Liang Wows, but Weir Is Weir

ST. LOUIS —  Bebe Liang of Granada Hills added a dash of drama to the women’s competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships with a short program that showcased her power and dizzying spins. Johnny Weir added a dash of controversy to the men’s event by being himself.

Liang ranked a strong third behind favorite Sasha Cohen of Corona del Mar and Emily Hughes of Great Neck, N.Y., shaking up the scramble for the three women’s spots at the Turin Olympics. Cohen, a four-time U.S. runner-up, earned 65.15 points for a routine marred only when she two-footed the landing of a triple flip, and Hughes -- sister of 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes -- wobbled on the landing of the first part of her combination jump and earned 59.11 points.

“I hope my time is now,” Cohen said.

Liang, 17, skated a vibrant routine to “Firedance,” edging Hughes on the technical score, 32.25 to 32.00, and asserting herself into the Turin picture.

“This is such a big year,” said Liang, a onetime phenom whose career was detoured by hip problems. “This is the right year to put it together.

“It felt so good to have fun with my program.”

Nine-time U.S. champion Michelle Kwan of Manhattan Beach, who petitioned for a medical bye onto the Olympic team, virtually clinched a spot when youngsters Kimmie Meissner and Alisssa Czisny stumbled to fourth and fifth, respectively. Meissner did an extra turn between the jumps in her combination and Czisny fell twice. “I’m going to go out Saturday and fight for each jump,” Meissner said.

Cohen, 21, said her energy was low after a weeklong battle with flu. “This is definitely not half as good as I would do in practice,” she said, citing her spins, speed and transitions as below par.

Liang said she doesn’t fear being bumped off the team by Kwan on Saturday when U.S. Figure Skating’s International Committee announces its Turin nominees. “I try to focus on my performance, and as long as I put out my best, that’s all I can do,” she said.

Weir’s performance was superb, but his comparison of fans’ reaction to his decorous program and Ryan Bradley’s upbeat “Zorba” routine raised eyebrows at the U.S. Olympic Committee, already dealing with Bode Miller’s claims that he skied while drunk, skeleton athlete Zach Lund’s failed drug test and a sexual harassment charge made by two female athletes against skeleton coach Tim Nardiello.

“This one, they kind of sat back and had their cognac and cigarettes and they were relaxing and watching,” Weir said of his effort, “and his was more like a vodka shot, let’s-snort-coke kind of thing.”

Weir, who has described his costumes as “an icicle on coke,” and “a Care Bear on acid,” added, “Sorry for all the drug references.”

Said Darryl Seibel, chief communications officer for the USOC: “We would expect that an athlete trying to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team would be more responsible with his comments.”

Skating to Camille Saint-Saens’ “The Swan” -- and wearing a glove he named Camille -- Weir scored a personal-best 83.28 points. Michael Weiss of McLean, Va., vying for his third Olympic berth, was second with 77.55 points despite two-footing the landing of a quadruple toe loop and adding a double toe loop instead of a triple. Evan Lysacek, who trains in El Segundo, fell on simple footwork and was third with 74.03 points.

Salt Lake City bronze medalist Tim Goebel was fifth, with 70.27 points. “Four points is nothing,” Goebel said of the gap to third place and a claim on the final Turin berth.

Weir will get an automatic nomination if he’s first after Saturday’s long program. “Figure skating is an amazing ride,” he said. “It takes you from feeling like the lowest scum in the pond like two hours ago, and now I feel like I’m a flower growing out of the pond.

“It’s as if it shows you the best and worst attributes that you have as a person, and being able to put out a strong performance today will help me feel like a flower until Saturday. I’m hoping, anyway.”