Weir’s skating skills and style overcame a slight stumble out of the triple flip and a little problem with his straight line step sequence. He cleanly landed his triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe.

“This wasn’t as crummy as it could have been,” the U.S. bronze medalist said. “I knew Joubert had skated great and posted a high number. I wanted to keep the (energy) level in the building up. I was disappointed with the flip naturally, but overall I’m fine with it. I’m at peace with this program, and I can finally put my horse to sleep (referencing the chess piece on his costume).”

Lysacek attempted the quad in the short program for the first time in his career, and although he stepped out and did not get full credit for the combination, it was an obstacle overcome. The U.S. champion received positive GOEs for his triple Axel and triple flip.

“I knew it was a risk,” he said of the quad. “This season, to me, was about going to nationals and winning, and I come to this World Championships now and I feel like, ‘OK, we’re building.’” I want to improve something about my skating, and playing it safe and doing the same old triple Lutz-triple toe is not the way to take that next step toward becoming an Olympic champion.”

Joubert singled out Lysacek, who won the World bronze medal in 2005 and 2006, as well as reigning World champion Stephane Lambiel (in sixth place) for their efforts with the quad.

“I am disappointed because they (the other skaters in the competition) didn’t try it (the quad),” Joubert told reporters. “I am happy for Lysacek because he tried it. He had a lot of falls in practice, but he went out and tried it.”

Bradley missed his triple Axel, but held it together to land his triple flip-triple toe and triple Lutz. With the close scoring among all the men, the U.S. silver medalist could easily improve his ranking.

“I feel like right now it’s all about getting those points and getting things done,” Bradley said. “You make a mistake and you have to leave it, sweep it under the rug and move on. I feel like that really helped me a lot today, because if I had dwelled on that mistake, even if I had done the other elements they wouldn’t have been done well and it probably would have come back to haunt me. I’m still kicking.”

Only the top 24 men qualified for the free skate, which takes place Thursday night. The World Championships continue Wednesday with the pairs free skate.

– U.S. Figure Skating –
U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union. U.S. Figure Skating is comprised of approximately 1,450 member clubs and Basic Skills programs representing nearly 200,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States, including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.