It's not often that the U.S. boasts an Olympic gold medalist in men's figure skating. But Uncle Sam has one now in Evan Lysacek—and Lysacek is coming to Sun Valley Saturday, Aug. 14 for one of the most eagerly awaited ice shows of 2010.
Lysacek's brilliant long program lifted the 25-year-old from Chicago past Russia's short program winner Yvgeni Plushenko for the gold medal in men's figure skating at Vancouver, British Columbia in February.
The biggest U.S. hope for a skating gold in Vancouver, Lysacek lived up to his hype. He became the first American to win the Olympic title in men's singles since Brian Boitano in 1988, and the first reigning world champion to prevail in the Olympics in 26 years (dating back to Scott Hamilton in 1984).
Only four shows remain in the 74th annual Sun Valley Ice Show season. They're filled with top Olympic skaters starting with Lysacek.
Also coming to Sun Valley Aug. 21 are reigning Olympic and World Championship ice dancing silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White. At Vancouver the Americans placed second just behind ice dance gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.
Here's a headliner list:
Aug. 14—The big show features Lysacek, who in 2009 become the first U.S. men's singles world champion since Todd Eldredge in 1996.
Competing at the Los Angeles worlds with a stress fracture in his foot in March 2009, Lysacek won the free skate and placed second in the short program. The 2007-08 U.S. men's king, he is ranked #1 in the world by the ISU. Lysacek was fourth in the 2006 Torino Olympics and won 2010 gold at Vancouver.
Lysacek is coached by Frank Carroll and tours with Stars on Ice. Of Italian and Czech descent, Lysacek has become more well known since his Olympic gold by appearing as a "Dancing with the Stars" contestant on television. He was the silver medalist in this year's nationals.
Aug. 21—Meryl Davis, 23, and Charlie White, 22, are currently the longest-running ice dance partnership in the U.S. They are reigning U.S. ice dancing champions, indeed, they also won the title in 2009.
Davis and White led the Americans with silver medals in both the 2010 Winter Olympics and this year's world championships.
Both Davis and White are from Royal Oak, Mich. They attended the University of Michigan. Having teamed up in 1997, they won the U.S. National Junior title in 2006 and climbed all the way up to fourth place in the 2009 World Championships.
Joining Davis and White for the Aug. 21 show is Missouri-born Ryan Bradley, 26, known for his back-flips and triple axels. Bradley, the 2007 U.S. silver medalist who trains in Colorado Springs, Colo., was fourth in the 2009 U.S. Nationals and fourth in national singles this year as well.
Aug. 28—Brian Boitano, 1988 Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion in men's singles in 1986 and 1988. The first American to land a triple axel, the 46-year-old Boitano is a World Figure Skating Hall of Famer and still one of the top show performers. He is a three-time Olympian and four-time U.S. king.
Sept. 4—Sasha Cohen, 25, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist from Westwood, Ca. who won the 2006 world bronze medal. A two-time Olympian for the U.S., Cohen was a two-time world silver medalist in 2004-05 and a two-time Skate Canada gold medalist.
Each Sun Valley Ice Show lasts about 75 minutes. Sun Valley Resort offers a traditional dinner buffet and a show ticket for $98. For the show only, bleacher reserved seat prices range from $32 to $58 per person. Cost for the Sun Room Terrace (for the show only) is $62 per person.
Non-refundable tickets are now on sale at the Sun Valley Recreation Office, 622-2135. Tickets may be purchased online at seats.sunvalley.com. All seating is reserved and advance reservations are recommended. You can also buy tickets at the gate before the shows.
Day care at the Sun Valley Playschool during ice shows is available by advance reservation at 622-2288.
