By Alexandra Stevenson
Very few champions win with such memorable performances as did Jeff Buttle, who claimed the 2008 World Mens title by an astounding margin of 13.95 marks even without presenting a quad jump! Canadians rejoiced, believing their hero would surely medal when the Olympics took place in Vancouver in 2010. But the soft-spoken Buttle, whose interest away from the rink is chemical engineering, sent his fans and his Association reeling when he announced his totally unexpected decision to give up competition on September 10. Contributing to the uncertainly of this year’s event is that four of the top five in worlds in Sweden will not be competing in Los Angeles. That happens sometimes in the post Olympic season, but not in the pre-Games year.
Missing-in-action is the 2008 bronze medalist, former 3-time US champion Johnny Weir, 24, who was the only American to medal in Gothenburg last March, when he gained bronze. Weir imploded at nationals in Cleveland, finishing only fifth nationally, and didn’t make the US world team for the first time since 2003. Never one to shirk his public responsibility, Weir posted a long apology in his journal on his website www.figureskatersonline.com/JohnnyWeir "for the way I performed in Cleveland," in which he deals with criticism that he should not have performed in a Christmas show in Seoul, so close to nationals.
Also missing is Daisuke Takahashi, who became the first Japanese male to win a silver medal in Worlds (2007). He finished fourth in Worlds last year, but has sat out this whole season because of surgery to repair ligament and meniscus damage to his right knee, caused when a triple Axel went awry. Out of competition permanently is Stephane Lambiel, the 23 year-old Swiss former twice world champion (2005 & 2006) and Olympic silver medalist, who was only fifth last year in Sweden. He withdraw from his first international of the season, the Skate Canada Grand Prix in October stating that a chronic condition from past injury meant he was no longer able to train at 100%. He will be performing exhibitions in Europe this month.
That leaves Brian Joubert, 2007 world champion and silver medalist in 2004, 2006 & 2008, as the clear favorite on paper. But the Frenchman was dealt a nasty blow by the IJS. His technique for the triple flip jump is being penalized and he has been unable to correct the wrong edge take-off. He has also gone through periods of ill-health this season. In the Grand Prix in his native France, in November, he finished, shockingly, off the podium and did not subsequently defend his national title, which he had held for the previous six years. Though the 24-year-old recently won the European championship, he was beaten in the Free Skate by his team-mate, Yannick Ponsero. Ponsero, the current French champion, was buried in last year’s worlds, finishing 18th. However, the 22-year-old Ponsero shone, winning the FS in Helsinki in January, although he finished fourth overall, because he was only 9th in the SP. Obviously, he is a loose canon. He showed great promise winning the silver then bronze medals in the 2005 & 2006 World Jr championships. He could be just coming into his peak and, if his quads work, he will be a factor.
Current US champion, Jeremy Abbott, who finished 11th in worlds last year as a last minute substitute for the injured US champion, Evan Lysacek, was being coy in a pre-Worlds teleconference, choosing not to reveal whether he will try the quad in Los Angeles. "I’m still working on it. As far as my strategy for worlds goes, - It’s a secret! To say I’m pleased with the season so far would be an understatement. It’s a great feeling to go into Worlds having actually qualified." In fact, he really has no alternative. Without the quad, he is unlikely to be a medal contender. The 23 year old, who was the 2005 US Jr champion, and was fourth in the 2007 & 2008 US Sr. championships, didn’t really jump onto the skating international radar until this season. His coach, Tom Zakrajsek said, "You have to remember, he hasn’t had that much international experience. He only got Grand Prix events in the 2008 season. He was never on the Junior Grand Prix circuit." His low profile changed when he won the Cup of China Grand Prix and then the Grand Prix Final in South Korea this season. But, after winning both sections to claim the US title, he was a disappointed 5th in the Four Continents Championships. For possibly the first time, he was aware of people’s enormous expectations for his success, and that appeared to weigh down on his shoulders.
Lysacek, the 2007 and 2008 US champion, a twice world bronze medalist (2005 & 2006) but only fifth in 2007, has had a poor season but he soundly beat Abbott and fellow world team member Brandon Mroz in February at the 4Cs. In an effort to jump start his chances at Worlds, Lysacek, 23, went to Toronto after the 4Cs for a week seeking extra help from noted Canadian choreographer Lori Nichol. This had definitely not been in the plans when, at the beginning of this season, looking for a fresh approach, Lysacek had traveled to Moscow to get this season’s routines choreographed by Tatiana Tarasova, who has had a great influence in rival Johnny Weir’s career. But the pieces -- Short Program set to Ravel’s Bolero; Free Skate set to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue -- just didn’t seem to gel. Even the costume for the FS, chosen by Tarasova, appeared too heavy. That was radically changed for the better into a sophisticated tux for the 4Cs. Speaking at the 4Cs in Vancouver in February, where he won the silver behind Canadian Patrick Chan, Lysacek said, "Last season I landed a quad in each competition I was at. But this was my first one this season successfully landed in competition. It was kind of starting to be a monkey on my back this year. They had been going great in practice and great in warm-ups but just weren’t happening in the competitions. I hope this was the break-through from that period."
Lysacek believes the new choreography can make a difference in results. "For so long, because I’m so much taller than the other skaters, 6’2", I tried to camouflage that and do things that made me look like I wasn’t so long and tall. Lori was one of the first people who told me, ‘That’s what sets you apart and makes you different.’" His coach since 2003, Frank Carroll, who was open to change when Lysacek said he wanted to explore new avenues with Tarasova, appears relieved at the "improvements" Nichol has instigated. Carroll said, "Evan’s ice coverage, speed and footwork are better. She did some things that, to me, were tremendously noticeable." Lysacek said, "The routines feel fresh. I feel like I’ve gained momentum. Lori explained that ‘Freedom’ is very important. In this system, there are so many intricacies and it’s important to push on every little move. You have to be constantly doing every step to the maximum of your ability but you have to look like you’re ‘free as the wind’ doing it."
Patrick Chan, who was 9th in his World Sr debut last year, will obviously be a factor. The youngster, who turned 18 on New Year’s Eve, has a superb triple Axel, which, when it goes right, is jaw-droppingly spectacular. He doesn’t just go up – he travels an unparalleled length in the jump. "When it goes wrong," counters coach Don Laws, "the fall can also be pretty spectacular!" Laws, who guided Scott Hamilton to the 1984 Olympic gold, was in his late seventies, in semi-retirement teaching in Florida, when Chan came to him. Chan had previously been taught by the elderly Osborne Colson, a legend in his time, and has a Chinese outlook of respect towards his elders. He met Laws when they were both pall bearers at Colson’s funeral in 2007. (Colson died aged 90.) Chan does not yet have a quad, something which obviously irks him. After winning the 4Cs event, he said, "Even here, it felt weird not doing a quad in practice when everyone else (a teenager’s typical huge exaggeration) is doing it. It was uncomfortable because I kept wanting to do it. It was so hard to hold back and not try." At that event, Chan, who was born of parents who had emigrated to Canada from Hong Kong, received the second highest ISU Short Program score ever (the previous highest was gained by Evgeny Plushenko in winning the 2006 Olympic gold). However, Chan has also had a disastrous outing this season, finishing last (1.49 points behind Verner) in the Grand Prix Final, possibly a victim of jet lag.
There are at least five others in the mix. The blond 22 year old Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic, who was 2nd in the 2007 European championship and won the title in 2008, was only 6th this season. He has competed in every world championship since 2002. He was 4th in 2007 but had a disastrous FS last year and finished only 15th in Worlds. Kevin van der Perren, of Belgium, who was 6th in Worlds last year and won bronze in the 2006 & 2008 Europeans, is a very experienced competitor who first competed in Worlds in 2000. He has fought back from hip surgery at the end of last season. "I know I have only a short time left in my competitive career so if I have to skate through pain, I will," the determined 26 year old said in Helsinki in January.
The 21 year old Sergei Voronov from St. Petersburg, was 7th in Gothenburg last year in his 2nd year at Worlds. The twice Russian champion, who is trained by the 1994 Olympic champion, Alexei Urmanov, is very conscious that the hopes of his country lie on his shoulders and that Olympic champion Evgeny Plushenko is presently stating that he is coming back next season. Takahiko Kozuka, who turned 20 on February 27, has been runner-up for the Japanese title for the past two years. He was 8th in last year’s Worlds in his debut. Kozuka, unexpectedly, won Skate America with Weir 2nd & Lysacek 3rd, and finished 2nd in the Grand Prix Final to Abbott.
There’s also Samuel Contesti, who first competed in Worlds in 2005 but then quarrelled with the French Association and went to skate for Italy. Contesti, who turned 26 on March 3, finished 2nd in the recent European championship. He has a free program reminiscent of Phillipe Candeloro’s Lucky Luke routine. Bonanza fans -- be sure to look out for this one in LA.
Making his debut, is 18-year-old Brandon Mroz. After placing 2nd at Junior level in US nationals and 4th in the World Junior Championships for the past two seasons, Mroz pulled a brilliant coup in US Senior nationals, snatching the runner-up spot. Like Abbott, he didn’t perform his best in the subsequent Four Continents Championship, finishing only 8th, obviously still coming down from his Cleveland high. But, rested and more focussed, he could be the surprise of the event – or the disappointment!
Does Buttle, who says he is routing for Chan to take the title in Los Angeles, regret his retirement decision, which appeared to have been made over night? Not even his agent realized that the announcement was coming. The 26-year-old won his gold in Gothenburg in glorious fashion, even without a quad. Buttle contends that he hasn’t looked back and the decision was a great relief. "I fell in love with skating watching ice shows. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. You could say it’s a little bit more mentally exhausting than competing because every night you have to come out and give the most energy that you’ve got. But I enjoy that. There’s really no down side." Shortly after the unexpected news broke, on September 10, the usually affable Canadian, who did a lot of his training in Lake Arrowhead, made a somewhat disastrous stab at commentary, during Skate Canada’s Grand Prix in Ottawa. Working for the experimental in-house personalized audio system, he butchered the ice dancers’ names and, striving too hard for a lightness, trivialized this division of the sport. But on the ice, in his domain, he’s still king. He was in Japan with Stars on Ice while Patrick Chan, the boy who dethroned him in the 2008 nationals, retained the Canadian title and while the 2008 world bronze medalist Johnny Weir was having a disastrous time in the US nationals. (Video of Buttle’s duet number with Stephane Lambiel in Japan is on his official website.)
Buttle is currently performing with the US tour. When the skaters started arriving in Los Angeles for Worlds, the show was in Cleveland, Friday 20 March; Pittsburgh, Saturday 21; and Grand Rapids, Sunday 22. Now it’s off to Cincinnati on Tuesday, Wilkes-Barr on Thursday, Long Island on Friday, East Rutherford on Saturday, and while the top performers do their exhibitions, "Stars" will be in Albany (March 29). That’s eight stops in five states in ten days. No one who hasn’t experienced such intensity can realize how incredible tiring that can be, even when everything goes on schedule, which, of course, doesn’t always happen. Then, when the US tour concludes, Buttle will headline with all the Canadian stops from April 23 to May 12.
"It felt really weird not being at Four Continents or nationals, but I don’t regret my decision. I’m having the time of my life," Buttle claims. The gypsy life of a professional entertainer might seem glamorous at first, but the restrictions of living out of a suitcase soon get annoyingly stressful and just plain hard. Buttle admits he’s only returned to the Toronto loft he calls home for ten days in the past six months. When he’s not performing, he is choreographing. His career length coach, Lee Barkell, who guided him to the 2006 Olympic bronze, three Canadian titles and, of course, the world crown explained that his protégé had made the decision to quit just before Labor Day. "After a day of training at Mariposa in preparation for the camp in Vancouver, he just left the ice and switched off. We talked over the course of three days, and it became pretty apparent he was definite in his decision. The main thing I was worried about was that he’d thought it through and covered all the angles. But he said he didn’t feel he had it in him to go another 18 months. And that was that." His mother had put him on the ice at 2 and by 6 he was competing. But, having just turned 26, (September 1), he’d decided it was time for a major change. Part of the reason may have been his persistent determination, and failure, to do the quad. Yet, when he won his title in Sweden, he was awarded the top technical marks for both the SP and FS, winning by a huge margin! One of the most interesting aspects of this Worlds will be to see whether his successor will, or will not, win with the incredibly risky quad – or with two!
Copyright 2009 by ISIO