thing shook out.” Abbott turned to trusted dance choreog-
rapher Benji Schwimmer, who created Abbott’s crowd-pleasing short program last season set to a swing medley. But Schwimmer wasn’t available un- til mid-August, which pushed the deadline a little further. Finally, over late-night sessions at the De- troit Skating Club, Schwimmer created Abbott’s new short program set to Nathan Lanier’s “Spy.” “It’s a fun, fun program. Kind of James Bond,”
Abbott said. “Yuka and I did footwork and skating, but the choreography was Benji. I definitely don’t take any credit for that program.” Abbott shifts the mood from playful to heart-
felt in his beautiful free skate, set to “Bring Him Home” from the Broadway musical Les Miserables. New York composer Steven Jamail created this emotional version for Abbott to accommodate the constraints of a free skate. Abbott wants to keep the programs fresh, per- fecting them as the season progresses. “My goal is not to peak at the beginning of the
season,” he said. “My goal for this season is to build toward next season.”
When the scores appear, the veteran Abbott finishes his first Skate America in fifth place. Bewildered — an expression his mother, Alli- son Scott, later said looked more like shock — Ab- bott was left to figure out what had gone so terribly wrong.
“Tat was awful,” he told the media gathered
in the bowels of ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash. “We kind of retooled the way I train, on ice and off ice — physically, mentally — and there’s obviously a disconnect somewhere. We have to really reevalu- ate everything, again.” Abbott shook his head wildly from side to side,
sweat pouring down his face. “Tat was the hardest free skate I’ve ever done,
physically. About halfway through, my body just shut down completely. I was doing everything I could to stay on my feet and keep going through the program without giving up.” After the obligatory interview, Abbott deject- edly walked to the locker room and later met with physical therapist Ken Cole. Abbott, who has a long history of back injuries, said he was struck by back spasms early in the performance. Cole explained that the spasms had put pressure on nerves that affected Abbott’s legs, causing the feeling of “shut down.” “It was a huge relief to me,” Abbott said weeks
later. “I didn’t know if it was mental, physical or nutritional. I’ve had competitions where I get fa- tigued at the end, but never at that exact moment. It happened two minutes into the [free skate] per- formance. When Ken told me that, I felt so much better.” Sitting back in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., his
Jeremy Abbott celebrates in the kiss and cry at the 2012 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships with coaches Jason Dungjen and Yuka Sato.
A CONFUSING, DISAPPOINTING OPENER Ever the showman, Abbott blows smoke from
the barrel of his imaginary gun and places it snug- ly in its holster. He is at center ice at 2012 Hilton HHonors Skate America, his season-opening “Spy” short program complete and left in the hands of the judges. But Abbott the performer is still in the spot-
light. Well known for his intimate connection to the
crowd, he carries his performance to the kiss and cry, keenly aware all eyes remain on him. After a solid short program that put him in third place, it’s smiles and waves to the crowd. But on the night of his free skate — a painful and confusing perfor- mance — he looks into the TV camera and feigns tears in the form of two index fingers streaming down his face.
While waiting for Abbott’s scores, NBC ana-
lyst Scott Hamilton raves about the program. “It was so intimate and so beautifully choreo-
graphed,” the 1984 Olympic gold medalist said. “It was such a work of art. Tis program is really going to bring him a lot of success. He just needs to skate it.”
28 DECEMBER 2012
initial disappointment has faded, but his focus re- mains undeterred. “Listen, this is just the first step toward Sochi.
Did I want to win Skate America? Of course. Did I want to do well in my own country? Of course. I believe everything we’re doing is heading in the right direction, but change takes time. My goals are nationals, Worlds and Sochi. I’m not letting set- backs set me back.”
POTENTIAL TO SCORE BIG Abbott is capable of posting huge scores, as he
did in January when he blew away the field with a total score of 273.58 points (90.23 short program, 183.35 free skate) for a U.S. Championships re- cord. In an electrifying performance, he easily re- gained the crown won by Ryan Bradley in 2011. But in his next scheduled competition, the
2012 ISU Four Continents Championships in Col- orado Springs, he was forced to withdraw because of a right hip injury. A few weeks later at the 2012 ISU World Championships in Nice, France, Abbott got off to a poor start in the short program (74.85), and finished the event in eighth place. When Abbott is on, he is fierce. In 14 Grand
Prix events, he has stood on the podium seven times, earning four gold medals, one silver and two bronze. In 2008 he became the first American man to win the Grand Prix Final. But it’s no secret that Abbott struggles with consistency on the biggest of stages. In four World Championships, his best fin-
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