 At the 2009 World Championships , Lysacek placed second in the short program . He then won the free skating segment to win the competition overall , becoming the first American man since Todd Eldredge in 1996 to win the World title . His placement , combined with that of Brandon Mroz , qualified the United States for three entries in the men 's event at the 2010 Winter Olympics . At the World Championships , Lysacek competed with a stress fracture in his left foot , which prevented him from trying a quadruple jump at the competition . During the off @-@ season , Lysacek took two months off from skating to give the injury time to heal . He was called the frontrunner for the 2010 Olympic gold by some journalists . 
