Jeffrey Buttle
Jeremy Abbott
Ryan Bradley |
Two weeks ago at the State Farm U.S. Championships in Spokane, Evan Lysacek proved he could skate a clean short program. "It was a huge weight off my shoulders," said the 21 year-old skater, who had faltered in the short at the 2006 Olympics and other important competitions. Tonight, a few pounds of baggage must have come back. Skating fourth in the final warm-up group at Colorado Springs’ World Skating Arena, a sluggish Lysacek reduced a planned triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination to a triple-double and then doubled a flip in his program to "The Feeling Begins." Though the remaining elements were more than respectable, the routine did not pack a fraction of the excitement it had in Spokane. "This was a really strange night, with so few people in the audience," the newly crowned U.S. champion, who won Four Continents in 2005, said. "I’m the kind of person that usually feeds off energy, and there was no energy. It’s been a crazy week; I’m still riding the high of Nationals. "I wanted to show up (at Four Continents); I wanted to come, because it’s in the U.S. But it was tough to be perfect with all that was going on." In an evening with few clean performances, Lysacek’s 67.04 points (33 TES + 34.04 PCS) left him in fourth place, more than ten points off the lead. If Lysacek wants to win his second Four Continents title, he will have to catch three-time Canadian champ Jeffrey Buttle, who earned the rare distinction of gaining "Level 4" for each of his program’s five non-jumping elements. Performing to Astor Piazzolla "Adios Nonino," with masterful choreography by David Wilson, the Olympic bronze medalist closed his program with expressive and varied step sequences and a crisp, well-centered combination spin –impressive enough to make observers forget about his earlier near-fall (both hands down) on a triple Axel. He was rewarded with 77.72 points (41.58 TES + 36.14 PCS), a new ISU personal best. "For my first international this season, a clean program would have been awesome today, but it’s an improvement over Canadians and I’ll take it," Buttle said. "All of the extra effort I put into my spins and steps paid off. At Canadians I had left out a couple of things so it was cool to go out and do them." It was a triumphant return for Buttle, who missed the Grand Prix season with a back injury, stayed off the ice for three months and only began training again in November. "No specific element caused my injury. It was due to repetitive stress, caused by impact and torque. My body was telling me it needed more than two weeks off," said Buttle, who is the only active skater continuously able to increase his point totals despite major jumping mistakes. Hometown skater Jeremy Abbott, who placed fourth at the U.S. Championships, thrilled the sparse crowd with a clean program to "Dead Already" marked by crisp positions and angular movements. Abbot, who is coached in Colorado Springs by Tom Zakrajsek, landed a triple Lutz-triple toe loop; a triple Axel; and a triple loop, and all three of his spins were graded Level 4. It was an astounding improvement over his disastrous short in Spokane, and put him in second place with 74.34 points (41.91 TES + 32.43 PCS). "The difference (between here and nationals) was that I was much better prepared mentally," Abbott, 21, said. "It was my first senior nationals, the first time I had to deal with cameras. I was distracted mentally. I knew what to expect here." Abbott’s training partner, surprise U.S. silver medalist Ryan Bradley, delighted the crowd with his short to "Happy Birthday Polka." The charismatic 23 year-old, who is also coached by Zakrajsek, reduced an intended triple flip- triple toe loop combination to a triple-double, but was otherwise solid. He gained Level 4 for all three of his spin elements, a vast improvement over prior years. Bradley admitted it was a bit difficult to get motivated for this event. "It was kind of hard to get into competition mode," he explained. "I live just down the street, so my coaches worked with me to help me adapt." About his unusual short program -- which has him dressed in a bright blue pants, a canary yellow top, orange suspenders and a painted-on polka dot tie – Bradley said, "I feel I was criticized in the past for being a clown on the ice. People would say, ‘He’s a clown, he doesn’t focus on his skating skills, he just likes to make people laugh.’ I decided let’s go with it. They’re saying I’m a clown, let’s do a clown program." Bradley picked up 68.83 points (37.19 TES + 31.64 PCS) and sits in third place. Enigmatic Canadian Emanuel Sandhu added an unfortunate chapter to his biography when he ran into lace trouble while performing his short program to a Latin medley. After landing a quadruple toe loop-double toe combination – albeit with a bit of a running edge between the jumps – the top hook on his right boot began to loosen, and he popped an intended triple Axel into a single. After completing a flying sit spin, Sandhu began his circular step sequence, only to have the lace fly loose. "I felt like I had on ballet slippers," Sandhu said. "I tried to do my Axel but unfortunately the boot could not support the technique. When it came off completely during the steps, I knew I had to stop." The three-time Canadian champion skated over to the referee, detailed the problem and was granted two minutes to fix it. He did, and executed the remaining elements (including a triple Lutz, change foot sit spin, straight-line sequence and combination spin) although the steam had gone out of the program. "I’m not used to stopping. It’s a difficult thing. It was a mental battle and I stuck with it. The rest of the program was good," Sandhu said. He placed fifth with 64.98 points (32.15 TES + 32.83 PCS). Jialiang Wu of China was the top finisher among the three entrants from his country, placing sixth with 63.52 points. The two-time national bronze medalist had one of the cleaner programs of the night, landing a strong triple Axel and triple flip-triple toe combination. The top Japanese finisher was stylish Noriyuka Kanzaki, competing in his first major international, who interpreted Ravel’s "Bolero" with an unusual combination of restraint and flair. He opened his program with the finest triple Axel of the night, followed by a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, but fell on a triple Lutz. He sits seventh with 62.34 points. "I think I was leaning forward on the Lutz," Kanzaki said. "It was a pity, but the last part of my (straight-line) step sequence was good. I’m glad because it was overall a good performance." Canadian bronze medalist Christopher Mabee had a disappointing outing to "Blue Deluxe," falling on his triple flip and putting a hand down in the middle of his triple Lutz-double toe loop combination. "I was very well trained coming in to this competition and practicing well here all week," Mabee said. "After I landed the triple Axel I started to become more cautious and slowed it down a bit. I’ll go for it in the long." |
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Free Skating
Evan Lysacek
Jeffrey Buttle
Jeremy Abbott
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2007 Four Continents Men's Medalists
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