They come armed with quads and attitude, a mix of experience and youth, hoping to take the predictability out of this weekend’s U.S. Figure Skating Nationals in Spokane, Wash.
With all the subtlety of a runaway Zamboni, Colorado Springs skaters Ryan Bradley and Brandon Mroz begin their Olympic quest at 7:45 p.m. MST Friday as confident dark horses.
The pre-meet skinny is that the three Olympic berths are lined up for the three favorites: Evan Lysacek, 24, the two-time U.S. and defending world champion; Jeremy Abbott, 24, the defending U.S. champ from Aspen; and Johnny Weir, 25, the three-time U.S. champion.
Bradley, 26, and Mroz, 19, however, aren’t longshots. They are on the next rung down. Should one of the favorites slip, they have a good shot to make Team USA.
This will be Bradley’s 11th nationals. He earned a second in 2007 and a fourth last year. Mroz came out of nowhere to finish just behind Abbott a year ago.
They are hovering. And waiting.
“I know everyone’s got it all figured out, like Evan’s a shoo-in, but I don’t see it that way,” said Tom Zakrajsek, who coaches Bradley and Mroz at the Broadmoor Skating Club. “Certainly Evan has a lot of confidence, but in our country, you still have to do it on the day they announce your name. Let’s see who does it when the pressure’s on.”
Zakrajsek points to four years ago in St. Louis when Timothy Goebel was the defending Olympic bronze medalist and Michael Weiss was shooting for his third Olympic team. Both faltered. Rising above the fray to make the team was little-known Matt Savoie.
“Youth,” Zakrajsek said, “does shine through sometimes.”
Sure, but not nearly as much as confidence. Bradley and Mroz have plenty. In the closest you’ll find to smack talk in figure skating, both laid down the gauntlet for this weekend.
“Brandon and I can really mix things up,” Bradley said. “I actually do not think we need them to slip. If Brandon and I skate well, we can be on the team.”
Added Mroz, a former youth hockey brawler: “There are quotation mark favorites, but when it comes down to it, it could be anybody’s day. It’s who’s pushing the envelope.”
Bradley and Mroz are definitely doing that. In a season when skaters are mulling the risk-reward factor of including a quad in their routine, Bradley is planning on doing three, and Mroz at least two.
It’s perfect timing for Bradley. He started a quad two seasons ago and fell all season. He continued through last year and today it’s just another element in his program.
“All of a sudden it got more consistent and it became pretty easy,” he said. “If I put my money on a quad versus another jump, it’s not more of a risk factor.”
Bradley had a disappointing start to the Grand Prix season with a fourth and a ninth, then earned a third at Skate America. But Bradley is a veteran. An Olympic trials won’t shake him and no skater in the U.S. connects to an audience better.
“This is definitely a different atmosphere,” Bradley said. “A lot of the younger guys don’t understand what it’s like.”
Mroz is one of those younger guys. He took second last year, but that wasn’t with an Olympic berth on the line. His target date for an Olympics is more likely 2014, and Sochi, Russia.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
