Evan Lysacek dreamed of participating in the Olympic Games.
But following a disappointing performance in the short program at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, Evan could have abandoned his Olympic aspirations for another four years. He was in tenth place after a series of uncharacteristic mistakes marred his first of two programs.
 Evan left the arena determined to redeem his Olympic dream in the free skate two nights later. On the bus ride back to the Olympic Village, the reason for his uncharacteristic performance became apparent—he had the flu.
Instead of attending a scheduled practice session the following morning, a severely dehydrated Evan was placed on an IV by team doctors, but only after several failed attempts to insert the needle left marks on his arms. He spent the day in bed with more nausea than hope.
But Evan did not spend more than half of his life training for the Olympics only to skate a flawed short program and withdraw before the free skate. Evan, despite his illness, decided to finish the competition by competing in the free skate.
Evan finished his first Olympic competition by setting a personal best. His passionate performance to “Carmen,” which included eight triple jumps with an array of innovative choreography, was judged the third best free skate in the competition.
Following the exhausting performance, Evan kneeled at the center of the Olympic ice while the spectators at the sold-out Palavela arena stood. The crowd included dozens of his friend and family wearing red sweatshirts with the slogan "we believe."
But the personal best free skate was an unbelievable feat for someone battling the flu during the most important moment of their life. Evan landed eight triple jumps, including three triple jumps in combination, and received level 3s and 4s for his other elements.
It was a triumphant rebound from a troubling short program two days earlier. The free skate pulled Evan from tenth place to fourth place--only one step away from becoming an Olympic medalist at 20 years old.
His Olympic experience centered on the unbelievable comeback. "It's hard because I dreamed about the Olympics for upwards of a decade," an exhausted Evan told reporters after his free skate.
"And that dream didn't include getting sick with a stomach flu, getting stuck with IVs, having my veins collapse and falling in the short program," he continued. "It became about something different--courage."
Evan showed his courage less than a month later at the 2006 World Figure Skating Championships. Still on antibiotics from the virus he contracted in Italy, he skated a rough short program that put him in seventh. He took a hard fall in the free skate warm-up but minutes later delivered a sensational performance that vaulted him to third place.
"Its days like these when I can relax a little bit and take a baby step back from it all and say it was worth it to just let go and enjoy it," Evan said after winning his second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championships.
"Last year was fun, and it was the new kid in the block, and I came in and swept up the bronze like it was nothing. It was just fun,” Evan said. “This year it was the complete reverse of that. It was stress, it was a lot of pressure; I was way nervous. I love skating. It's been one heck of a long season. I've been to you know where and back between everything that's gone on."
It's his toughness that has figure skating fans excited about the next four years. And it's his success in the Olympic season has established Evan as a front-runner on the road to Vancouver.
Evan started his quest for a second Olympic team with two medal winning performances on the Grand Prix. In October, he won the silver medal at Skate America before winning his first Grand Prix gold at Cup of China in November.
 "It gave me a great boost to go on and win my first Grand Prix title in China," Evan said. "It always rocks to stand on top of the podium and hear the national anthem."
His performances in the beginning of the season helped him nab the United States Olympic Committee's "Athlete of the Month" for November 2006.
"It is such an honor to be in the company of some of the most famous athletes in the world," he said.
Evan also claimed his first U.S. Championship in January 2007 with a first place short program. His free skate started with quadruple-triple jump combination.
For the next four minutes, he nailed each element, including a triple Axel, triple toe combination.
"Basically what I tried to do was totally shut my brain off," Evan said. "It was a little bit surreal. I was kind of out of body, and I could almost hear my heart beating. And it was so strange. And I kept fading in and out.
I would do something and I would be like 'Oh my God this is so cool, but then I would go back to my super-mental zone. So it was weird, but I definitely enjoyed it and I think that I can do better, presentation-wise, than that, but technically, that’s my best performance that I've given."
The following season, Evan placed second at Skate America, second at Cup of China and third at the Grand Prix Final before taking his second straight national title. He withdrew from the World Championships after sustaining arm and shoulder injuries during a routine jump attempt in practice.
Evan hopes to follow up his 2007 and 2008 U.S. Championships with two more national titles en route to the 2010 Olympics. His eyes are also set on the 2009 World Championships, held in his training town of Los Angeles.
Success is nothing new for Evan, also the 2007 Four Continents Champion.
"I was ten when I won Juvenile Nationals, then I won novice at Nationals at 13 and juniors at 14,” he said about the three national championships he claimed before his first senior national victory.
 On the junior level, he won three consecutive medals on the Junior Grand Prix circuit including the 2003 Grand Prix Final.
He also won silver medals at the World Junior Championships in 2001, 2003 and 2004 before his bronze medal debut as a senior at the 2005 World Championships.
Evan began skating at age 8 after his grandmother bought him skates for Christmas. He started in group lessons wanting to play hockey but began succeeding so quickly in figure skating that he gravitated to the sport.
"I thought, I'll breeze through this, and then go try out for hockey. Of course they'll want me on the team," Evan said.
He has lived most of his life on the ice ever since.
Evan graduated from Neuqua Valley High School in 2003—where he earned a number of academic achievement awards, including the 1999 Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. He was also a member of the senior prom court.
Evan takes method acting classes at the Professional Arts School in Beverly Hills. The formal training helped him gain real life experience with a role in "Skate Great!" an independent film.
"Skate Great! is an independent film about skating in which I give the protagonist, a 28-year-old aspiring skating champion, advice," Evan said about the film. It is his first acting role.
"The role is about 20 lines which I filmed on a day off from Champions on Ice," he said. Evan plays as a two-time Russian Olympic champion with a substance abuse problem.
Evan also enjoys charity work. He participated in Target - A Time For Heroes, a celebrity charity event for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. He also supports the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute and the United States Figure Skating Memorial Fund.
His hobbies include cars, golf, music, movies, writing, reading and surfing. Evan said what sets him apart is: "On ice I'm very intense and focused but off ice I'm extremely laid back and totally fun!
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