BOSTON -- From lying flat on the ice to standing tall in first place is not your usual 24-hour journey.
|  | | John Zimmerman and Kyoko Ina were second behind the Hartsell siblings in the pairs short program. |
Steve Hartsell made it, and with sister Danielle won the pairs short program Wednesday night in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
One day after falling during practice and opening a head cut that required a dozen stitches -- and threatened the siblings' availability for the event -- Steve Hartsell was pumping his fists in celebration. Although they were far from magnificent in outscoring defending champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman, the Hartsells clearly were the better pair on a night of generally poor performances.
"I felt extremely excited," said Steve, 23.
"Figure skaters are tougher than most people think," added Danielle, 20. "It's a sport, but we've also got to have the glitz and the glamour. I think the sport part gets overlooked sometimes. If there's a way to skate, we skate."
The pairs free skate will be Friday night. The top two couples qualify for March's world championships.
Heavy favorites Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev won the original dance Wednesday night after taking the compulsories the previous night. They are expected to sweep the event by winning the free dance on Thursday.
Lang and Tchernyshev, two-time defending champions, skated an entertaining routine representing a couple flirting at a cocktail party.
"On the end of the quick steps, I am saying to him, 'No way,'" Lang said with a laugh.
"I am trying to get her attention and she is not responding," Tchernyshev said.
Second after the original dance were Beata Handra and Charles
Sinek. Third were Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, competing in
their first senior event.
Hartsell was lifting his sister during practice Tuesday when he
fell backward, crashing to the ice with Danielle falling on top of
him. It was an eerie reminder of how dangerous their event can be:
In December, 1999, Danielle broke her kneecap in a fall while
practicing a lift. They were the defending U.S. champions, but
missed last year's nationals because of her injury.
Thankfully, Steve had no further injuries from this accident and was able to skate Wednesday.
"At first, it took me a while to realize what had happened," Steve Hartsell said. "When I realized I was conscious and coherent, I realized at that point, I was OK."
The Hartsells skated cleanly, and their throw triple salchow was the best of the night. When Ina and Zimmerman faltered on their throw and on their side-by-side triple toe loops, the Hartsells owned the short program, worth one-third of the total score.
"We really needed this performance tonight," Danielle said, "and we were both going to make it happen."
Ina and Zimmerman made very little happen, which was commonplace for the evening.
"Anyone in the top three has a chance of winning," Ina said, "and anyone in the top four has a chance to go to worlds. Our main goal here is to be able to do all the elements. That's what we've been struggling with.
"We'd had a really good run, so it's disappointing not to do it
here."
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ALSO SEE
Steve Hartsell injured in fall
Results from Wednesday
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