Men’s Free Skate

At the World’s figure skating championships this year, Canada’s Jeffrey Buttle found himself in the same position as Johnny Weir at the U.S. Nationals.

Skating after a performance that blows the roof off the house is always difficult. Weir, the defending U.S. champion at the time, found himself skating his long program after Evan Lysacek made his first quadruple toeloop in competition, and Buttle had to skate after the momentum of three other spectacular performances at Worlds.

Switzerland’s Stephane Lambiel, the wild card of the competition, skated third in the final group of male skaters. The two-time and defending world champion has admitted to being burnt-out after last year’s intense Olympic season and only recently decided to come to Worlds, but he landed a quad-double-double combination jump and fully rotated a second quad. He stumbled out of the second quad, but came from sixth place after the short program and earned enough points to win the bronze.

Lambiel had a marvelous free skate, charming the crowd and rattling the nerves of Brian Joubert, who skated next. Joubert was in first place after the short program, and recognized what he was up against. “Stephane did a great performance, which made it more difficult,” Joubert said. “I didn’t want to win the program. I wanted just to do a good program and win the title.”

Joubert did end up winning the gold, but points-wise, his free skate came behind Lambiel’s. Joubert nailed his opening quad-toeloop, and then a triple flip and a triple Axel. Instead of risking a second quad, the European champ and first Frenchman to win the Worlds since 1965 went for a triple toe-triple-toe combination, three more triples, and two level-three step sequences. His flying sit spin and sit spin, however, were downgraded to a level one.

You could say that Joubert “skated smart.” I’m very tired,” a triumphant Joubert said. “I didn’t attempt the second quad because I wanted to give the audience a clean program. I worked for this gold. It’s been a great season, and I gave it everything I had tonight.”

This in spite of coming back from a serious injury; in late February, Joubert spiked his foot with the blade of his other foot, causing him to miss crucial training. As a result, he wasn’t up to the form he was earlier in the season. At the Cup of Russia competition in November, he produced four quads. Out of any male skater in the senior circuit, Joubert understands the importance of the quad jump, especially for the future of the sport of figure skating.

Fortunately, he enjoyed a huge lead after the short program, which was a good thing regarding Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi’s performance immediately after Joubert’s. Takahashi overcame the pressure of skating at home and captured the home audience with his exuberant and emotional free skate.

Other than putting his hand down on his opening quad toe loop that seemed to relieve the pressure, Takahashi’s performance was flawless. He subsequently reeled off two triple Axels (one in combination with a double toeloop), a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple Lutz-double toe-double loop, and three more triples. He seemed tired towards the end of his program, but the audience’s support gave him new energy to complete his final straight-line footwork.

“Before I went out to skate, I was so nervous, I almost cried,” Takahashi said. When he finished, he couldn’t stop sobbing with relief and joy while the crowd erupted into a standing ovation. “I’m very happy and full of joy,” he added.

Then it was Buttle’s turn. He was in second place after his short program, but his free skate placed eighth, putting him in sixth overall. He stepped out of a triple axle and fell twice, first on a quad toe loop (which was downgraded to a triple) and his first triple Axel. In spite of these mistakes, however, he produced five more triple jumps. Buttle also made level threes in his complicated and expressive footwork and spins.

And so, like Weir at the U.S. Nationals, Buttle failed to take advantage of a great opportunity. His coach, Lee Barkell, chalked it up to a season of injury and the lack of a consistent quad jump in Buttle’s arsenal.

As far as skating after Takahashi’s pivotal performance, Buttle admitted that it made a difference. “Obviously, it has an effect,” he said. “You can’t ignore that kind of volume and response.”

Sources:
Associated Press. Figure Skating: Joubert’s quad and 7 triples suffice to win men’s title. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/22/sports/skate.php

Cole, C. Joubert wins world figure skating title, Buttle sixth. http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=a12cc65c-3d00-42d8-a32c-effea1f2116f&k=43993

ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2007 Tokyo (JPN) Day 3. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,4844-131973-133281-18886-268038-news-item,00.html

Kaye, R. 2007 World Figure Skating Championships: Men's Free Skate Highlights. http://goldenskate.com/articles/2006/032307_ml.shtml

Smith, B. Joubert wins men’s world figure skating title. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070322.wsptskate22/BNStory/Front