Buttle 1st after short program
Last Updated: Friday, January 19, 2007 | 8:21 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Jeff Buttle made a successful return at the Canadian figure skating championships in Halifax on Friday, while Christopher Mabee stole the show.
Jeffrey Buttle skates to first place in the men's short program at the Canadian figure skating championships Friday.
(Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
Buttle, who hadn't competed at all this season because recovery from a spinal stress fracture interrupted his training, was first in the technical or short program as he returned to the ice Friday night to begin his bid for a third consecutive national title.
Mabee, fourth last year, was second with a powerful performance.
Emanuel Sandhu, who was second to Buttle the past two years and a three-time champion previously, placed third.
The pre-meet buzz was all about Sandhu and Buttle
'Considering how long I've been off, I was unsure if I'd be ready.… For me, it was more about making the world team.'
-Jeff Buttle, who got 78.85 points
clashing for the crown, and Mabee has now put himself in the middle of the battle.
Buttle got 78.85 points while Mabee received 75.68, Sandhu got 65.21, Shawn Sawyer earned 63.93 and Vaughn Chippeur received 63.80.
Any of the top five could emerge with gold after the free-skating final Saturday night, although Buttle and Mabee are comfortably in the lead and would have to self-destruct to be passed by any of the others.
In this unpredictable sport, that is always a possibility. But not likely.
Canada can send three in the discipline to Tokyo for the world championships in March.
Buttle fell on triple Axel
Buttle, 24, the Olympic bronze medallist from Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., worried he could lose his title when he breezed into town.
"Absolutely: it definitely crossed my mind," he said.
"Considering how long I've been off, I was unsure if I'd be ready. I tried to get as much done in training as I could and was ready to let the cards fall where they may. For me, it was more about making the world team."
He fell on a triple Axel, but the tumble didn't stop him from taking the lead.
Buttle and Mabee share the same ice in training at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont. They are friends off the ice and often play video games together.
"We pretty much hang out together every day," said Buttle.
Should they finish with the top two spots, "that would be awesome," said Buttle. "That would be ideal."
Mabee 'thrilled' with finish
Mabee was sixth in 2004, fifth in 2005 and fourth in 2006. It's been a gradual move up for the 21-year-old native of Tillsonburg, Ont. Friday night represented a big leap with his clean routine.
'It's nice to finally put it out in competition like I know I can.'-Christopher Mabee
"I'm completely thrilled with it," he said. "The last couple of weeks coming into this competition, I'd been skating phenomenal short programs and here in practice, too.
"It's nice to finally put it out in competition like I know I can."
A change in mindset after a 10th-place finish in a Grand Prix meet in Russia last autumn has turned things around for him.
"I've worked on my mental toughness since Cup of Russia," he explained. "What I was doing before clearly was not working.
"So I really had to turn things around and give it my all coming into this competition. I'm telling myself, 'Be confident. Know that you can do it.' That's what I did going into that short program. Now, it's 'I know I can do it' instead of 'I think I can.'"
Sandhu, a 26-year-old native of Richmond Hill, Ont., fell on his quad attempt, wiping out his required jump combo, and he popped out of his triple Axel later on.
