Finishing among the top four skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics, Evan Lysacek joined his rivals for the doping procedures and at all the media events that followed. But Lysacek could only watch from the boards when his rivals returned to the ice to receive their Olympic medals.

Lysacek had finished fourth, just a couple of points shy of a bronze medal.

“I watched them get their medals at ice level. That was when I decided I wanted to be out there and get a medal next time,” Lysacek said. “That is a huge motivating factor for me.”

Lysacek, 23, appears on his way. Last month, he became the first American skater to win a men’s world figure skating title in 13 years to move into the favorite’s role for next year’s Games in Vancouver.

Saying he’s still on “Cloud 9” following his championship, Lysacek will be in Portland on Saturday as the featured performer at the Smucker’s Stars On Ice show at Cumberland County Civic Center.

His path to his world title was filled with hazards. Despite being the two-time defending U.S. champion, his confidence slipped after a pair of early competitions, when he suffered deductions for technique for the first time in his career.

Saying it was like “teaching an old dog new tricks,” Lysacek and his coaches made numerous changes before nationals. He still lacked confidence.

“I struggled (at nationals),” Lysacek said. “I fought to stay on my feet because I knew I had to be in the top three just to make it to the world championships. I had a tough time out there.”

Still, Lysacek was good enough to finish third.

His confidence returned two weeks later when he finished second in a competition that served as a test event for next year’s Olympic Games in Vancouver.

“That was the beginning of my comeback. I had the trust in the technique,” he said.

Prior to the world championship, Lysacek joined the Stars On Ice series and performed his short program for 12 consecutive nights.

“I had to get out there in front of a crowd in an arena in my costume and do my short,” Lysacek said. “That was real good preparation for world, good practice. You have to put it on the line every night. It’s a little bit different than training in your home rink in a closed environment.”

Not even a stress fracture in his left foot could deny Lysacek the world title, which was held in his adopted home town of Los Angeles. He said he wanted to punch his fists after landing his first jump, but fought to stay in control until he completed all his difficult elements. The celebration started before he finished.

“I just kind of let go and let the audience into my performance,” he said. “I wanted to share the moment with them.”

Growing up in Chicago and a huge fan of Chris Chelios, Lysacek received a pair of hockey skates for Christmas, while his older sister got figure skates. He quickly learned that he was no Chelios.

“I tried the hockey skates and I had no ability on the ice,” Lysacek said. “So the coach’s recommendation was to put figure skates on and learn the basic movements and balance on the ice.

“I just wanted to do better than my sister. I worked hard and eventually I fell in love with being on the ice and the freedom you get from gliding on the ice.”

Lysacek began his climb up the amateur ranks by winning the Junior Olympics juvenile title in 1996 at age 10. By 16, he was competing at nationals and reached the podium with his first medal – a bronze – three years later. He finished fourth in the Olympics the next year.

“I was the guy who was just happy to be there,” Lysacek said. “Now I have the experience. I was so excited to be there. I wanted to meet and talk to everyone and see everything. You kind of get wrapped up in the whole experience because it is so much fun that you forget you’re there to do a job.”

The next part of the job after the Portland performance will be putting his foot in a cast for a month to let his stress fracture heal.

He’s been reminded many times that no reigning world champion has won the Olympic gold since Scott Hamilton in 1984. That potential mental obstacle is of no concern.

“I’m very content with my world title, and it hasn’t sunk in yet,” Lysacek said. “So I’m going to take some time to enjoy it. I know when I get home to my training rink, my coach will have picked apart that winning performance that I think was so great, and he’ll have a lot of things for me to work on before next year.”