LOS ANGELES — Evan Lysacek couldn’t contain his excitement. In the closing seconds of an error-free long program, as he spun faster and faster in front of the judges and his hometown fans, he pumped his fists.

The gesture wasn’t part of his planned choreography but it reflected his feelings. Lysacek, so often an also-ran on the international stage, won the gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championships on Thursday night at Staples Center.

Lysacek, who lives in nearby El Segundo, became first American man to win the world title since Todd Eldredge in 1996.

“This is such an electric building,” he said. “I’m here to cheer on the Lakers and Kings whenever I can. I turned that nervous energy into adrenaline.”

In a preview of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Lysacek boosted his reputation and proved he could win without the ultimate weapon in skating – a quadruple jump.

Lysacek landed eight triple jumps and scored a personal best of 159.93 points in the long program to win by a comfortable margin with a total of 242.23 points.

Lysacek upset Brian Joubert of France, who skated last and likely had the title in hand until he tripped and fell face first on the ice after landing his final jump, a triple salchow. Joubert, in first place after Wednesday’s short program, slid to third. He opened with a flawless quadruple toe loop but stumbled on a triple axel.

Canada’s Patrick Chan, the 18-year-old who has captivated the skating world this season, finished second. He also nailed eight triple jumps.

Lysacek wore a velveteen midnight blue tuxedo outfit and skated with vigor and panache to Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. His fluid footwork and tight spins earned him the highest component – or artistic – score of the night.

On the jumps, he didn’t risk a quad, mainly because he has had to cope with a painful stress fracture in his left foot that he will soon have placed in a cast for four weeks. As his program and music reached a crescendo, the wildly cheering spectators rose to their feet.

“There was a moment in my footwork when I had a weird look of shock on my face,” Lysacek said. “I tried to rein it in but once the elements were over I started celebrating.”

On the other hand, Joubert, the 2008 world silver medalist and 2007 world champion, was so rattled that he changed his program at the last minute, electing not to do his second quad.

“I was a little lost on the ice,” he said. “It was a mistake to change it.”

Joubert, known for his jumping ability and theatricality, said he won’t make the same mistake next year.

“I came here to win the gold medal so I’m a little disappointed,” he said. “This was a practice for the Olympic Games. I just want to be Olympic champion.”

Also on Thursday, Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto took the lead in ice dancing, which concludes with the free dance Friday night. The women’s short program is Friday evening.

Chan’s program accelerated to a big finish, accompanied by dramatic Rachmaninoff music. Chan erred on only one of his 12 jumps, turning the second part of a triple axel-double toe loop combination into a single. He opened with a crisp triple axel, quickly followed by a triple flip-triple toe loop combination.

“I felt great throughout the program and was really in my own world,” said Chan, who trains part time in Canada and part time in Orlando.

Who had the most unusual costume? It was a tie between Kevin Van Der Perren of Belgium, who wore a black jumpsuit adorned with the symbols of several superheroes, which made him a super duper hero. And the Italian cowboy Samuel Contesti, who wore a gun belt, holster and fake mud spattered on his vest and “chaps.” He starred in his own Spaghetti Western.

Contesti was the crowd pleaser, as he pretended to shoot a gun, light a cigarette, swagger into a saloon and swing a lasso.

The top two American men needed to finish with a combined placement of 13 to secure three Olympic slots for the U.S. – and they did, with a 1st and a ninth.

Brandon Mroz, who upset former U.S. champ Johnny Weir at nationals, finished ninth.

Current U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott botched a handful of elements as he faded down the stretch to 11th place.

“I didn’t think the mistakes I made were great enough to justify my scores,” Abbott said.

Lysacek and Joubert will be considered the favorites going into the Olympic season. The defending world champion hasn’t won the Olympic gold medal the following year since 1984.