A lot of folks might still see them as that pair of cute, cuddly kids.
But ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are aiming to change that perception these days. They see it as a key part of their mission to keep rising up the world rankings.
"Our goal this year is to really make the jump, to compete with the best in the world,” Moir said when asked what comes next after he and Virtue finished an amazing sixth in their very first world championship last spring in Tokyo. "So I think that's where we're going to try to go with it. Obviously, we have a lot to do to compete with those other skaters, but we feel we're going to be ready and we're excited about the opportunity.
"We're working on power and speed, that's what we're trying to do. And just looking mature out on the ice, looking like adults.”
Legally, at least, they're already there. Check the birth certificates of the London, Ont., duo, and you'll see it's true: Moir is now 20, Virtue is 18. Yes, they're growing up right before our eyes.
And with Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon on sabbatical from eligible skating this season, Virtue and Moir now become the hunted for the first time: Heavy favourites to claim their first Canadian senior title in January in Vancouver.
"It definitely is more pressure on us,” said Virtue. "But it's motivating and it's exciting. It's what helps us get through every day of training, and we're ready to take that next step.”
Added Moir: "It's completely different. There's a lot of pressure being on top, because you have a lot of expectations. At the same time, that's why we compete, because everyone wants to be the best.”
Apparently, they can't get there fast enough. The answer comes quick and surely when they're asked what's next on the global stage.
"Five more steps," Virtue said with a smile.
And if you think this is all happening rather fast ... well, guess again.
"We're just very goal oriented,” said Moir. "We're always trying to go for the next step. It feels like the years go by pretty slow, so (to us) it's not really going by that fast.”
They're all but guaranteed to add a Skate Canada gold medal to their growing collection on Sunday, when the free dance final helps ring down the curtain on the competition at Pepsi Colisee. Virtue and Moir hold a commanding 11.32-point lead over Italians Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Glowing With Pride
Joannie Rochette was glowing at least a little bit after some good fortune fell her way at HomeSense Skate Canada on Saturday afternoon.
And no, we're not just talking about the funky glow-in-the-dark skate guards she sported while chatting with the media after learning she'll be taking a bronze medal home from the proceedings at Pepsi Colisee.
"I'm proud to be third,” said Rochette, who had to battle back from a fifth-place finish in the short program to earn her podium finish.
She needed help, and she got it. She watched as both surprise short program winner Laura Lepisto of Finland and American Emily Hughes tumbled below her in the final standings. It wasn't the Skate Canada gold Rochette won a year ago in Victoria, but she'll happily take it. She also sees it as a good starting point for the new season, and leaves Quebec City with no regrets.
"I look forward to the future,” said Rochette. "I don't want to say 'I should have, I should have.' It's in the past now. I feel good. I'm actually better than (I was) last year at this time of the year.”
Rochette, it might be said, raised the expectation bar for herself in a major way back in 2005, when she delivered the best women's free skate in years at the Canadian championships back in London, Ont. — her first of three straight national crowns. She's had to live up to that ever since, at least in the minds of fans and the critics.
Ask Rochette about it, and she offers up a different perspective.
"I know (how good I can be) and it's enough for me to know,” said the 21-year-old from Ile-Dupas, Que. "I don't expect perfection from me all the time, because I'm not perfect at practice every day ... I'm just trying to make all my practices (consistent).
"Before, I would have a good practice day and an awful practice day. Now I'm just trying to even that out.”
She's growing up in other areas, too.
"Before if I had a bad short, I would just go home and cry and not be happy,” she said. "I hate that, because I'm supposed to be doing this sport because I love it, and not putting too much pressure on myself.
"(Friday), I said 'that's what I did today' and that's (a lesson) I'll take home from here.”
Oh, and about those skate blades. Rochette said they're all the rage in skate shops back in Montreal.
"Everyone has them,” said Rochette.
"Aren't they lovely?” added coach Manon Perron. "If we lose power at home, she can always find her way (in the dark).”
Sounds rather practical, too.
And no, we're not just talking about the funky glow-in-the-dark skate guards she sported while chatting with the media after learning she'll be taking a bronze medal home from the proceedings at Pepsi Colisee.
"I'm proud to be third,” said Rochette, who had to battle back from a fifth-place finish in the short program to earn her podium finish.
She needed help, and she got it. She watched as both surprise short program winner Laura Lepisto of Finland and American Emily Hughes tumbled below her in the final standings. It wasn't the Skate Canada gold Rochette won a year ago in Victoria, but she'll happily take it. She also sees it as a good starting point for the new season, and leaves Quebec City with no regrets.
"I look forward to the future,” said Rochette. "I don't want to say 'I should have, I should have.' It's in the past now. I feel good. I'm actually better than (I was) last year at this time of the year.”
Rochette, it might be said, raised the expectation bar for herself in a major way back in 2005, when she delivered the best women's free skate in years at the Canadian championships back in London, Ont. — her first of three straight national crowns. She's had to live up to that ever since, at least in the minds of fans and the critics.
Ask Rochette about it, and she offers up a different perspective.
"I know (how good I can be) and it's enough for me to know,” said the 21-year-old from Ile-Dupas, Que. "I don't expect perfection from me all the time, because I'm not perfect at practice every day ... I'm just trying to make all my practices (consistent).
"Before, I would have a good practice day and an awful practice day. Now I'm just trying to even that out.”
She's growing up in other areas, too.
"Before if I had a bad short, I would just go home and cry and not be happy,” she said. "I hate that, because I'm supposed to be doing this sport because I love it, and not putting too much pressure on myself.
"(Friday), I said 'that's what I did today' and that's (a lesson) I'll take home from here.”
Oh, and about those skate blades. Rochette said they're all the rage in skate shops back in Montreal.
"Everyone has them,” said Rochette.
"Aren't they lovely?” added coach Manon Perron. "If we lose power at home, she can always find her way (in the dark).”
Sounds rather practical, too.
Looking Out For No. 1
Lesley Hawker isn't ready to settle for third-best anymore.
Or second, for that matter.
Nope. Mrs. Doherty, who'll always be gold-medal stuff in the blogosphere (as scientific as that sounds), wants to stand on top of the podium at the 2008 Canadian championships in Vancouver.
(and you can all save your 'will that make her the oldest Canadian women's champion ever' thoughts for then, thank you).
"I want to be a major player at Canadians ... Even win it this year," said Hawker, 26, of Alliston, Ont., who was the senior women's bronze medallist at nationals the past two years. "I don't want to just settle for anything. I've been given a great talent, I love what I do and I just want to make sure I use it to my fullest ability."
Hawker finished ninth at HomeSense Skate Canada, which made her the No. 2 Canadian here — behind bronze-medal winner Joannie Rochette of Ile-Dupas, Que., and ahead of Cynthia Phaneuf of Contrecoeur, Que., who wound up 10th after Saturday's free skate final.
More importantly, she senses the quality of her skating has taken another leap forward since this time a year ago — and rightly so, we'd add.
"I'm really happy with my skating,” she said.
Now she'd like to rise to the level of Janet Lynn, the 1970s American skating legend who is greatly admired by Hawker, and so many others.
"I'm sure anybody in the skating world knows (Lynn),” she said. "A beautiful smile, her edge quality, her smoothness ... she was just breath-taking to watch.
"I've been watching a lot of old tapes of older skaters — YouTube is great for that — trying to really emulate their softness. I want to be the kind of skater that you watch and say 'oh, that looked so easy, it looks fun.' ”
Fun and first ... now there's a winning ticket, right?
Hey, she's halfway there. At least in our poll — which, of course, is completely unscientific.
Or second, for that matter.
Nope. Mrs. Doherty, who'll always be gold-medal stuff in the blogosphere (as scientific as that sounds), wants to stand on top of the podium at the 2008 Canadian championships in Vancouver.
(and you can all save your 'will that make her the oldest Canadian women's champion ever' thoughts for then, thank you).
"I want to be a major player at Canadians ... Even win it this year," said Hawker, 26, of Alliston, Ont., who was the senior women's bronze medallist at nationals the past two years. "I don't want to just settle for anything. I've been given a great talent, I love what I do and I just want to make sure I use it to my fullest ability."
Hawker finished ninth at HomeSense Skate Canada, which made her the No. 2 Canadian here — behind bronze-medal winner Joannie Rochette of Ile-Dupas, Que., and ahead of Cynthia Phaneuf of Contrecoeur, Que., who wound up 10th after Saturday's free skate final.
More importantly, she senses the quality of her skating has taken another leap forward since this time a year ago — and rightly so, we'd add.
"I'm really happy with my skating,” she said.
Now she'd like to rise to the level of Janet Lynn, the 1970s American skating legend who is greatly admired by Hawker, and so many others.
"I'm sure anybody in the skating world knows (Lynn),” she said. "A beautiful smile, her edge quality, her smoothness ... she was just breath-taking to watch.
"I've been watching a lot of old tapes of older skaters — YouTube is great for that — trying to really emulate their softness. I want to be the kind of skater that you watch and say 'oh, that looked so easy, it looks fun.' ”
Fun and first ... now there's a winning ticket, right?
Hey, she's halfway there. At least in our poll — which, of course, is completely unscientific.
They're A Heavy Medal Pair
Two medals in their pocket, and a ticket to the Grand Prix final.
Not a bad start for Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison. Not bad at all.
"That should be a lot of fun," Davison, 21, of Cambridge, Ont., said as he pondered the December trip they'll take to Torino, Italy, to skate among the world's finest pairs teams. "The Grand Prix final is now on our schedule and we're excited about that.”
A surprising gold medal they earned last weekend at Skate America in Reading, Pa., combined with the silver they'll cart back to Montreal from HomeSense Skate Canada, has the reigning national champions riding high. Davison admitted they've already outdone themselves with their efforts in the past week or so.
"When sat down this spring, our initial thoughts, our goals (for the season) were to medal on the Grand Prix circuit," said Davison, 21, of Cambridge, Ont. "Just one medal anywhere, really. We thought that would be a good progression going toward the (2010) Olympics in Vancouver. Finding ourselves here, we're a little bit ahead of schedule, which is great because we have even more time.
"It's an advance on ourselves, which is always good, and we can look to expand our skating even further.”
Actually, Dube and Davison have been ahead of the curve almost from the day they first joined forces, winning the Junior Grand Prix final back in 2003 during their initial season together. Since then, they've been tabbed to be the next great Canadian pairs team, following in the footsteps of Olympic champs Jamie Sale and David Pelletier (who happen to be mentors for Dube and Davison these days).
They didn't arrive in Quebec City as favourites — the gold here was won by Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the reigning world bronze medallists — but Dube and Davison are clearly back in the fast lane. An improvement on their seventh-place standing at the 2007 worlds in Tokyo appears in the offing when the figure skating world reconvenes next March in Gothenburg, Sweden.
They didn't buckle under the weight of home-province pressure this weekend.
"We like the pressure and we enjoy competing, and I think for an athlete, there's nothing like it,” said Davison. "Especially being at home, or what will be our home for awhile. It's so much fun.
"To hear the crowd react and be with us in the program, whether it's good or whether it's bad, it's feels like they're on the ice with us and they're living every moment with us.”
Added Dube, 20, of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que.: "We (made) some stupid mistakes. It happens and we're going to work harder to (correct) them next time. Overall, we're really pleased with our performances. The crowd was so good, and it really gave us energy.”
Not a bad start for Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison. Not bad at all.
"That should be a lot of fun," Davison, 21, of Cambridge, Ont., said as he pondered the December trip they'll take to Torino, Italy, to skate among the world's finest pairs teams. "The Grand Prix final is now on our schedule and we're excited about that.”
A surprising gold medal they earned last weekend at Skate America in Reading, Pa., combined with the silver they'll cart back to Montreal from HomeSense Skate Canada, has the reigning national champions riding high. Davison admitted they've already outdone themselves with their efforts in the past week or so.
"When sat down this spring, our initial thoughts, our goals (for the season) were to medal on the Grand Prix circuit," said Davison, 21, of Cambridge, Ont. "Just one medal anywhere, really. We thought that would be a good progression going toward the (2010) Olympics in Vancouver. Finding ourselves here, we're a little bit ahead of schedule, which is great because we have even more time.
"It's an advance on ourselves, which is always good, and we can look to expand our skating even further.”
Actually, Dube and Davison have been ahead of the curve almost from the day they first joined forces, winning the Junior Grand Prix final back in 2003 during their initial season together. Since then, they've been tabbed to be the next great Canadian pairs team, following in the footsteps of Olympic champs Jamie Sale and David Pelletier (who happen to be mentors for Dube and Davison these days).
They didn't arrive in Quebec City as favourites — the gold here was won by Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the reigning world bronze medallists — but Dube and Davison are clearly back in the fast lane. An improvement on their seventh-place standing at the 2007 worlds in Tokyo appears in the offing when the figure skating world reconvenes next March in Gothenburg, Sweden.
They didn't buckle under the weight of home-province pressure this weekend.
"We like the pressure and we enjoy competing, and I think for an athlete, there's nothing like it,” said Davison. "Especially being at home, or what will be our home for awhile. It's so much fun.
"To hear the crowd react and be with us in the program, whether it's good or whether it's bad, it's feels like they're on the ice with us and they're living every moment with us.”
Added Dube, 20, of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que.: "We (made) some stupid mistakes. It happens and we're going to work harder to (correct) them next time. Overall, we're really pleased with our performances. The crowd was so good, and it really gave us energy.”
The Great Leap Forward
We've all heard the line when we get impatient about anything.
"You've got to take it one step at a time."
Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay have been doing it that way for two seasons now. But as they move into Year 3 of their pairs partnership, they figure it's high time to pick up the pace.
"We don't want to do the steps one at a time anymore," said Hay, 24, of Dawson Creek, B.C., in assessing where he and Langlois currently stand as a team. "Now we want to start jumping a couple. To be out there (at HomeSense Skate Canada this weekend) like this and compete against the Germans (Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the winners Saturday at Pepsi Colisee), who are one of the top teams in the world, that's what you want to do.
"You want to be competing with them, not just at the same competition."
But both Langlois and Hay, who wound up fourth after Saturday's pairs free skate, understand why it had to be this way. Langlois climbed as high as fifth in the world with her former partner, Patrice Archetto. But when she joined forces with Hay in 2005, she was taking on someone new with not a second of senior-level experience on his resume.
"We had an odd coupling, based on where Anabelle had been ranked in the world, and where I was ranked," said Hay. "When we started together, she knew what it was like to be at the top of the world. She wanted to get (back) there as fast as possible, and it was hard for her to come back down and rebuild our way back up. She was always trying to jump up a couple flights of stairs instead of taking them one step at a time.”
Now, though, they feel comfortable in accelerating things. Taking that great leap forward, one might say (guess I just did).
"The togetherness and the elements are coming a lot easier now," said Langlois, 26, of Hull, Que. "We want to make great leaps. It's so hard, I don't like putting placements on it. We're always reaching for the top. We wouldn't be putting this much effort into it without (thinking that way).”
Added Hay: "The first two years, if something wasn't right, we had to put it on the side and wait for Lee (Barkell, their coach in Barrie, Ont.) to tell us what was wrong. Or we would battle back and forth about what the other person was doing wrong. Now we can actually tell and fix it ourselves.”
"You've got to take it one step at a time."
Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay have been doing it that way for two seasons now. But as they move into Year 3 of their pairs partnership, they figure it's high time to pick up the pace.
"We don't want to do the steps one at a time anymore," said Hay, 24, of Dawson Creek, B.C., in assessing where he and Langlois currently stand as a team. "Now we want to start jumping a couple. To be out there (at HomeSense Skate Canada this weekend) like this and compete against the Germans (Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the winners Saturday at Pepsi Colisee), who are one of the top teams in the world, that's what you want to do.
"You want to be competing with them, not just at the same competition."
But both Langlois and Hay, who wound up fourth after Saturday's pairs free skate, understand why it had to be this way. Langlois climbed as high as fifth in the world with her former partner, Patrice Archetto. But when she joined forces with Hay in 2005, she was taking on someone new with not a second of senior-level experience on his resume.
"We had an odd coupling, based on where Anabelle had been ranked in the world, and where I was ranked," said Hay. "When we started together, she knew what it was like to be at the top of the world. She wanted to get (back) there as fast as possible, and it was hard for her to come back down and rebuild our way back up. She was always trying to jump up a couple flights of stairs instead of taking them one step at a time.”
Now, though, they feel comfortable in accelerating things. Taking that great leap forward, one might say (guess I just did).
"The togetherness and the elements are coming a lot easier now," said Langlois, 26, of Hull, Que. "We want to make great leaps. It's so hard, I don't like putting placements on it. We're always reaching for the top. We wouldn't be putting this much effort into it without (thinking that way).”
Added Hay: "The first two years, if something wasn't right, we had to put it on the side and wait for Lee (Barkell, their coach in Barrie, Ont.) to tell us what was wrong. Or we would battle back and forth about what the other person was doing wrong. Now we can actually tell and fix it ourselves.”
A World Of Change
It's a whole new world for Meagan Duhamel.
And not just on the ice, where she's working on a new pairs career with former world team member Craig Buntin.
Duhamel grew up in Lively, Ont., a small town of "about 1,000-1,500 people" near Sudbury. But when she decided to team up with Buntin, it meant moving away from home for the first time. And to a city, Montreal, where the population is largely French-speaking — a language that, despite her last name, Duhamel neither speaks or really comprehends.
"I understand some, but I can't conjugate verbs or anything like that," said Duhamel, 21.
Nobody is more impressed about Duhamel's moxie in making the move than her partner, for whom the former Canadian junior women's champion has truly been a career saver.
"What can't I say about her?" said Buntin, 27, of North Vancouver, B.C. "She's more than I could have hoped for. She has no friends in Montreal, she's living in a community where she doesn't speak the (predominant) language, she lives alone, she works 40 hours a week and trains on top of that ... and she brings a smile to the rink every day
"Then she comes out here (at HomeSense Skate Canada) and performs like a champ. She's unbelievable."
It's certainly quite the mix of cultures, to be sure. Duhamel's mother is Finnish, so she has a Scandinavian upbringing. Now she works in an Italian bakery (or boulangerie) 10 minutes from the rink where she and Buntin train in St-Leonard, Que.
The language spoken there is "mostly Italian and English," Duhamel said, "but if I have a shift, there's always somebody who speaks French there in case I run into trouble. Or I just talk with my hands."
A far cry from home, to be sure, where the Duhamel clan is literally everywhere.
"My sister lives in Oshawa, but my parents and my brother, every one of them, and my uncles and aunts and cousins and grandparents, they live in Lively," said Meagan.
"We take over the whole town."
Duhamel and Buntin wound up sixth at Le Colisee. Unless there's some sort of an ISU rule change to allow them to fill in for a couple withdrawing from a future Grand Prix event — as a new team, they have no world ranking points — then this was pretty much it until the Canadian championships in January in Vancouver.
"We've decided to do the Eastern Challenge (in December in Mississauga, Ont.), just to have another competition under our belts before then," said Buntin. "But we're crossing our fingers (about the Grand Prix events)."
And not just on the ice, where she's working on a new pairs career with former world team member Craig Buntin.
Duhamel grew up in Lively, Ont., a small town of "about 1,000-1,500 people" near Sudbury. But when she decided to team up with Buntin, it meant moving away from home for the first time. And to a city, Montreal, where the population is largely French-speaking — a language that, despite her last name, Duhamel neither speaks or really comprehends.
"I understand some, but I can't conjugate verbs or anything like that," said Duhamel, 21.
Nobody is more impressed about Duhamel's moxie in making the move than her partner, for whom the former Canadian junior women's champion has truly been a career saver.
"What can't I say about her?" said Buntin, 27, of North Vancouver, B.C. "She's more than I could have hoped for. She has no friends in Montreal, she's living in a community where she doesn't speak the (predominant) language, she lives alone, she works 40 hours a week and trains on top of that ... and she brings a smile to the rink every day
"Then she comes out here (at HomeSense Skate Canada) and performs like a champ. She's unbelievable."
It's certainly quite the mix of cultures, to be sure. Duhamel's mother is Finnish, so she has a Scandinavian upbringing. Now she works in an Italian bakery (or boulangerie) 10 minutes from the rink where she and Buntin train in St-Leonard, Que.
The language spoken there is "mostly Italian and English," Duhamel said, "but if I have a shift, there's always somebody who speaks French there in case I run into trouble. Or I just talk with my hands."
A far cry from home, to be sure, where the Duhamel clan is literally everywhere.
"My sister lives in Oshawa, but my parents and my brother, every one of them, and my uncles and aunts and cousins and grandparents, they live in Lively," said Meagan.
"We take over the whole town."
Duhamel and Buntin wound up sixth at Le Colisee. Unless there's some sort of an ISU rule change to allow them to fill in for a couple withdrawing from a future Grand Prix event — as a new team, they have no world ranking points — then this was pretty much it until the Canadian championships in January in Vancouver.
"We've decided to do the Eastern Challenge (in December in Mississauga, Ont.), just to have another competition under our belts before then," said Buntin. "But we're crossing our fingers (about the Grand Prix events)."
Friday, November 2, 2007
Better Now Than Later
Is there such a thing as too good, too soon?
Jeffrey Buttle surely subscribes to that theory. And not just because his short program Friday night at HomeSense Skate Canada was, shall we say, a little rough around the edges.
The three-time Canadian men's champion has some work to do to hold on for a podium finish when the men's free skates are presented Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Colisee. With 66.85 points in the bank, the native of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., is a mere 0.35 points ahead of Christopher Mabee of Tillsonburg, Ont., his training mate at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont.
Belgium's Kevin van der Perren (66.11) and Vaughn Chipeur of Edmonton (65.65) are also within striking distance. The gold? That's a virtual lock for reigning world champ Brian Joubert of France, whose powerful display earned 78.05 points.
But back to this 'peaking theory,' if you will. While Buttle says he always goes on the ice aiming for a top performance, he admits he might be a little concerned if he turned in the skate of his life at a Grand Prix event in early November.
"It would be really hard to maintain that," said Buttle, a bronze medallist at the 2006 Torino Olympics. "I don't expect to be perfect (at this time of year), that's for sure.
"If I'm going to make a mistake like almost falling on a crosscut (which happened Friday night, along with a fall on a triple lutz), then I'd rather it be now than later. Of course I want to skate well no matter what time of year it is. But I definitely want to build instead of peaking now and dying later."
A classic example of that line of thinking: Skate Canada in 2000 in Mississauga, Ont., when Russia's Alexei Yagudin delivered a world championship-level performance of his Gladiator program to win the gold. Yagudin never matched it the rest of the season, although injuries were a major factor by the time the 2001 world championships in Vancouver rolled around.
One thing we'd hope to see maintained: The closeness of the competition between Buttle, Mabee and Chipeur. Wouldn't it be something if we could see that kind of battle for the men's crown at the Canadian championships in Vancouver in January?
If Buttle's right, the best is definitely yet to come.
Jeffrey Buttle surely subscribes to that theory. And not just because his short program Friday night at HomeSense Skate Canada was, shall we say, a little rough around the edges.
The three-time Canadian men's champion has some work to do to hold on for a podium finish when the men's free skates are presented Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Colisee. With 66.85 points in the bank, the native of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., is a mere 0.35 points ahead of Christopher Mabee of Tillsonburg, Ont., his training mate at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont.
Belgium's Kevin van der Perren (66.11) and Vaughn Chipeur of Edmonton (65.65) are also within striking distance. The gold? That's a virtual lock for reigning world champ Brian Joubert of France, whose powerful display earned 78.05 points.
But back to this 'peaking theory,' if you will. While Buttle says he always goes on the ice aiming for a top performance, he admits he might be a little concerned if he turned in the skate of his life at a Grand Prix event in early November.
"It would be really hard to maintain that," said Buttle, a bronze medallist at the 2006 Torino Olympics. "I don't expect to be perfect (at this time of year), that's for sure.
"If I'm going to make a mistake like almost falling on a crosscut (which happened Friday night, along with a fall on a triple lutz), then I'd rather it be now than later. Of course I want to skate well no matter what time of year it is. But I definitely want to build instead of peaking now and dying later."
A classic example of that line of thinking: Skate Canada in 2000 in Mississauga, Ont., when Russia's Alexei Yagudin delivered a world championship-level performance of his Gladiator program to win the gold. Yagudin never matched it the rest of the season, although injuries were a major factor by the time the 2001 world championships in Vancouver rolled around.
One thing we'd hope to see maintained: The closeness of the competition between Buttle, Mabee and Chipeur. Wouldn't it be something if we could see that kind of battle for the men's crown at the Canadian championships in Vancouver in January?
If Buttle's right, the best is definitely yet to come.
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