GRAND RAPIDS -- By day, Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek practices the rumba, the tango and the paso doble to compete on "Dancing With the Stars," and by night, he performs triple axels and lutzes for adoring fans at Stars on Ice shows.
What is the 24-year-old Naperville, Ill., native thinking about in between? Getting his hands on a Portillo's hamburger, a delectable concoction born and bred in the Chicago suburbs near his hometown.
"I love Portillo's burgers!" he enthused in a phone interview from a Stars on Ice tour stop. "There's a place in L.A. (where he has lived and trained for eight years) called 'Taste of Chicago,' where you can get Portillo's hot-dogs, but nothing is ever as good as the real thing."
As far as skating goes, Lysacek is the real thing, the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2009 World champion, and, as of this month, he is ranked No. 1 in the world by the International Skating Union. Being on the mountaintop of achievement in the sport he loves is a dream come true.
"I feel so blessed," he said. "I think I'm always thankful, thankful for my health, and to be able to do something I love every single day. I don't take it for granted."
Humble and soft spoken, Lysacek also is counting his blessings as he continues to dominate the dance floor on ABC's top-rated reality ballroom dancing competition. Sundays through Tuesdays, the skater devotes his time to quickstepping around the dance floor with professional partner Anna Trebunskaya; the rest of the week, he joins other stars in staging the creme de la creme of skating shows in arenas around the country and Canada.
"I feel really fortunate to live in two worlds at the same time."
Lysacek isn't kidding. After jumping and spinning his heart out on a frozen stage, he travels to the next city, where he gets a few hours of shut-eye before waking up and practicing routines with Trebunskaya.
"Training for dancing on an hour or two of sleep is hard," he said. "Skating is so physical, but for dancing, you have to be mentally present all the time because it's so precise."
There are payoffs and challenges to both endeavors.
Working with skating choreographer Lori Nichol, for example, he can immerse himself in a routine designed for him to the last millimeter of his skate blades.
| IF YOU GO | ||
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Smucker's Stars on Ice
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday | ||
"There's so much at stake, and we spend weeks and weeks listening to music and choosing a character."
For one special solo piece in "Stars on Ice," Lysacek skates to "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson. Dancing pal Mark Ballas, a pro dancer on "DWTS," choreographed the number for him and fashion friend Vera Wang designed his costume. She also suggested the song.
"(Wang) was sick in bed for 10 days and watched (Jackson's concert movie) 'This is It' every single day," he said. "She said, 'You should skate to that -- it's such a great song with such a positive message.'
"In dancing, we can show our hearts; dance is so personal," he said. "You instantly connect with the audience."
Zigzagging from arenas to airplanes to sound stages has Lysacek running on pure adrenaline, but that's OK -- for now.
"I went straight from the Vancouver airport to training for ('DWTS'), and it's been crazy ever since," Lysacek said, adding he's received some "great offers" for acting and broadcasting jobs. "I could even compete in the next Olympics. But now I have to take the time and sort through everything and decide what I want to do. No matter what, I have to be driven, and I have to want it really bad."
Heavy medal
Fresh off their medal-worthy performances at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, some Stars on Ice cast members visiting Grand Rapids will seem awfully familiar -- they skated into your living room!
• 2010 men's gold medalist Evan Lysacek
• 2010 ice dancing silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White
• 2010 U.S. Olympians Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, Mirai Nagasu, and Jeremy Abbott (two-time U.S. national champion)
Joining the recent Olympians will be favorites from Games past:
• 2006 silver medalist Sasha Cohen
• World champion and six-time national champion Todd Eldredge
• Two-time world bronze medalist and three-time national champion Michael Weiss
• World champion and two-time Japanese ladies champion Yuka Sato (also Jeremy Abbott's coach, a first in Stars on Ice history)
• 2009 U.S. national champion Alissa Czisny
E-mail the author of this story: yourlife@grpress.com