LYSACEK STUNS WORLD; WINS GOLD MEDAL AFTER LONG WAIT

On what was perhaps the longest night of his life, Evan Lysacek had to wait. He had to wait for his scores in the men’s figure skating long program on Thursday at the Vancouver Games. Then he had to wait for five other skaters — including two former world champions — to compete. In the end, nearly 60 minutes ticked by until Lysacek would learn if the Olympic gold medal was his. And, as it turned out, that wait was worth it. Lysacek, 24, from Naperville, Ill., edged Russia’s Yevgeny Plushenko — the defending Olympic champion — to win the Winter Games gold medal, becoming the first American man to win the Olympic title in 22 years. The last American man to do so was Brian Boitano in 1988. Lysacek broke an 18-year streak of Russian domination in this event, winning with a score of 257.67 points overall. Plushenko, who had come out of retirement to compete at these Games, had 256.36 points, which was good enough for the silver. Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi, the four-time Japanese national champion, won the bronze, with 247.23. (NY Times)