Weir and Lysacek had dominated U.S. Nationals for the previous five years, but in 2009, Jeremy Abbott, who had won at the Grand Prix final in December, broke that dominance and won the gold medal. Weir was unprepared for Nationals because he was "compromised" by his illness. In the short program, Abbott finished in first place with 86.40 points, Lysacek was second with 83.59 points, and Weir came in seventh place with 70.76 points. Abbott's overall score was a personal best—237.72 points, four points more than both Weir and Lysacek's personal best scores. It was Weir's lowest result in the short program as a senior skater at a Nationals in his career.