BUT IT'S ALSO WHAT THIS EVENT WAS LIKE FOR LOCAL ORGANIZERS TOBY STEWARD AND BARB BEDDOR. THEY'VE BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS MOMENT FOR FIVE YEARS.

BEDDOR: "It is exactly like standing on the top rung of the podium, feeling like you've skated the performance of your life."

THE EVENT SHATTERED THE ATTENDANCE RECORD SET FIVE YEARS AGO IN LOS ANGELES, SELLING ALMOST 155-THOUSAND TICKETS. SKATING FANS CAME FROM ASIA, EUROPE AND CANADA AND ALL 50 STATES. I'M ELIZABETH WYNNE JOHNSON IN SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

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