Jeremy Abbott performs his “Spy” short program at 2012 Hilton HHonors Skate America. Abbott fi nished third in that segment.
by BARB REICHERT I
n men’s fi gure skating, “T e Quad” is king. You either have it, plan to add it, or are working on it. For Jeremy Abbott, “T e Quad” takes on a diff erent meaning. T e three-time and reign- ing U.S. champion thinks only of “T e Qua- drennium,” the four-year period between
Olympic Games. Abbott’s voice still carries the weight of
missed opportunity. In 2010 at Vancouver, the stylized skater armed with an impressive quad that he hit at the 2010 U.S. Championships, says he self-destructed in front of the millions of peo- ple watching the Olympic Winter Games. T at singular moment, frozen in his mind,
has become Abbott’s driving force. “Sochi fuels everything I’ve been doing,”
Abbott says, his mind set fi rmly on redemption at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. “I want to have the best skate of my ca- reer in Sochi.”
A LATE START TO SEASON Abbott is a man on a mission — a spy
mission, if you will. He and coaches Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen are focused on every little move, from seemingly simple hand gestures to his jumping technique. While working with his team at the Detroit Skating Club, Abbott has changed the entrance to his quadruple toe loop,
putting it more on a circle. “T is year we totally reworked the quad,” he
said. “It’s been a process and it’s starting to come along. It hasn’t been consistent in training, but I wanted to at least put it out in the short and the free skate [at Skate America].” Abbott freely admits he got a late start to the 2012‒13 season, but with the intent of not peaking too early. “I did Worlds, World Team Trophy and
then went on tour,” he said. “T en it was vaca- tion [in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico]. By the time all that was fi nished, it was already late June and I didn’t have any ideas for my programs. I ended up getting a much later start just the way every-