Brian Joubert |
Joubert was the only competitor to execute a quad toe loop successfully. He combined the feat with a double toe loop, although that is expected to be a triple later in the season, to receive +0.80 GoE above the combination’s base value of 10.30. He then threw out a splendidly easy, high, flowing triple Lutz which earned an excellent +1.40 over the base value of 6.0. "For me, the quad is easier than spins or footwork," said Joubert who recently signed a huge contract with the cashmere fashion house Eric Bompart which also sponsors the French Grand Prix. Joubert then presented a base level triple Axel in which his blade threw up a little ice on the landing. Surprisingly, he earned no Level 4. He received Level 3 for his change foot combination spin and his straight line steps but another spin and the circular steps were Level 2 and his final move, the flying sit was only Level 1. Joubert is trained by Jean Christophe Simond and his choreographer, Kurt Browning, is the four-time Canadian world champion (1989, 1990, 1991 & 1993), who is working for CBC TV. Browning is very supportive of the 23 year old from Poitiers. "I worked with Brian again this year. I gave him my, ‘What it feels like to be a first time world champion’ speech. My first world title sent me on a spin but it hasn’t affected Brian at all. "I should have saved my breath. The title is not lying at all heavy on his shoulders at all. He is just the same as he was before. He is very comfortable and happy. I haven’t asked him whether he’s healthy but he seems so. I am not sure if he is going for his goal of 3 quads in the long at this competition. I will be nervous with him. "Watch for a softer side of Brian in his Short Program (which is set to ‘All of You’ by Sebastien Damiani). The long is a tweaked version of last season’s Metallici." 2. 67.09 (35.44 + 31.65) Yannick Ponsero, 21, who is ranked second in France, used Otonal by Raul di Blasio, a remix by Maxim Rodriquez. He began with an impressive +1.40 added to the base level of 7.50 for his triple Axel. He stepped out of his quad toe and although he managed to get airborne for the second jump, a double toe, instead of the planned triple, that was not counted. The step out meant it was classed as a sequence and not the required combination. He had -2.60 GoE taken off the base value of the quad toe which is 9.0. Ponsero, who finished 14th in his first world senior championship earlier this year, competed in last year’s Skate Canada in which he finished sixth. He is trained by Didier Lucine and Sophie Golaz and his choreography is created by Murielle Zazoui. He also owns the 2005 silver and 2006 bronze medals from the world junior championships. 3. 66.50 50 (37.00 + 30.50 – 1.0) Jeff Buttle, 3 time Canadian champion, 25, from Sudbury, Ontario, was second in the world in 2005 and Olympic bronze medalist but only sixth in the past two world championships. The 25-year-old appeared tentative right from the start of his 4½ min routine set to an instrumental of one of the most famous tenor arias in opera which is about the tragedy of the clown, Il Paliacci, He wore a black and white clown outfit but it was not over-the-top. Afterwards Buttle admitted he’d felt "a little bit off" during practices. Both jumps in his first move, the combination of triple flip to triple toe, were high but both had dicey landings, and he was saddled with a -1.60 off the base value of 9.50. He only just held the landing of his triple Axel (GoE -0.80) and then he stumbled on steps going into his triple Lutz on which he fell and which was downgraded to a double. Buttle explained, "I guess it was the cross-cut that I didn’t think I’d have to be fighting for, so trying to recover in time and still do the footwork into the Lutz, I think I ended up just trying too hard on the Lutz. The jumps weren’t easy today, that’s for sure. I had to fight for them. Despite the mistakes, I recovered and kept going. There’s really nothing else you can do, especially with the new (scoring) system. "If you start to let all the little things go, that’s when it really starts to hurt. A fall is a fall and you get up and keep going." His first spin, the flying sit was Level 4, and all his other Level moves gained a 3. Buttle’s first spin was Level 4. Lee Barkell trains him at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario. He also trains with Rafael Artunian in Lake Arrowhead, CA. 4. 66.50 (37.00 + 30.50 -1.0) Christopher Maybe, 22, who is from Tillsonburg, Ontario, is ranked second in Canada. He skated to Katchaturian’s music for the ballet Spartacus, using the famous powerful Adagio for the two leading characters, Spartacus and Phrygia. Maybe began with a great +1.40 triple flip to triple toe combo but fell on the following triple Axel. "I hadn’t missed a triple Axel since I got here," said Mabee. "To miss it in the short program when it mattered is disappointing, for sure, but I have two triple Axels in the long and I plan to do them both." Apart from the triple Axel all his moved gained base level or better. His flying sit was Level 4. Two of the other level moves gained 3 and two only 2. Maybe made his world championship debut this year, placing 13th in Tokyo. He is trained by Lee Barkell and Doug Leigh and his choreographer is Lori Nichol. 5. 66.11 (35.96 + 31.15 -1.0) Kevin van der Perren, the many time Belgian champion, won bronze at the 2007 European championships. He finished ninth in the 2006 world championships. The 25 year old skated to Xotica by René Dupéré. Because of his ISU world standing, Van der Perren skated next to last, just before Joubert. He was the only competitor to present a quad toe to triple toe but the first jump was flawed and he fell after landing the second. Nevertheless, the base level was 13.00. Two points were taken off for the flaws and 1.0 for the following fall. His triple Axel earned the base value but 0.40 was taken off on the triple Lutz. He gained a Level 4 for his change foot sit spin which earned 0.10 above base. Although his final move, a change foot combination spin earned Level 3, it had -0.48 deducted from the base value. Both step sequences were Level 2 and earned base value but his Level 2 flying sit was penalized with -0.36. 6. 65.65 (37.20 + 28.45) Vaughn Chipeur, from Edmonton, 22, opened the mens championship. Last year, he was a last minute addition to Skate Canada and finished seventh. He is trained by former US champion Scott Davis who coaches at the Calalta Community FS Club in Calgary. He earned the second highest components marks in part because his routine, set to a Blues Concerto, had lots of audience friendly body movements. "That was wicked," he said as he left the ice, his face alive with excitement. Chipeur, who was sixth at this season’s Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany, started his routine with a super triple Axel which earned a rare +2.0 added to the base level of 7.50. All three of Chipeur’s spins gained Level 4. Both step sequences were Level 2. His combination was triple flip to double toe gained +0.60 but 0.80 was taken off the base value of his triple Lutz. 7. 57.43 (31.48 + 25.95) Pavel Kaska, a 19 year old who is from Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, skated to a modern version of Tchaikovsky’s music for the ballet, the Nutcracker Ballet, played by Bond. He has been second twice in his national championships and has not yet skated in the world senior championship. He received a slight negative 0.20 off the 10.00 base value for his combination of triple Lutz to triple toe because the landing on the second jump was nor held. He had a smaller deduction for his Level 3 change foot combination spin but his other six required elements gained base value or better. His change foot sit spin was a Level 4 but the straight line steps only Level 1 and the circular steps Level 2. 8. 56.09 (29.34 + 27.75 -1.0) None of the US entrants in the mens short program skated anywhere near their potential. Scott Smith has been fifth nationally in the U.S. for the past two years. He interpreted Night Train but the 26 year old, who is trained by Mark Mitchell and Peter Johansson in Boston, fell on his first element, a quad toe which was downgraded to a triple. Smith’s triple Axel gained a + 0.40 GoE but his combination of two triple toes was saddled with -0.80. His first two spins earned Level 4 but the step sequences were both Level 1. His last move, which was the change foot combination, was given Level 2. Smith’s choreography wad done by Jamie Isley and Nikolai Morozov. 9. 51.11 (25.76 + 25.35) Jamal Othman of Switzerland was the replacement for Nobunari Oda, who was pulled out of his Grand Prix assignments by the Japanese Federation after he was arrested by Osaka police for driving his moped under the influence of alcohol. No one was hurt and the 20 year old, who ranks seventh in the world, apologized. Othman, who is 21, has been second in the Swiss championships for the past three years, skated to two pieces by Paul Dinletir Ice Queen and Raks Africa. He began with a +0.80 double Axel but had -0.40 taken off the base value of 7.30 for his combination of triple Lutz to double toe. His triple flip was downgraded to a double. His change foot sit spin was Level 4 but his straight line steps only Level 1 and the three remaining level moves were all awarded Level 2 10. 47.51 (25.36 + 24.15 – 2.0) Jialiang Wu skated to music from the relatively recent martial arts hit movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The 22 year old from Beijing began with the relatively easy combination of triple toe to double toe which earned just slight above base value. He then fell on both his triple Axel and triple Lutz. His circular steps and final spin were both only Level 1. His two other spins were Level 3 and the straight line steps Level 2. He is coached by Lijie Yu and his choreography was done by Shae-Lynn Bourne. He was third in the past two Chinese championships and was 23rd in his first world senior championship earlier this year. 11. 44.75 (19.10 + 26.65 -1.0) Jeremy Abbott, 22, who is from Aspen but trains in Colorado Springs with Tom Zakrajsek, was the 2005 U.S. Junior champion. He qualified for nationals for the first time at senior level earlier this year and finished fourth. Skating to Treat by Carlos Santana, choreographed by Kurt Browning, he had one of those days we all have when, if we could turn the clock back, we just wouldn’t get out of bed. He fell on his first jump meant to be a quad but which turned out to be a triple toe. Then he popped to a single his triple Axel. Later his triple Lutz was downgraded. However, he fought for the rest of the moves and all three spins gained the maximum Level 4 with positive GoEs. His straight line steps were Level 3 and gained +0.40 and the circular steps Level 2 and +0.50. 12. 42.45 (19.60 + 23.95 -1.0) Geoffry Varner was a last minute replacement at last year’s Skate Canada. He was again called to step into this event when Sergei Voronov of Russia dropped out. At 20, he was the youngest of the 12 mens singles competitors. He skated to Ninkou Latora by Violaine Corradi and a piece from Edvin Marton’s Art of Ice. Varner’s first move was his combination. The triple flip was good but the second jump, a triple toe was landed on his toe earning a -1.0 GoE. Then he had a bad fall on his triple Axel which was downgraded. That obviously shook him up and he received no points at all for his next element, a change foot sit spin. He then did a double Lutz. However, he fought back from this disastrous start and the following four moves received base value or better and were all Level 2s. Varner qualified for U.S. nationals at senior level for the first time in 2007, and now ranks 17th in the entire country. He is trained by Barbara Roles-Williams at the University of Delaware. |
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Free Skating
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1. Total points 213.62 (1 SP; 2FS) Joubert, in black and silver, skated an adapted version of last season’s Metallica free. The demons that hit many of his competitors did not spare the world champion, who fell on his first move, the quad toe. A very good triple Salchow followed earning +1.80 GoE but the landing of his first triple Axel was pulled and he lost -1.0 on its base value. The following spins were both Level 3 and earned +0.50 and +0.40 over base. Amazingly, the world champion received two "e’s" for the wrong edge, incurring an obligatory -1.0 on both his triple flips, the first of which was combined with two double toes and the other with one double toe. Both were after time where the bonus clicks in. In the press conference afterwards, Joubert admitted. "Yes, I saw that my flips are Lutzes." He was awarded +0.60 for his triple loop and a substantial +1.40 for his triple Lutz. Two spins in a row, the Level 3 flying sit and the Level 1 upright, gained the base value. His Level 3 straight line steps got +0.40 but his second triple Axel turned into a single. He finished his four and a half minutes with a Level 3 change foot combination spin which got the base value. He earned for the Free Skate 135.57 (64.47+72.10-1.0) 2. 202.55 (5; 1) Van der Perren, in white and gold, skated to Lawrence of Arabia and hardly put a foot wrong. He began with a splendid quad toe which earned a +1.0 GoE over the base value of 9.0. Then came a base value (7.50) triple Axel followed by a +0.80 triple flip and a Level 4 +0.30 flying sit. He followed with another Level 4 sit spin which earned +0.10 over base. His Level 2 footwork received the base value as did the Level 3 change foot upright spin. He doubled both sections of his planned second triple Axel to triple toe and added a double toe to the triple Salchow which came next. Both these jumping passes received +1.0. The following triple Lutz was also combined with a double toe. That, and a triple loop, gained base value. The circular steps were Level 2 and -0.06. He substituted a triple toe for the planned double Axel (which was worth a half point more) for his final jumping pass and received base Level. His final move was a Level 4 change foot combination spin which was given a minuscule +0.04. Afterwards, Van der Perren, who is engaged to British champion, Jenna Arrowsmith, held his back, revealing, "I still have a lot of pain." His FS earned 136.44 (74.54+61.90) 3. 198.77 (3; 3) Buttle, skating in black with blue and white, repeated last year’s routine to soft, unusual music from the grim movie Ararat. The performance, although packed with interesting moves, was disappointing. He began well with a triple Axel to triple toe loop earning +0.80 but followed that with a base level double Salchow. His Level 4 change foot upright spin gained +0.60 but following move, a double flip was given an "e" for a wrong edge takeoff and -0.30 was taken off its base value of 1.70. His Level 4 flying sit was rewarded with +0.60 and the Level 3 circular steps with +0.90. After the point where jumps are worth an extra 10%, he executed a triple Lutz which gained +0.40. But the following double Axel received -0.16. A triple loop got +0.60 and his Level 3 straight line steps a very good +1.00. His triple Salchow was landed on his instead of the back outside edge and he was penalized with -0.20. Then he fell on his second triple Lutz. He finished with two spins. The Level 4 combination got an added 0.60 and the Level 2 change foot combination received +0.70. His FS earned 131.92 (60.92+72.00-1.0) 4. (4; 5) The crowd went wild over Maybe who skated in black with a pink tie to Sing, Sing, Sing. He began with a +1.00 triple flip but his triple Axel, in combination with a double toe, was downgraded to a double and got a -1.28. His triple Lutz to triple toe got a huge +1.20. A base value triple loop was followed by two Level 3 spins, a change foot combination which got the base value and a flying sit which earned +0.10. Then he singled his Axel. The triple Salchow and triple Lutz both earned +0.40 and the following Level 4 change foot sit spin got base value. His straight line steps earned Level 2 and +0.30. A double Axel got base value. The Level 2 circular steps earned +0.70 and he finished with a great Level 4 combination spin which received +0.50. His FS earned 125.70 (60.80+64.90) 5. 187.41 (6; 6) Chipeur skated to music from Dances with Wolves; Out of Africa; and Zulu. He began with a first rate +1.40 triple Axel but the following triple flip, combined with a double toe, was given an "e" for wrong edge which resulted in a -1.0 GoE. His Level 4 flying sit and triple Lutz were excellent earning +0.20 and +1.00 but the following triple loop had a bad lean in the air and a bad landing and the judges gave a -1.0. The next two moves, a Level 4 change foot sit spin and Level 2 circular steps both received the base value. He was forced to execute a double three turn on the landing of his triple Axel so he got a -0.20 GoE. His Level 4 change foot combination spin earned the base value but the next move, a shaky triple Salchow got -0.60. Then he put two hands on the ice landing the triple Lutz before getting airborne again for a double toe which resulted in a -1.00 GoE. His straight line steps got the base value but his final jump was a single Axel with a step forward which was saddled with a -0.40. He finished with a Level 4 flying change foot combination spin which got the base value. His FS earned 121.76 (62.76+59.60) 6. 178.18 (2; 10) For Ponsero almost nothing went right. Dressed in papal red and black and skating to music from The Da Vinci Code, he stepped out of his first element, a triple Axel which was given -2.0 and then fell on a quad toe loop. He put his hand down on his triple Lutz (-1.0). A Level 4 change foot camel spin earned +0.30. The Level 3 circular steps earned +0.10 but his planned second quad toe turned to a triple and he jack-knifed on the landing resulting in a -1.60 GoE. A change foot combination spin earned the base value. There were problems on his next two jumping passes. A triple Salchow to double toe got -1.40 and a double loop -0.60. A Level 3 flying sit spin got +0.20 but the following double Axel was saddled with a considerable -1.60. The Level 3 straight line steps earned the base level. The last two elements, a double Axel to double toe and a Level 4 sit spin, both earned 0.20. His FS earned 111.09 (50.49 + 61.60-1.0) 7. 172.90 (7; 8) Kaska, dressed in blue and black and skating to music written for one of the Sinbad movies, got +0.20 for his triple Lutz to triple loop but his second element, a triple Axel to triple toe, was given -0.20. Then he did a very messy double Axel, incurring -1.60. At that point he realized he had a loose lace and went to the referee, Susan Blatz. She allowed him to retie the lace and continue from where he stopped. His Level 4 change foot sit spin gained +0.40 and the Level 3 circular steps got the base value. A good triple Lutz earned +1.0 but his triple Salchow combined with two double toes was given -0.20. A Level 3 flying sit earned +0.20. His ninth move, double flip, was saddled with an e for wrong edge and -0.54 GoE. A double Axel gained the base value and a Level 3 combination spin a +0.10. His triple loop received base value as did the Level 1 straight line steps. The last element, a Level 4 combination spin had -0.12 GoE. His FS earned 115.47 (67.47+54.00) 8. 171.06 (11; 4) Abbott performed a waltz routine choreographed by Tom Dickson. He gained credit for four rotations on his first move, a quad toe, but fell on the landing which meant he had -3.0 taken off the base value of 9.00 in addition to the one point deducted for a fall. He followed with a good triple Axel to triple toe which earned +1.0 on top of the 11.50 base value. However, he had a hand down on his triple flip which lost him -1.00 off the base value of 5.50. A double Axel earned +0.20 over base and his Level 3 circular steps +0.40. That was followed by a Level 4 combination spin which earned +0.50. The he singled his second triple Axel. But he kept pushing with a Level 4 change foot sit spin which gathered +0.50 over base. At the point where the bonus 10% comes in, he executed a triple Lutz to triple toe to double toe which was good enough to gain a +0.80 GoE which mean that element alone scored 13.23. A Level 4 change foot combination spin earned +0.60 but he had to execute a double three on the landing of the subsequent triple loop and got -1.0 GoE. His final jumping pass was a triple Salchow to double toe which gained the base value. A Level 3 flying sit spin received +0.30. He ended with Level 2 straight line steps but fell during them. In addition to the lost point for a fall, he received a -0.76 which was taken off the base value of 2.30. His FS earned 126.31 (70.31+58.00-2.0) 9. 169.97 (8; 9) Smith, in red and black, interpreted Asturias. His first move, a quad Salchow, got credit for the rotations but -2.60 GoE was taken off the base value. The first triple Axel was two-footed and he stepped out of the second. However, he was saddled with a significant -1.60 GoE for the first and -2.00 for the second. He was given base value of 3.10 for his Level 3 circular steps. Then came a Level 4 flying sit spin which also earned its base value of 3.00. However, he put a hand down on his triple Lutz and -1.20 was taken off the base. Then he received an "e" for wrong edge of the flip which he doubled. The next jump, a triple loop, gained the base value as did a Level 4 flying change foot combination spin. He presented a combination of two triple toes but the second jump was downgraded. For his triple Salchow to double toe he gained the base value. His Level 3 change foot combination spin received +0.10. His final two moves, Level 1 straight line steps and Level 3 combination spin both got the base value. He FS earned 113.88 (57.68+56.20) 10. (9; 7) Othman performed to Lunatico by Gotan Project. He began with an impressive +1.0 triple Lutz to triple toe. That same good GoE was earned for the double Axel that followed. Then came +0.20 Level 3 circular steps and a +0.40 triple Salchow. A triple loop and a Level 3 Upright spin both earned +0.20 over their respective base values. He made his first error on his seventh move, a Level 2 combination spin which got -0.12. He fell on his subsequent triple flip which also received an "e" for wrong edge take-off. The following triple Lutz got -0.40 and his combination of triple Salchow to double toe to double loop got -0.80. A Level 4 change foot combination spin earned the base value, as did a double Axel and his Level 3 straight line steps. He concluded with a Level 3 combination spin which had a very small negative -0.06. He FS earned 115.85 (62.25+54.60-1.0) 11. (10; 11) Wu skated to Dvorak’s Symphony From the New World. He began with a triple flip to triple toe but both his flip and one later in the routine were given an "e" for wrong edge take-off. He presented an impressive triple Axel to double toe for his second move which earned a significant +0.80. The following triple Lutz to double toe to double toe received +0.20. His Level 3 change foot sit spin got the base value as did his Level 2 circular steps. However, his Level 3 combination spin got a slight -0.12. He then fell on his second triple Lutz. The following triple loop and two footed double Axel were saddled with, respectively, -1.00 and -1.60 GoEs. Then came a flying sit spin and straight line steps which both were awarded Level 2 and their base value. His final jump was a -0.12 double Salchow and a base value Level 3 change foot combination spin. His FS earned 105.94 (58.34+48.60-1.0) 12. (12; 12) Varner, who was the replacement for Stephane Lambiel, skated to music used so successfully by 2002 Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin from the movie Gladiator by H. Zimmer. He was dressed in bronze and black with black gloves. Right from the start things went wrong. He stepped out of his first jump, a triple flip meant to be combined with a triple toe, and then singled his Lutz which was meant to be a three jump combination. A double instead of triple Axel followed which was saddled with a -0.80 GoE. He received Level 2 for his change foot sit spin and +0.20. His triple loop received the base value but he put his hand down on the triple flip which got a -1.60 GoE. His Level 3 combination spin got base value, as did the following triple Lutz and Level 2 circular steps. His Level 2 flying sit got a slight -0.06 and his Level 2 steps a -0.18. A base level triple Salchow followed. Then came a double Axel to double toe which got -0.64. He finished with a change foot combination spin which received only Level 1 because, as his coach Barbara Roles-Williams said, "He didn’t hold any of the positions for long enough. I don’t know what happened to him. Nerves, I suppose. He had skated so well just a short time ago in a competition in Philadelphia." His FS earned only 92.09 (43.69+48.40) |
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2007 Skate Canada Men's Medalists
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