SOCHI, Russia (AP) - American teen Jason Brown wants to skate in two more Olympics.
The fan favorite from Chicago qualified for the Sochi Games a few weeks after his 19th birthday. He hopes to repeat the accomplishments of fellow American Evan Lysacek, who gained valuable experience in finishing fourth in 2006 at age 20. Four years later in Vancouver, Lysacek won a gold medal.
Brown doesn’t currently do any quad jumps, so he’s unlikely to contend for a medal in Sochi. But with his artistry and spins, he could quickly become an international force if he masters the quad.
Coach Kori Ade had to convince Brown that he could compete internationally on the senior level this season after he won silver at the world junior championships last winter. He rewarded her faith by finishing second at the U.S. Championships last month to make his first Olympic team.
Brown said Tuesday he would love to compete in the 2018 and 2022 Games, when he’d be 27.
“I want to be a person who changes the sport,” he said.
Brown did his free skate Sunday in the team competition, falling once but looking poised in his Olympic debut, to help the U.S. win bronze.
That program, to music from “Riverdance,” is the one that went viral after the U.S. Championships, making the ponytailed teen an Internet sensation. The men’s individual event opens Thursday with the short program, which Brown skates to Prince’s “The Question of U,” complete with the musician’s “love symbol” in rhinestones on the back of his purple shirt.
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