Type: National Championship Season: 2002–03 | Date: January 12 – 19 Location: Dallas, Texas | |
Venue: American Airlines Center | ||
The 2003 United States Figure Skating Championships was a competition to determine the U.S. national champions and teams for the 2003 World, World Junior, and Four Continents Championships. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) in four disciplines – men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing – across three levels: senior, junior, and novice. Organized by U.S. Figure Skating, the 2003 Championships took place between January 12–19, 2003 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
"Disaster in Dallas"
The 2003 Nationals are generally considered to be one of the worst-skated championships in U.S. championships history with the name "Disaster in Dallas" being given to the event.
The senior men's and pairs competitions were the most notable "disaster" of the night. Johnny Weir, who had been in medal contention after the short program, hit the barrier during his free skating, got up and restarted his program, then had to withdraw, starting a long chain of bad skating in the men's free. Also, there were numerous errors in the pairs event.