Sochi Is the Time for Jeremy Abbott to Shed Olympic Disappointment

Jeremy Abbott has known a lot of disappointment on the international stage.

While he has dominated U.S.-based competition, winning four national championships in the past six years, Abbott has rarely fulfilled expectations on the world stage.

His most notable failure came in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, when he finished a disappointing ninth and he was never able to put on a peak performance in front of crowds that anticipated a stellar showing.

However, it doesn't stop there. He has never finished better than fifth in the World Championships. That's a lot to overcome when your goal is to win glory at the Olympics, the grandest skating event of them all.

Abbott seemed to be carrying a heavy burden in his initial foray in the 2014 Sochi Olympics when he took the ice for the men's short program in the team figure skating event Feb. 6. He fell during his program and seemed to lose confidence as a result.

When the judges gave him a score of 65.65 for his performance, he buried his face in his hands as if he was wondering what else could go wrong.

However, given some time to compose himself before he met the press, Abbott came to grips with his performance and appeared ready to put it behind him. He had been performing quite well in practice prior to that short program, and he realizes that nothing is written in stone and he does not have to struggle the rest of the way.

He can turn it around if he can tighten things up just a tad, and he understands that he can just as easily turn in a strong performance his next time out on the ice.

“I think I needed to work out the rust, shake out the demons,” Abbott told Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press. “We all know I have a lot of demons. I just had to shake them off and get them out of the way and brush them under the rug. I’m torn apart I couldn’t do this for my team.”

Instead of denying his problems or making excuses, Abbott is ready to move on to his next performance. That could come Sunday in the men's free skate performance of the team figure skating event, or it could come later on in the Olympics in the men's individual figure skating event.

U.S. officials have not decided whether Abbott or teammate Jason Brown will handle the men's free skate in the team event. 

Either way, Abbott will receive a medal in the event if the United States finishes on the podium. If he does not skate and Brown performs well, Abbott would still get a medal because he was a part of the team that hit the podium.

This is the time for Abbott to put his international troubles behind him. He has been skating in major international events since 2005-06, and he should not be overwhelmed by the Olympic environment.

He also loves the condition of the ice at Sochi. He believes it suits his skating quite well. “I love, love, love the ice here,” Abbott told Bryce Miller of the Des Moines Register.

He said the Sochi ice combines the best aspects of figure skating ice and speedskating ice, and that plays into his strengths.

He knows that his time is growing short as he plans to retire after the Sochi games. If he can truly put "his demons" behind him, he could leave international skating on a glorious note.