This time, they wouldn't allow it to escape their grasp.
Even if a flash fall seconds from the end of their free dance might have given and Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier a bit of a pause for concern.
No worries, as it turned out. The kids were all right and soon enough, they'll dance among the stars at the world figure skating championships in Los Angeles.
"It’s something really exciting," said Poirier after he and Crone secured the silver medals in the senior ice dance event Saturday night at the 2009 BMO Canadian figure skating championships. "We’ve really been hoping for this for a long time since we started skating. Especially this year, since we knew it was within our grasp. That’s really what motivated us this whole season and kept us going at practices. To finally get here, it’s great."
The 2007 national junior champions nearly made it happen a year ago. In their first year as seniors, they came within less than a point of making a world team that consisted of three Canadian teams. Now they've climbed two more steps in just a year.
Though the call was so close in Vancouver last year, Crone said the heartbreak didn't last long. They knew their time would come.
"Last year was our first year as seniors so going into the competition, we set a goal for top five," said Crone, 18, of Aurora, Ont. "We were just expecting to do clean skates and get ourselves known and out there. But that (result) was kind of a shock for us. We knew that we trained hard enough and we trained to get there and one day we would.
"It was just amazing we did that in our first year of senior."
A silver medal finish at HomeSense Skate Canada earlier this season signalled this was a team that didn't intend to wait long for its day. And with a comfortable 6.37-point edge over Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje heading into the free dance, their moment seemed at hand.
But when Poirier tumbled to the ice near the finish of their free skate, a collective gasp rumbled through the crowd at Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre. Had the kids let it slip away?
Not quite. Though Crone and Poirier finished fourth in the free dance, they'd done enough throughout the week to hold their spot with a 175.58-point overall total, 5.35 points better than Weaver and Poje.
"That never crossed our minds," Crone said about possibly letting their world team spot escape their grasp. "We knew what we did and we knew we’d kind of suffer for that and (the judges) had an easy place to put us lower. We were just happy with the way we skated and the exposure and experience we’ve had here has been amazing. It’s been a lot of fun and a great experience for us."
There are plenty more to come. They're thrilled to join Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the reigning world silver medallists, in Los Angeles.
"They're huge role models for us," said Crone. "We’re definitely going to be looking up to them. We’ll be doing our own things but just to be on the world team is amazing."
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Eyes Have It
The eyes, it's often been said, never lie.
And Bryce Davison, who saw exactly what he needed when he glanced at the brown-eyed girl on the ice beside him, would most heartily agree after the way she skated at the Credit Union Centre today.
Jessica Dube might not always be the straw that stirs the drink in this pairs skating partnership. But she gave Davison all the right cues before they set out on the free skate that would send them to a golden finish at the 2009 BMO Canadian figure skating championships.
"I knew just looking at Jess and looking in her eyes that we were going to skate something like that," Davison said after he and Dube regained the Canadian pairs title they surrendered to Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay a year ago in Vancouver. "When she has the confidence that she had today, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to have the confidence that I need. It was really strong and we did it together."
What they did was come up with the kind of world-class free skate they needed to stave off Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin for the gold in Saskatoon. The 126.21 points they racked up — a personal best score — wiped out the slight deficit Dube and Davison faced after Duhamel and Buntin topped the short program on Friday. Dube and Davison finished with 188.43 points overall, 5.93 better than Duhamel and Buntin.
Now they're Canadian champions for the second time in three years. And Dube agreed her head was in the right place to make it happen.
"When I feel good on the ice, it shows in my face," said Dube, 21, of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que.
"It doesn’t show as much in his face when he feels good."
That it was a battle to the finish suited Dube and Davison just fine. They expected nothing less from Duhamel and Buntin, who finished sixth in their first try at the world championships a year ago in Gothenburg. Dube and Davison were bronze medallists in Sweden, while Langlois and Hay also cracked the top 10.
"Most of the great pair countries have more than one team and it’s great for us to have," said Davison, 22, of Cambridge, Ont. "We knew coming in that it wasn’t going to be easy at all. There’s always great depth for pair skaters in Canada and just having Anabelle and Cody not here (because of injury) wasn’t any kind of relief for us.
"We knew Meagan and Craig had been training very, very hard and they’ve improved substantially. We’d seen them skate over both seasons and they’ve been doing great things. It’s great for Canadian skating."
And Bryce Davison, who saw exactly what he needed when he glanced at the brown-eyed girl on the ice beside him, would most heartily agree after the way she skated at the Credit Union Centre today.
Jessica Dube might not always be the straw that stirs the drink in this pairs skating partnership. But she gave Davison all the right cues before they set out on the free skate that would send them to a golden finish at the 2009 BMO Canadian figure skating championships.
"I knew just looking at Jess and looking in her eyes that we were going to skate something like that," Davison said after he and Dube regained the Canadian pairs title they surrendered to Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay a year ago in Vancouver. "When she has the confidence that she had today, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to have the confidence that I need. It was really strong and we did it together."
What they did was come up with the kind of world-class free skate they needed to stave off Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin for the gold in Saskatoon. The 126.21 points they racked up — a personal best score — wiped out the slight deficit Dube and Davison faced after Duhamel and Buntin topped the short program on Friday. Dube and Davison finished with 188.43 points overall, 5.93 better than Duhamel and Buntin.
Now they're Canadian champions for the second time in three years. And Dube agreed her head was in the right place to make it happen.
"When I feel good on the ice, it shows in my face," said Dube, 21, of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que.
"It doesn’t show as much in his face when he feels good."
That it was a battle to the finish suited Dube and Davison just fine. They expected nothing less from Duhamel and Buntin, who finished sixth in their first try at the world championships a year ago in Gothenburg. Dube and Davison were bronze medallists in Sweden, while Langlois and Hay also cracked the top 10.
"Most of the great pair countries have more than one team and it’s great for us to have," said Davison, 22, of Cambridge, Ont. "We knew coming in that it wasn’t going to be easy at all. There’s always great depth for pair skaters in Canada and just having Anabelle and Cody not here (because of injury) wasn’t any kind of relief for us.
"We knew Meagan and Craig had been training very, very hard and they’ve improved substantially. We’d seen them skate over both seasons and they’ve been doing great things. It’s great for Canadian skating."
More Than A Silver Lining
A little bit of simple math told Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin that it probably wasn't going to happen on this day. But it never hurts to try.
Duhamel and Buntin had to settle for the silver medals in the senior pairs event at the 2009 BMO Canadian figure skating championships at the Credit Union Centre. Although "settle" hugely understates the sentiment they'll carry home with them from Saskatoon.
"We won a silver medal," Duhamel said emphatically after it was over.
That they surely did. But their hopes of a Canadian title pretty much died when Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison, the 2007 national champs, skated one mighty fine free skate before them and were rewarded with 126.21 points by the judges.
"It’s hard to start a program hearing somebody else’s scores that good," admitted Duhamel, 23, of Lively, Ont. "They got 126 and our personal best was 109. But we had a job to do. We came here to do two of the best skates that we can and we hoped to be rewarded with a gold medal from those two skates.
"Maybe we didn’t get a gold medal but we fought through."
The 116.76 points they earned for their free program might have one them a Canadian title on another night. Just not this one. Dube and Davison totalled 188.43 points overall, Duhamel and Buntin 182.50.
But if there is indeed victory in the struggle, than Duhamel and Buntin will claim one here.
"Did we come here to be Canadian champions? Yeah," said Buntin, 28, of North Vancouver, B.C. "But at no point in our program did we lose sight of that. I think we fought through everything out there. We fought through like champions, so I’m very happy."
They didn't wilt under the pressure of skating last in the competition
"We’re going to be twice as good next time because of the experience we got here," said Buntin. "We beat our personal best by (7.16) points. We got a world-class score in the short. And now we have this under our belt ... The performance and the drive and the fight was there and that, I think, is our biggest strength as a team and that’s just going to keep us going forward."
*****
For now, they're Canadian senior pairs bronze medallists.
What happens next for Mylene Brodeur and John Mattatall, they'll have to wait and see.
Not that they're letting the uncertainty spoil this moment.
"We're honoured to be here," said Mattatall, 26, of Wallace, N.S. "It's pretty special. It's been a long road. Last May, we didn't even think we'd be competing this year. To be here is pretty cool."
Imagine, then, what they'd think about representing Canada at the Four Continents Championship in Vancouver next month or the world championships in Los Angeles in March?
That's still a story for another day.
Skate Canada wants to give Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay — the 2008 national champions who withdrew from this competition because of injury — one last chance to prove their fitness before the two season-ending competition. Technical director Michael Slipchuk said the association expects to decide "within 7-10 days" whether Langlois' ankle injury has recovered sufficiently enough to allow she and Hay to go to Four Continents and worlds.
If the answer is no, those tickets will go to Brodeur and Mattatall.
Duhamel and Buntin had to settle for the silver medals in the senior pairs event at the 2009 BMO Canadian figure skating championships at the Credit Union Centre. Although "settle" hugely understates the sentiment they'll carry home with them from Saskatoon.
"We won a silver medal," Duhamel said emphatically after it was over.
That they surely did. But their hopes of a Canadian title pretty much died when Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison, the 2007 national champs, skated one mighty fine free skate before them and were rewarded with 126.21 points by the judges.
"It’s hard to start a program hearing somebody else’s scores that good," admitted Duhamel, 23, of Lively, Ont. "They got 126 and our personal best was 109. But we had a job to do. We came here to do two of the best skates that we can and we hoped to be rewarded with a gold medal from those two skates.
"Maybe we didn’t get a gold medal but we fought through."
The 116.76 points they earned for their free program might have one them a Canadian title on another night. Just not this one. Dube and Davison totalled 188.43 points overall, Duhamel and Buntin 182.50.
But if there is indeed victory in the struggle, than Duhamel and Buntin will claim one here.
"Did we come here to be Canadian champions? Yeah," said Buntin, 28, of North Vancouver, B.C. "But at no point in our program did we lose sight of that. I think we fought through everything out there. We fought through like champions, so I’m very happy."
They didn't wilt under the pressure of skating last in the competition
"We’re going to be twice as good next time because of the experience we got here," said Buntin. "We beat our personal best by (7.16) points. We got a world-class score in the short. And now we have this under our belt ... The performance and the drive and the fight was there and that, I think, is our biggest strength as a team and that’s just going to keep us going forward."
*****
For now, they're Canadian senior pairs bronze medallists.
What happens next for Mylene Brodeur and John Mattatall, they'll have to wait and see.
Not that they're letting the uncertainty spoil this moment.
"We're honoured to be here," said Mattatall, 26, of Wallace, N.S. "It's pretty special. It's been a long road. Last May, we didn't even think we'd be competing this year. To be here is pretty cool."
Imagine, then, what they'd think about representing Canada at the Four Continents Championship in Vancouver next month or the world championships in Los Angeles in March?
That's still a story for another day.
Skate Canada wants to give Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay — the 2008 national champions who withdrew from this competition because of injury — one last chance to prove their fitness before the two season-ending competition. Technical director Michael Slipchuk said the association expects to decide "within 7-10 days" whether Langlois' ankle injury has recovered sufficiently enough to allow she and Hay to go to Four Continents and worlds.
If the answer is no, those tickets will go to Brodeur and Mattatall.
Give Her A High Five
Everything in her bones suggested just about anything was possible.
But if Joannie Rochette had even the slightest inkling she was on the verge of unleashing such staggering and utter brilliance, it didn't strike her until the first strains of music began to play.
"Even 10 minutes before I went on the ice, I was nervous," the sensitive 23-year-old from Ile Dupas, Que., would muse later. "But I got out there on the ice and the music started and I felt much better. I could just get immersed in the music and forget about the short."
So deep was her funk after a mistake-riddled short program on Friday that even on the morning after, Rochette still couldn't shake her disappointment. But oh, did she find a way to shake up Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre on Saturday afternoon, delivering a free skate they'll no doubt talk about for years.
Seven triple jumps and an absolutely riveting 4-1/2 minutes later, they hung a whopping 131.77 points on the board — a record total for a Canadian woman in a free skate. Even Rochette was overwhelmed by what she had wrought, clasping her face in her hands in a rare display of emotion as the crowd bathed her in a standing ovation.
"I’m not an emotional skater so much and I’m not someone who usually expresses so much at the end of my performance," she said later. "But tonight, I was really, really proud of myself to pull this off. I think that’s why I was more emotional."
Rochette found herself in an unfamiliar spot after the short program — at least since her national championship reign began in 2005 — sitting second behind Cynthia Phaneuf in the standings and barely ahead of third-place Amelie Lacoste. While she had only 1.58 points to make up to retain her crown and knew she had the arsenal in her free program to make it happen, Rochette couldn't stop fretting about the sub-par short.
"After yesterday, I was sad and disappointed so it was very hard. I put myself in the toughest position I ever had to skate in," said Rochette, who would call today "the hardest test."
No wonder, then, that she could say "tonight, I’m so, so happy. You saw me at the end. I was relieved that I could focus on a day that I was feeling really bad. I was shaking and I didn’t have so much energy. I’m glad that I still did it."
Four years ago in London, Ont., Rochette had her breakout moment in snaring the first of what has now become a five-year run of Canadian titles. The free skate she laid down at the John Labatt Centre was something veteran skating observers were calling the best they'd ever seen from a Canadian woman.
Rochette raised the bar even higher today, with a 185.35-point overall total that surpassed the record she set in London. It was an almost absurd 33.93 points better than the runner-up Phaneuf, who will join Rochette at the world championships in Los Angeles in March.
Oh, yeah, did we mention title No. 5 puts Rochette in an elite group of four that includes only Constance Wilson (9), Jennifer Robinson (6) and Karen Magnussen (5)?
"I’m really proud of that achievement," said Rochette.
Not as proud as she is of the little fighter from Quebec who showed when the going gets toughest, she won't back down.
Anything really is possible, you see, when you do that.
But if Joannie Rochette had even the slightest inkling she was on the verge of unleashing such staggering and utter brilliance, it didn't strike her until the first strains of music began to play.
"Even 10 minutes before I went on the ice, I was nervous," the sensitive 23-year-old from Ile Dupas, Que., would muse later. "But I got out there on the ice and the music started and I felt much better. I could just get immersed in the music and forget about the short."
So deep was her funk after a mistake-riddled short program on Friday that even on the morning after, Rochette still couldn't shake her disappointment. But oh, did she find a way to shake up Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre on Saturday afternoon, delivering a free skate they'll no doubt talk about for years.
Seven triple jumps and an absolutely riveting 4-1/2 minutes later, they hung a whopping 131.77 points on the board — a record total for a Canadian woman in a free skate. Even Rochette was overwhelmed by what she had wrought, clasping her face in her hands in a rare display of emotion as the crowd bathed her in a standing ovation.
"I’m not an emotional skater so much and I’m not someone who usually expresses so much at the end of my performance," she said later. "But tonight, I was really, really proud of myself to pull this off. I think that’s why I was more emotional."
Rochette found herself in an unfamiliar spot after the short program — at least since her national championship reign began in 2005 — sitting second behind Cynthia Phaneuf in the standings and barely ahead of third-place Amelie Lacoste. While she had only 1.58 points to make up to retain her crown and knew she had the arsenal in her free program to make it happen, Rochette couldn't stop fretting about the sub-par short.
"After yesterday, I was sad and disappointed so it was very hard. I put myself in the toughest position I ever had to skate in," said Rochette, who would call today "the hardest test."
No wonder, then, that she could say "tonight, I’m so, so happy. You saw me at the end. I was relieved that I could focus on a day that I was feeling really bad. I was shaking and I didn’t have so much energy. I’m glad that I still did it."
Four years ago in London, Ont., Rochette had her breakout moment in snaring the first of what has now become a five-year run of Canadian titles. The free skate she laid down at the John Labatt Centre was something veteran skating observers were calling the best they'd ever seen from a Canadian woman.
Rochette raised the bar even higher today, with a 185.35-point overall total that surpassed the record she set in London. It was an almost absurd 33.93 points better than the runner-up Phaneuf, who will join Rochette at the world championships in Los Angeles in March.
Oh, yeah, did we mention title No. 5 puts Rochette in an elite group of four that includes only Constance Wilson (9), Jennifer Robinson (6) and Karen Magnussen (5)?
"I’m really proud of that achievement," said Rochette.
Not as proud as she is of the little fighter from Quebec who showed when the going gets toughest, she won't back down.
Anything really is possible, you see, when you do that.
When Silver Is Golden
To the victor goes the spoils, or so that old saying goes.
But finishing second or third isn't necessarily a mere consolation prize. Just ask Cynthia Phaneuf and Amelie Lacoste, who savoured personal triumphs of their own that were good as gold on Saturday afternoon at the BMO Canadian figure skating championships.
For Phaneuf, the 21-year-old former national champ from Contrecoeur, Que., all that mattered this week was earning a spot on Canada's world team. That was assured when she secured the silver medal position during the women's free skate final at the Credit Union Centre.
Didn't matter a bit to Phaneuf that Joannie Rochette skated a free program for the ages right before her and posted a number (131.77 points) that would be impossible to match. She waded through the huge ovation for Rochette and the teddy bears that littered the ice, steeled her nerves and finished the job.
Only one number mattered to Phaneuf in the end — the '2' beside her name in the final standings, which ensured she'd be joining Rochette on the plane to Los Angeles for the 2009 world championships in March. She pumped her fists with glee and grinned widely it was confirmed.
"I know Joannie is at a (level) that I’m not at right now," said Phaneuf. "I just wanted to be second to go to worlds."
Phaneuf has overcome so much in the time since, as a 15-year-old in Edmonton in 2004, she shocked the Canadian skating world by winning the national title. A 20th place finish at her only previous worlds in 2005 in Moscow, a season wiped out by injury, a massive growth spurt ... all of it tossed obstacles in her way in the years that followed.
Today, Phaneuf finally feels like she is back where she wants to be.
"It means a lot to me because (worlds) is where it started going a little bit bad for me before I injured myself," she said. "For me, it’s a new beginning now and I’m very excited.
"After all that hard work, I just have my answer that I didn’t work for nothing. I have the payback now."
Lacoste, meanwhile, showed up in Saskatoon merely hoping for a top-five finish that would put her back on the national team for the first time since 2006. The former national junior champion heads home with so much more than that. No wonder Lacoste, who battled energy sapping anemia earlier this season, dissolved into tears when it was certain she would stand on the podium for the first time as a senior.
"I can’t believe it. I’m so happy," an emotional Lacoste, 20, of Delson, Que., said afterward. "- I didn’t know it could happen this year."
As she warmed up, she caught a glimpse of five bare-chested male fans who stripped to the waist to show their support for Diane Szmiett, the skater who preceded Lacoste in the competition and finished fourth. Even that wasn't enough to throw her off.
"I was funny, yes, but what could I do?" Lacoste said with a laugh. "I got my focus back."
In the end, she got so much more than she'd hoped.
A bronze medal? In Lacoste's eyes, it was nothing but pure gold.
But finishing second or third isn't necessarily a mere consolation prize. Just ask Cynthia Phaneuf and Amelie Lacoste, who savoured personal triumphs of their own that were good as gold on Saturday afternoon at the BMO Canadian figure skating championships.
For Phaneuf, the 21-year-old former national champ from Contrecoeur, Que., all that mattered this week was earning a spot on Canada's world team. That was assured when she secured the silver medal position during the women's free skate final at the Credit Union Centre.
Didn't matter a bit to Phaneuf that Joannie Rochette skated a free program for the ages right before her and posted a number (131.77 points) that would be impossible to match. She waded through the huge ovation for Rochette and the teddy bears that littered the ice, steeled her nerves and finished the job.
Only one number mattered to Phaneuf in the end — the '2' beside her name in the final standings, which ensured she'd be joining Rochette on the plane to Los Angeles for the 2009 world championships in March. She pumped her fists with glee and grinned widely it was confirmed.
"I know Joannie is at a (level) that I’m not at right now," said Phaneuf. "I just wanted to be second to go to worlds."
Phaneuf has overcome so much in the time since, as a 15-year-old in Edmonton in 2004, she shocked the Canadian skating world by winning the national title. A 20th place finish at her only previous worlds in 2005 in Moscow, a season wiped out by injury, a massive growth spurt ... all of it tossed obstacles in her way in the years that followed.
Today, Phaneuf finally feels like she is back where she wants to be.
"It means a lot to me because (worlds) is where it started going a little bit bad for me before I injured myself," she said. "For me, it’s a new beginning now and I’m very excited.
"After all that hard work, I just have my answer that I didn’t work for nothing. I have the payback now."
Lacoste, meanwhile, showed up in Saskatoon merely hoping for a top-five finish that would put her back on the national team for the first time since 2006. The former national junior champion heads home with so much more than that. No wonder Lacoste, who battled energy sapping anemia earlier this season, dissolved into tears when it was certain she would stand on the podium for the first time as a senior.
"I can’t believe it. I’m so happy," an emotional Lacoste, 20, of Delson, Que., said afterward. "- I didn’t know it could happen this year."
As she warmed up, she caught a glimpse of five bare-chested male fans who stripped to the waist to show their support for Diane Szmiett, the skater who preceded Lacoste in the competition and finished fourth. Even that wasn't enough to throw her off.
"I was funny, yes, but what could I do?" Lacoste said with a laugh. "I got my focus back."
In the end, she got so much more than she'd hoped.
A bronze medal? In Lacoste's eyes, it was nothing but pure gold.
Riding The Scenic Route
We've all heard about why we should never assume.
(you know the punch line that follows. Ask someone if you don't).
So it was for your intrepid blogger this morning as he climbed on a shuttle bus he thought was headed directly to the Credit Union Centre.
(I assume it's directly. I still have no idea exactly how we're getting there. But we do and that's all that matters).
When a couple of coaches told me "you know this bus is going to the practice rink," I wasn't concerned. After all, the last time the BMO Canadian figure skating championships were held here in 2003, skaters practised nearby at the Agri-Twins complex. Not that I paid much attention to the name then — and now, either, as it turns out.
Anyways, I more or less recognized the route as we headed out beyond the hotel district where we're all staying in downtown Saskatoon. But I began to suspect something was amiss when we headed over one of bridges into what I believe is the east side of the city. Soon enough, I learned this year's practice rink is the ACT Centre, the home of the Saskatoon Figure Skating Club. And it's waaay out there.
We rolled past the campus of the University of Saskatchewan (where many skaters have been fascinated by the cows they see). Saw the stadium where the Saskatchewan Huskies, one of Canadian university's top football teams, plays its games. And on and on we went to a neighbourhood called Sutherland, where the rink is located.
Of course, I had no idea how we were getting to the Credit Union Centre from there. All I knew is we had to traverse the South Saskatchewan River again at some point. Once that happened, we were on our way. Started recognizing a few main street names and some of the airport-area hotels we've passed every day here.
So it wasn't the exact way I figured the day would start. But at least I can say I got a rather scenic tour of Saskatoon before settling in for another day of skating.
At least I assume so. As risky as that might seem.
(you know the punch line that follows. Ask someone if you don't).
So it was for your intrepid blogger this morning as he climbed on a shuttle bus he thought was headed directly to the Credit Union Centre.
(I assume it's directly. I still have no idea exactly how we're getting there. But we do and that's all that matters).
When a couple of coaches told me "you know this bus is going to the practice rink," I wasn't concerned. After all, the last time the BMO Canadian figure skating championships were held here in 2003, skaters practised nearby at the Agri-Twins complex. Not that I paid much attention to the name then — and now, either, as it turns out.
Anyways, I more or less recognized the route as we headed out beyond the hotel district where we're all staying in downtown Saskatoon. But I began to suspect something was amiss when we headed over one of bridges into what I believe is the east side of the city. Soon enough, I learned this year's practice rink is the ACT Centre, the home of the Saskatoon Figure Skating Club. And it's waaay out there.
We rolled past the campus of the University of Saskatchewan (where many skaters have been fascinated by the cows they see). Saw the stadium where the Saskatchewan Huskies, one of Canadian university's top football teams, plays its games. And on and on we went to a neighbourhood called Sutherland, where the rink is located.
Of course, I had no idea how we were getting to the Credit Union Centre from there. All I knew is we had to traverse the South Saskatchewan River again at some point. Once that happened, we were on our way. Started recognizing a few main street names and some of the airport-area hotels we've passed every day here.
So it wasn't the exact way I figured the day would start. But at least I can say I got a rather scenic tour of Saskatoon before settling in for another day of skating.
At least I assume so. As risky as that might seem.
The Long And The Short Of It
Well, so much for some closing night drama at these 2009 BMO Canadian figure skating championships in Saskatoon.
At least at the top of the final standings, that is.
While there is much still to be sorted out below him (see our previous post for more), Patrick Chan pretty much slammed the door on any possible doubt about who'll emerge as the newest king of Canadian men's skating. Turns out it's the same guy who won in Vancouver last year. Although there was nothing the same about the chap who showed up at the Credit Union Centre tonight.
From the moment who floated through the air and stuck the landing of his triple Axel, Chan was the man in this competition. He checked off the rest of his jump repertoire, wowed the crowd with some flashy spins and footwork, then grinned the biggest of grins as he soaked up the standing ovation that enveloped him even before he was done.
With an astonishing 88.89-point score — 7.5 better than his previous personal best — Chan pretty much made it game, set and match for this competition. He's a whopping 17 points ahead of his closest pursuer, Vaughn Chipeur of Edmonton. That isn't just a mountain of a deficit, it's a veritable Mount Everest.
"I was super excited to see that number," said Chan. "88 is just great."
Now here's the scary part. He says we haven't seen his best yet.
"I’m not going to complain," said the 18-year-old from Toronto. "Seriously, that is the best program I’ve ever done. But there’s little things you can work on, like footwork."
Still, he quickly grasped the magnitude of what he had wrought. And what it could help deliver for him at the world championships in March in Los Angeles.
"I just have to repeat the exact same thing," he said. "I’ll probably be a medal contender at worlds (with that performance), I would say."
Chan could only imagine what a similar effort would have done for him last month at the Grand Prix final in Korea, where he couldn't recover from a sub-par program and wound up fifth.
"I wish I knew," he said. "If I did know, I definitely wouldn’t be this hard on myself and I wouldn’t have this much pressure. Too bad we can’t predict the future because things would be much easier.
"But things would have been much different. I think I would have got a medal at the Grand Prix final if I did a short program like that."
The downer in Korea, he acknowledged, likely played in hand in what transpired tonight.
"You have to go on your ups and downs and (the Grand Prix final) was one of those downs," he said. "It was a really bad down. I came home after Korea and I was really upset, depressed. But I think it was good to have that now instead of closer to the (2010) Olympics.
"Hopefully, next year will be different and I won’t have to go through that again. Maybe a smaller down, not such a big down."
For now, though, everything is very much on the up and up.
Who knows where it will lead on Sunday night? It could be quite the finale to this Prairie ice show, indeed.
At least at the top of the final standings, that is.
While there is much still to be sorted out below him (see our previous post for more), Patrick Chan pretty much slammed the door on any possible doubt about who'll emerge as the newest king of Canadian men's skating. Turns out it's the same guy who won in Vancouver last year. Although there was nothing the same about the chap who showed up at the Credit Union Centre tonight.
From the moment who floated through the air and stuck the landing of his triple Axel, Chan was the man in this competition. He checked off the rest of his jump repertoire, wowed the crowd with some flashy spins and footwork, then grinned the biggest of grins as he soaked up the standing ovation that enveloped him even before he was done.
With an astonishing 88.89-point score — 7.5 better than his previous personal best — Chan pretty much made it game, set and match for this competition. He's a whopping 17 points ahead of his closest pursuer, Vaughn Chipeur of Edmonton. That isn't just a mountain of a deficit, it's a veritable Mount Everest.
"I was super excited to see that number," said Chan. "88 is just great."
Now here's the scary part. He says we haven't seen his best yet.
"I’m not going to complain," said the 18-year-old from Toronto. "Seriously, that is the best program I’ve ever done. But there’s little things you can work on, like footwork."
Still, he quickly grasped the magnitude of what he had wrought. And what it could help deliver for him at the world championships in March in Los Angeles.
"I just have to repeat the exact same thing," he said. "I’ll probably be a medal contender at worlds (with that performance), I would say."
Chan could only imagine what a similar effort would have done for him last month at the Grand Prix final in Korea, where he couldn't recover from a sub-par program and wound up fifth.
"I wish I knew," he said. "If I did know, I definitely wouldn’t be this hard on myself and I wouldn’t have this much pressure. Too bad we can’t predict the future because things would be much easier.
"But things would have been much different. I think I would have got a medal at the Grand Prix final if I did a short program like that."
The downer in Korea, he acknowledged, likely played in hand in what transpired tonight.
"You have to go on your ups and downs and (the Grand Prix final) was one of those downs," he said. "It was a really bad down. I came home after Korea and I was really upset, depressed. But I think it was good to have that now instead of closer to the (2010) Olympics.
"Hopefully, next year will be different and I won’t have to go through that again. Maybe a smaller down, not such a big down."
For now, though, everything is very much on the up and up.
Who knows where it will lead on Sunday night? It could be quite the finale to this Prairie ice show, indeed.
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