I feel I know very little about Jeffrey Buttle. But his recent win at the World Figure Skating Championships has shined a little light his way and now we want more!
Did you know he was (is?) a Chemical Engineering student at University of Toronto? There are lots of other facts about J. Buttle (that's what I call him) that I learned from this little Q & A from the National Post (Canada, that is).
He also eludes to the fact that he happy winning the gold medal, even if Joubert didn't particularly care for it (somebody huffed and puffed at the press conference because somebody who won didn't try a quad), but realizes he'll have to add a quad by Vancouver...
"I saw Daisuke Takahashi do two quads in the long program at the Four Continents event, and he amassed this huge score that none of us could touch. But on this day I was the best, but anything could happen on another day, and so I take it from it that, well, this is awesome — I won a world championship without the quad — but I need to put it in the program."
Just a reminder...today is Earth Hour. People all around the world will be turning off the lights from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m (their local time), that is one hour or 60 minutes, to promote energy conservation.
If you've surfed onto Google today, you'll notice it's lights out.
Well this season has mostly come to a close and it's time to let loose and award those skaters that I feel have performed the best in each of the following categories:
* Best Mens Free Program * Best Ladies Free Program * Best Free Dance * Best Pairs Free Program * Best Short Program * Best Coach * Best New Face * Hottest Skater * Best Fall * Skater of the Year
* Best Mens Free Program goes to Daisuke Takahashi's free program at the 2008 Four Continents Cup! He blew the lid off the competition and got the highest score ever achieved for a male competitor. He beat his competition by like 30 points and it was ridiculous. Other's I considered for this award was Buttle's World's Free Skate and Tomas Verner's European Championships Free Skate.
* Best Ladies Free Program is easily Mao Asada's free program, also from the Four Continents Cup. She hit it all including a picture perfect Triple Axel. It was smooth and elegant and just delicious. Other programs of consideration were Yukari Nakano's World's Free and Yu-Na Kim's Free from the Grand Prix Final.
* Best Free Dance was a tough one because this has been a fantastic season for Ice Dance but I must give this award to the Americans Belbin and Agosto for their Free Dance at U.S. Nationals. I have never seen them skate so well in my life and I had the privilege of being in the arena...you could hear a pin drop during that performance. Other programs I considered, Domnina and Shabalin's European's Free Dance and Delobel and Schoenfelder's NHK Free Dance.
* Best Pairs Free goes to Dube and Davison'sSkate America free skate. It wasn't perfect but it had heart and they completely upset the Chinese Team of Pang and Tong. "The Blower's Daughter" was such a perfect choice of song for them. Other programs for consideration were Vise and Trent's Grand Prix Paris Free (throw Quad Salchow!) and McLaughlin and Brubaker's free skate from U.S. Nationals.
* As if there was any competition, best short program goes to Takahashi for "CyberSwan!" I don't think anyone had ever put something like that out there on the ice. I mean...it had a nickname for cryin' out loud! By far the coolest short program I had ever seen, and I think he gave his best performance of it at Japanese Nationals. Other programs for consideration were the Kerr's Scottish themed OD and Evan Lysacek's "Zorro."
* There were so many great coaches this year but I have to give this award to a duo that worked wonders this year, Galina Zmievskaya and Viktor Petrenko. Johnny Weir was like a completely different skater this season and when anyone did interviews with him he'd credit how tough they were on him. Structure, structure, structure and they took a skater who was a loose cannon and made him a Champion! Other coaches I thought about for this award were Igor Speilband, who coached half of the top six at Worlds in Ice Dance, Brian Orser for creating a magic all season with Yu-Na Kim, Nikolai Morozov for his awesome coaching of Daisuke Takahashi, and Ingo Steuer for persevering with Savchenko and Szolkowy without the support of the German Skating Federation and Government!
* Best New Face award goes to Canada's Patrick Chan. He stepped onto the senior level this season and looked like he belonged. He wowed us with his maturity and ability to interpret music with great choreography and we all just fell in love with him. His talent really showed win he won the Canadian National title. Other new faces to look out for include Rachael Flatt, Caroline Zhang, and Mirai Nagasu.
* Hottest Skater Award is tough because their are so many bombshells this season! But after conferring with my friend Elaine, we decided to go with Alexander Smirnov! We saw him (along with partner Yuko Kawaguchi) at Skate Canada and if he had any more muscles he would have ripped through his outfit! We also considered Kiira Korpi for her classic female good looks, Tanith Belbin for the same reason, and Brian Joubert (obligatory shirtless pic...thank you Terry Gannon)...need I say more!
* Best fall award was a no brainer! If you were at U.S. Nationals and saw the mens free program you saw a horrific fall from Michael Villareal on a Triple Axel...I mean he just went splat when he hit the ice. For a moment I thought he was knocked out cold. He got back up, somehow, and finished his program. Other noteworthy falls include Mao Asada's recent spill on Triple Axel at the World Championships and Kimmie Meissner's fall on her second Triple Lutz (not so much that it was a horrid fall, but rather she had fallen on both lutzes) at U.S. Nationals.
* Time for skater of the year! So many to choose from this season. Do you pick a skater who won a lot, jumped a lot, a skater who learned something about themself? I'm going to choose a skater that did all of those things...Johnny Weir. He was a completely different skater this season...completely different. He won competitions, he stayed consistent, when he didn't win he kept it in prospective. In the past he would throw little hissy fits about skating, criticising others when he had shortcomings of his own. In a previous post I exclaimed "I'm sick of Johnny Weir...guess what, you have shortcomings as well!" Well I can say that I am very happy to have Johnny skating for the U.S. He has been tremendous this season and really came through for us at the World Championships. Well done!
Voting for the USOC Olympic Hall of Fame ends tomorrow. Get your clicks in for Brian Boitano quickly! To vote just click on the Picture of Brian in the side bar to the right.
So as if there wasn't enough buzz about Kristi and Mark on DWTS...our blogging partners-in-crime over at Shimmy have posted an exclusive interview with Mark Ballas, Kristi's dance partner! Check it out here!
Also, Kristi and Mark respond to cheating allegations from Penn Jillette...I know, right! Don't be a bitter Betty!
They deserved it! Eleven (I can't get over that number!) consecutive trips to the World Figure Skating Championships and to never have even medaled in the previous ten just astounds me. The pure ability to continually persevere for all these years is just amazing.
Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France not only picked up their first World Championship medal this past week, it was gold! Their program, set to the beautiful sounds of Michael Nyman's score from the "Piano" soundtrack was amazing. I just love how they speak to one another in sign language (if you haven't seen the movie...do!) throughout the program and the deep edges they use in their footwork...breathtaking.
The future for this team is unclear...they hinted this past week that this could be their last World Championships. Isabelle, the oldest competitor in the entire competition, as well as her partner, have been competing since before some of the competitors were even born.
Whatever path they choose, this moment will certainly be remembered! This was their statement about their free dance on their website:
"It's a message of empathy towards them, who supported us for so many years, for those who believe in us... They gave us a certain strength and it's with joy and our biggest satisfaction that we have offered them a Marseillaise here in Goteborg.
These World's were "royal": an extraordinary organization, a magnificent site with a grandiose ice rink and a Wow! audience. Each competition, be it ice dance or the other events, were rewarded with a packed arena full of enthusiasm and an energy that gave us wings! People are really nice and you, our fans (no doubt not all of you) were here for us... In spite of all this, the competition was beautiful and difficult (especially for the free dance where there was a palpable tension backstage), we had a program with no mistakes and we won the gold... it was royal! So much emotion and especially beautiful moments and wonderful memories for the future..."
On Monday's DWTS, Mark and Kristi burnt the dance floor up with a Mambo that sizzled, electrified, and won over the judges for the second straight week. Again earning the top score amongst all 12 couples! Carrie Ann called Kristi an "amzing student" and Mark "an amazing teacher."
No surprise that on elimination night that Mark and Kristi have sailed through to the next round. Unfortunately, Penn Gillete and Monica Seles didn't fare as well, as they were eliminated in the first ever double elimination Tuesday night.
On a funnier note, Cameron Mathison a.k.a. 'Dance Machine' went around downtown New York City asking who was the best and someone responded Monicaguchi...hmmm?
Also, look for a poll coming soon about Kristi's participation in this season's line-up.
The 2008 World Figure Skating Championships have wrapped up in Goteborg (here in North America we call it Gothenborg...but I'm going with the Swedish spelling!) and what an unexpected and at times unusual set of events.
Let me begin with the Ice Dance competition. I was very happy to see Delobel and Schoenfelder of France win this. Eleven (yes...eleven!) consecutive appearances and in the first ten they had never won a medal...what perserverance! Their program set to the movie soundtrack "The Piano" is beautiful. While I felt they didn't skate as well as they did at the Grand Prix Final or Europeans, they were clearly the class of the field! What a huge outcome for the Canadians, Virtue and Moir, who took silver! I made a bold prediction earlier this season...that this team would challenge for the podium...and not to toot my horn but I was right! Their "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" program is just magical and I think Igor Speilband has truly worked his magic with this team...breathtaking. They had fantastic speed at the end of the program. Also, Susie Wynne made some great comments at the Four Continents Cup and they actually made the changes, going back to their original outfits that worked better and redoing the choreography to really bring back the speed, outstanding! I have a bit of an issue with the brionze medalists. While RussiansKhoklova and Novitski have made improvements in their skating and their lifts are amazing and crowd pleasing, I don't beleive their connective footwork, step sequences, or side by side movements are great and I feel they were given a big gift in that bronze medal. Kudos to the the Americans Belbin and Agosto for sticking with it after the fall in that Compolsory Dance and skating well from that point on...they just had to much ground to make up after that fall (however, a bit ridiculous that they lost ground to the Russians in the Original Dance!). They too had, in my opinion, an amazing Free Dance. Three spots for the U.S. in Ice Dance in L.A. due to Tanith and Ben's fourth and Davis and White's sixth place finishes.
With the men I must first issue an apology. True story: I had written Jeffery Buttle off this season. In my poll, I didn't even include him because after his less than great Grand Prix Season and failure to recapture his Canadian title, I just didn't think he had it in him to win...or even medal really. But alas, Jeffery Buttle has won the men's title in Goteborg, becoming the first Canadian since Elvis Stojko in 1997 to do so. Buttle had a clean free skate that lacked a quad so when the huge technical score came up I was at first shocked considering Brian Joubert, who ended up with the silver, had posted a big number just before him and seemed like the easy winner. But I rewound the TiVo and grabbed a calculator and added up the jump points between Joubert and Buttle and sure enough Buttle had a higher number. France's Joubert took out his quad combo and played it safe. Buttle threw everything he had and did it all with positive GOE's. That, along with level three and four spins and footwork made the difference. Not to take anything away from Joubert, he was great, especially considering the season he's had, that was an accomplishment. Nice to see the imporvements in his skating as well. And very well done for Johnny Weir as well, winning that bronze (the only medal for the U.S. at these worlds), and showing that his hard work has paid off. Also, that bronze medal when combined with Stephen Carriere's 10th place finish will earn three spots for the U.S. men in L.A. next year. The top three men's performances which dazzled were a stark contrast to the other men who seemed to self-implode. Verner, Takahashi, and Lambiel...all considered to be leading contenders for gold self-destructed and failed to skate well here in this event. I kind of feel like this event went to the underdogs!
I found the pairs event anti-climatic. The German team of Szolkowy and Savchenko took the title with a less than stellar free skate. The Chinese team of Zhang and Zhang were uninspiring in their silver medal. The best team, in my opinion, was bronze medalists Dube and Davison from Canada. I felt they had a heart out there and were really working at putting on a great performance. I just love this team and was very impressed with them at this event. How cool was the throw Quad Salchow from Kawaguchi and Smirnov of Russia! A shame the rest of their program didn't work out as well. And what was up with Maxim Trankov's (of Mukhortova and Trankov) costume/slash arm...use better material! And not such a good day for the U.S. I think U.S. Figure Skating needs to make a better effort at improving our Pairs program through funding and seminars because 10th and 12th just doesn't cut it. I'm also not happy with the age rule that prevented McLaughlin and Brubaker from competing here. My guess is that the U.S. is going to be squawking about this at the June ISU Congress!
I am really confused with the ladies competition. Confused isn't a good word...baffled! Let me begin with saying this..."in my opinion the judges got this one wrong...way wrong!" Japan's Mao Asada won the competition, as expected, but rather unexpectedly...let me explain. When she completely biffed it on that opening Triple Axel, I didn't think she was getting back up. But she went on to complete her program well (although she did get dinged on her Lutz for a wrong edge). Italy's Carolina Kostner is all over the place (which by the way, how did she ever win that short program? Meissner had a better short than she did!) but still gets great marks...okay? She wins the silver. Yu-Na Kim of South Korea was her cool elegant self. A single Lutz was her only mistake and actually she won the free skate and took the bronze. Here's my biggest beef...best program of the night was delivered by Yukari Nakano of Japan. Beautiful Triple Axel (that was ridiculously downgraded to a double!) and all the triples to boot and she loses ground and finished fourth...what? I could understand her not getting ahead of Asada and Kim but Kostner was horrific and no way should have beaten Nakano. It is times lke these when the I really don't like the current judging system. Kimmie Meissner wasn't great, but it was better, and it was clear improvements were made since Nationals...seventh place isn't a disaster but unfortunately only two U.S. ladies will get to compete in L.A. next year (shame considering we'll have the deepest field of ladies in the World!). I think the future is unclear for her. I will be a tough road to hoe moving forward for her to make next years' World Team and ultimately the Olympics...we'll have to wait and see. Also, wishing Miki Ando a speedy recovery as she had to withdraw due to a calf muscle tear, she was obviously devestated.
Interesting week in Goteborg. Seemed like a great audience for the event and I think it was over all a well done event. Also, weird to know that is the last time for ESPN/ABC to host the event. The figure skating banner is officially passed to NBC at this point.
So Kristi's performance last night...Ridiculous! She smashed it, killed it, chewed it up, and spit it out on her way off the dance floor!
I believe Len Goodman's comment was, "The ice maiden has melted my heart!" She received praise from Carrie Ann for having one of the best opening performances ever.
Her and Mark twirled around that dance floor to a very sophisticated fox trot. The routine was elegant and smooth. Posture was excellent, hand holds perfect, she did botch her footwork just a little in one spot but it was barely noticeable.
As the judges lavished their praises on her and dance partner Mark Ballas she was trembling because she was so nervous, but you couldn't tell at all from her performance.
So when the scores came out, all 9's, she and Mark actually had the highest point total of all the competitors, male or female!
The poll has closed and 88% of those polled believe that Krisit Yamaguchi has a shot at this title!
The men took to the dance floor last night and to no surprise Hip-Hop Star Mario was the clear front runner. After the men's' performances last night, however, the women promised to bring it even harder tonight.
Kristi looks prepared, confident, and fired up. So be sure to watch, Live, as the ladies get underway on Dancing with the Stars!
Don't know the ins and outs of it...and I won't spoil results here. But Tanith and Ben hit a bump in the ice (perhaps literally) in the Compulsory Dance and what I thought would be a path towards victory just got a bit harder. I can't remember the last time I saw Belbin and Agosto botch a CD. Eeeeek!
Next week the World Championships begin in Goteborg! Here's the scoop on what's going down on Swedish ice!
In Pairs, three teams have been dominant this season and I see no reason why they wont continue to be the dominant teams at Worlds. Savchenko and Szolkowy of Germany won just about everything they've entered this season (slight hiccup at Cup of Russia) and have to be the clear front runners. Close behind are the top two Chinese teams of Zhang and Zhang and Pang and Tong. Pang and Tong did well during the Grand Prix and recently won the Four Contients Cup while the Zhangs are the only team to have beaten the Germans this season. I gather that these three teams may well comprise the podium at Worlds. Other teams to watch are the Canadians Dube and Davison and the Russian teams of Mukhortova and Trankov as well as Kawaguchi and Smirnov.
Amongst the ladies, Mao Asada of Japan has to be the clear front runner. She recently won the Four Continents Cup with a near flawless program and has been the most consistent skater this season. Yu-Na Kim of S. Korea has also been solid this season but has been plagued by injury as of late and it is uncertain if she will be 100% for the competition. Reigning champ Miki Ando, also from Japan, has had an up and down season but will certainly be in the mix. Carolina Kostner of Italy has been quite consistent this season, medaling in all her competitions this season (including a bronze at the Grand Prix Final and a win at the European Championships) and looks to be a contender. Joannie Rochette of Canada has also looked strong this season and most recently took silver at the Four Continents Cup. Wild card entry this season is 2006 Champ Kimmie Meissner. From Hero to zero this season she's lucky to even be at the event after finishing 7th (yes...7th!) at this year's U.S. Nationals...you'd like to think she'd be in the mix, but who knows? Other skaters to watch include Sarah Meier, Yukari Nakano, Kiira Korpi, and Ashley Wagner. Also, the U.S. is also trying to qualify three ladies to worlds next year in L.A.
Ice Dance will probably be the closest competition in the event. If you have to say there is a front runner you 'd give it to the American Team of Belbin and Agosto. They have been clean and very consistent with a brilliant Free Dance and won the silver at the Grand Prix Final. Russian team of Domnina and Shabalin, who won the Grand Prix Final and Europeans, have withdrawn from the World Championships as Maxim has reinjured his knee in preparations. While the Americans have their best shot ever at the title it will not be easy. The French team of Delobel and Schoenfelder have been near even with the Russians and Americans all season and will put up a fight for the title. Also in the mix will be Canadians Virtue and Moir who recently won the Four Continents Cup. My best guess, those three teams will be the podium. Other teams to keep an eye on include Khoklova and Novitski, Davis and White, Pechalat and Bourzat, and Faiella and Scali.
The mens event might be hotly contested or a run away, either way it will be exciting! Easy front runner is Japan's Daisuke Takahashi. He's just buried his competition this season, especially at the recent Four Continents Cup, where he achieved the highest score ever! Two Quads, solid triples, amazing footwork (especially his short program) tough spins, he has it all! Also vying for the title is Grand Prix Final Champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland. Lambiel, however, has struggled with consistency on his jumps, especially the triple axel. Johnny Weir of the United States will be in the mix. Weir turned in solid wins in China and Russia earlier in the season and had a strong performance at Nationals. Evan Lysacek won Nationals against Weir in the now infamous tie breaker but has withdrawn from Worlds due to a skate blade issue and slight forearm and elbow injuries. He was replaced by Abbott. Tomas Verner from the Czech Republic has crept into the top group of contenders this season with his strong showing at NHK and his win at Europeans. Two solid performances from him could get him to the podium. France's Brian Joubert had to withdraw from Grand Prix Paris due to viral infection and has had a hard time coming back. He looked tired and unprepared at Europeans. If he's used the past month and a half to get back to form, he will be formidable, otherwise I feel he'll get trounced upon. Canadian duo of Chan and Buttle could also be contenders, but neither has a quad, Buttle has struggled with consistency, and Chan has struggled with axels. Others to watch include Sergei Davydov, Sergei Voronov, Stephen Carriere, Alban Preaubert, Jeremy Abbott, and Kevin van der Perren.
So next Monday is the big day! Dancing With the Stars is back and of course Kristi Yamaguchi will be out there burning up the dance floor. And I have no doubt that she can, in fact, burn up the dance floor (insert sizzling sound!).
Can she shake her groove thing? Most of my blog readers think so (see poll on the right!). In fact, most believe she can win. Maybe this is a tall order given she is squaring off against red-hot hip-hop stars (Mario), NFL hotties (Jason Taylor), and sizzling Latino heartthrobs (Christian De La Fuente)...but hey, I have faith in her.
Next week you'll see a new addition to the blog, the weekly piece, Kristi Can Dance! I'm really hoping to be able to bring you her performance each week with my analysis. And did I mention she's dancing with Mark Ballas!
A warning...Len, Bruno, Carrie Ann...be nice...OR BEWARE!
Today Derrick Delmore announced that he is retiring from competitive singles figure skating.
Derrick's biggest achievements have been his 1998 World Junior Title and the fact that he's had eight top ten finishes at U.S. Nationals.
Delmore has not ruled out competing next season, but says it would be in paris skating. Delmore, in his early career skated pairs with Alix Clymer and Crystal Kim. "I would love to have the opportunity to compete in pairs again before I end my competitive career altogether," Delmore said.
Delmore also enjoyed one of the longest skater/coach partnerships, he was with Shirley Hughes for 21 years.
In addition to the star studded cast that normally appears...Ilia Kulik, Belbin and Agosto, and Evan Lysacek will all be making special appearances. I'm very excited becuase apart from the skating show, I get to spend three days in a city I love...Boston (travel tip...when flying into this vicinity Boston is a far cheaper airport than Manchester).
Skating, Revolutionary War history, baseball at Fenway...can you think of a better weekend?
This past weekend Kimmie Meissner took to the ice for a University of Delaware exhibition performance. This event marked the first time she was back on UD ice since leaving to train in Florida with Richard Callaghan and Todd Eldredge.
Ron Ludington, director of the University of Delaware figure skating program, mentioned she was still shaky on some of her jumps. She fell on a triple in her program set to John Lennon's "Imagine" and fell again on a triple in the final group number.
Despite the shaky performance the crowd still rallied behind her, showing her that she is always welcome in Newark. It is still uncertain if she will return to UD or choose to train elsewhere (possibly full time with Callaghan).
Meissner will use these final days to prepare for the World Championships in Goteborg, Sweden. The stakes have never been higher for U.S. ladies figure skating as we have the opportunity to send one of our most talented field of ladies to the 2009 World Championships in Los Angeles if we can qualify them to the event. That will require the top two U.S. ladies to have a combined placement score of no less than 13 in Sweden...a 'possible' tall order considering the ladies that will be competing in Sweden. I use the word possible because Kimmie in the past would be more than capable of delivering, there is just the aura of uncertainty surrounding her skating right now.
I first took notice of Rachael Flatt at last years' National Championships. I had honestly never heard of her and she just blew me away. I was sitting in the crowds in Spokane during her short program asking the people around me, "Who is she? She's good!"
Since the night of her short program and the following night of her free skate where she showed equal promise I have quietly kept an eye on this young lady. I secretly logged in to see how she was doing at her Junior Grand Prix events. I watched her Junior Grand Prix Final performance on YouTube. And the week before Nationals in St. Paul I suddenly remembered that not many were talking about Flatt and maybe they should be!
She wowed us in St. Paul and she wowed the crowd last week in Sofia and I just think she is a star on the rise! I lover her...braces and all. Cheers to you Racheal Flatt...job well done!
The world's best junior (and in the case of the U.S., some of our best senior) skaters converged on Sofia, Bulgaria for the 2008 Junior World Championships. This event always gives a glimpse into some of the sports future champions and these young champions didn't dissapoint.
In the pairs competition, a couple of young Russian teams topped the leader board. Krasilnikova and Bezmaternikh (mouth full, huh?) won the gold. This is a team we actually saw finish fifth on the Senior Grand Prix circuit at Cup of Russia and competed in their first Senior Russian National Chmapionship this season placing 5th. Winning the silver (but actually winning the free skate) was another Russian Team, Iliushechkina and Maisuradze (whew!). They received strong GOE points on their throw triple loop but couldn't overcome the lead their teammates had acquired after the short program. The intersesting story about these two is that they were both originally single skaters and have been skating together for less than a year. In less than a year they've finished fourth in their first nationals together as a team (and as seniors) and won the silver at Junior Worlds...impressive! The bronze medal went to the Chinese team of Dong and Wu...China of course never short on pairs talent. The Americans finished fifth, tenth, and eleventh, Junior National Champs Paetsch and Nuss highest among them.
The men's event was won by American Junior National Champion Adam Rippon. Since teaming up with Nikolai Morzov Adam has become a force to be contended with. Smooth lines and excellent GOE scores led him to a well deserved win in Sofia. Russian Artem Borodulin won the silver medal. Amazing considering less than three months ago he had a broken ankle. Jinlin Guan of China won the bronze. Jinlin had the highest technical score amongst the medalists, landing lots of clean triples, but his component score suffered due to his lack of artistry and connective elements. Brandon Mroz of the U.S. finished fourth while Tommy Steenberg also of the U.S. finished ninth. Kevin Reynolds of Canada was the only competitor in the field to land a quad, he finished sixth.
In Ice Dance the American team of Samuelson and Bates were finally able to come out and the skate they wanted. At last years Junior Worlds they had to withdraw because they fell and he stepped on her finger, severing a tendon and requiring surgery. At this years nationals the team was hampered by the fact that Emily had the flu virus and was getting IV's to stay hydrated. They finished 4th at that competition (as seniors) despite missing half the practices. But finally they were healthy and well trained and able to push through and win the Junior World title. They held off the Canadian team of Crone and Poirier who were right on Emily and Evan's heels the whole competition. Both teams had excellent GOE and component scores. The bronze went to the Russian team of Gorshkova and Butikov. The Hubbells (U.S. brother and sister team ) finished a strong fifth place.
The ladies event gave us a glimpse into the future for sure. To be blunt, this very well could be one of the most talented field of ladies the U.S. has ever sent to a competion. The last time I can think of a field being this deep for the U.S. was the 2003 World Championships in Washington, D.C. when we sent Kwan, Cohen, and Hughes. It isn't a shock that our ladies swept the podium in Sofia, considering we sent our Senior Gold and Silver medalists as well as the reigning Junior World Champ! In a very close competition between Flatt and Zhang, Rachael Flatt squeaked by to win the event. The only flaw in her program was a wrong edge deduction on her second lutz. Everything else was clean as a whistle and she garnered the highest technical and component score! Caroline Zhang too had a great skate and was actually ahead of Flatt after the short (2nd place vs 3rd) but had some trouble with wrong edges on both her lutzes and couldn't keep up technically. Again, minor errors and still a brillant performance...she was less than .40 behind Flatt. Mirai Nagasu, our reigning Senior Ladies Champ and leader after the short program, struggled a bit with the harder jumps. She had a few underrotation calls and she also struggled with the wrong edge deduction. The technical issues put her back about ten points to Flatt and Zhang and she was only able to capture the bronze, but amongst that field, respectable!
Now our focus turns to Goteborg, Sweden in hopes that the U.S. (or whichever country or competitors!) can do as well there as it did in Sofia. Full results can be seen here.
I feel I know very little about Jeffrey Buttle. But his recent win at the World Figure Skating Championships has shined a little light his way and now we want more!
