Figure Skating in
Northern Ontario
Buttle wins silver in Moscow
(March 17, 2005)
Jeff
Buttle is the world silver medallist.
The 22-year-old native of Sudbury, Ont. captured the silver medal at the
2005 International Skating Union (ISU) World Championships in Moscow on
Thursday.
Standing in third-place overall following the short program after
three-time World Champion Evgeni Plushenko, of Russia, was forced to
withdraw due to injury, Buttle was the first to take the ice in the
final flight of five men.
Earlier in the evening, 24-year-old Emanuel Sandhu, of Richmond Hill,
Ont., performed a strong free skate that included a quadruple toe
loop-triple toe loop combination, plus six other triple jumps. Sandhu
was awarded a total of 134.13 points for his free skate, which brought
his combined point total to 231.16 to place him seventh overall.
Sandhu's free skate was judged the third best of the night, behind gold
medal winner Stephane Lambiel, of Switzerland, and his teammate Buttle.
For finishing third in the free skate, Sandhu was awarded an ISU small
medal (bronze), which are awarded to the top-three skaters in each
discipline following each portion of the event.
"Overall, I feel pretty good," said Sandhu.
Buttle opened his free skate with a strong triple flip-triple toe loop
combination. He went on to complete four more triple jumps in the
program. Buttle's free skate was awarded the second highest scores of
the evening, earning a total of 136.30 points, giving him a combined
total of 245.69.
"I'm really happy with the way I competed all week," said Buttle.
Buttle's second-place finish combined with Sandhu's seventh-place finish
qualifies Canada to send three men to next year's Winter Olympic Games
and the 2006 ISU World Championships in Calgary.
"That is something Emanuel and I wanted to provide when we got back to
Canada," said Buttle.
Lambiel, who was awarded a total of 144.18 points for his free skate,
won the gold medal with a total of 262.46 points.
American Evan Lysacek placed fourth in the free skate with 133.74
points, bringing his combined point total to 239.29, which won him the
bronze medal.
This is Buttle's first time on the podium at the ISU World
Championships. He placed eighth in his first trip to the event in 2002
and 15th in 2003.
Sandhu also improved upon his previous best finish at an ISU World
Championships. His previous best was an eighth-place finish in both 2004
and 2003.
Meanwhile, in the original dance, three-time Canadian Champions
Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon placed eighth with a total of
58.30 points. Dubreuil, 30, of Montreal, and Lauzon, 29, of Boisbriand,
Que., currently stand in seventh-place overall with a combined point
total of 98.81.
Canadian silver medallists Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe placed 10th in the
original dance with a total of 52.52 points. They are currently in 10th
overall with a combined point total of 87.63.
Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, of Russia, are the leaders with a
combined total of 114.64 points, while Americans Tanith Belbin and
Benjamin Agosto are in second overall with 109.72 points. Elena Grushina
and Ruslan Goncharov, of Ukraine, are third with 104.47 points overall.
The 2005 ISU World Championships continue Friday with the ladies short
program and the free dance. Check the TV schedule for broadcasts.
Article provided by Skate Canada
