THE CANADIAN PRESS
GOTEBORG, Sweden — There is no better place to be than first going into the free skating at the world figure skating championships, and that’s where Jeff Buttle sits after winning the short program Friday.
Others might launch the quad jump he does not possess and overtake him — he was second after the short a year ago and wound up sixth overall — but he’s in contention for gold and at the top of his game.
"I entered this competition feeling more confident than I’ve ever been," he said. "That’s helped me a lot.
"I feel like I’m so much stronger than last year. I know that I’m ready."
The men’s event winds up just before noon ET on Saturday and, adding to the drama, Buttle will skate last.
The 25-year-old native of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., has 82.10 points. American Johnny Weir is second with 80.79 while Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi is third with 80.40. Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic is fourth with 79.87 while 2005 and 2006 champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland has 79.12. Defending champion Brian Joubert of France has 77.75. They’ll comprise the last group of six men onto the ice Saturday.
Toronto’s Patrick Chan is seventh with 72.81 — a remarkable score for a 17-year-old rookie at the senior level competing against 45 others.
Buttle’s name wasn’t mentioned in pre-meet predictions on who would win it all. Takahashi beat him at the Four Continents meet last month. Chan took his Canadian title away from him in January. After winning world silver in 2005 and Olympic bronze in 2006, Buttle slipped to sixth at the last two world championships.
Yet, he’s always been a marvel in skating basics, as he displayed Friday.
"I felt so comfortable and confident out there that I felt like I couldn’t make a mistake," he said. "I felt really great.
"That was the best I’ve done the short program all season. I had a little wobble in the straight-line footwork but at the Four Continents I had a wobbly triple Lutz and this time it was solid.
"I’m really happy with how I jumped."
Altering his training regimen paid off, Buttle said. He eased off a touch.
"I feel by tapering and just relaxing more or less I was able to go onto the ice and get the job done and get off the ice and feel good about myself," he said.
Buttle said that he didn’t have any feeling in losing the Canadian title to Chan that a load of pressure had been lifted off his shoulders coming to these championships.
"I didn’t even think about that," he said. "For me, the focus was the world championships and I don’t think that title had any bearing."
Buttle and Chan give Canada a dandy 1-2 punch in men’s singles going into the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
"Patrick is an awesome teammate," Buttle said. "We’ve been getting along well, sitting and talking all week."
Chan is appreciative. Coming out of junior, he knows few of the older skaters.
"I’m kind of like the lone wolf," he said. "Being with Jeff is great.
"He doesn’t mind me hanging by his shoulder, so it’s really good. Gosh, it made me feel a lot better, even though I was nervous."
The wait to compete seemed endless to him.
"It was pretty nerve-wracking, I’ve got to say," he said. "Even before I came here, I was pretty nervous laying in bed waiting to come here.
"I was really proud of myself to have skated the way that I did. I’m glad I’ve got the short program behind me. It’s going to help (Saturday) in terms of the nervousness. I won’t feel as out of place."
The best overall result by a Canadian rookie in men’s singles at the world championships in the modern era is Brian Orser’s sixth in 1981. Elvis Stojko was ninth in 1990. Kurt Browning was 15th in his debut in 1987. They all went on to win gold, so Chan appears to have a great future ahead of him.
Weir was good, and he might have been ahead of Buttle had he not lost marks for taking off on the wrong blade edge on a triple flip.
"I feel fantastic," he said. "I’m so happy with my performance.
"I hope I can continue to feel this comfortable on the ice in the long program."
He’s flamboyant, and candid. He was asked if it was on his mind that he needed to finish high in the standings to ensure his country maintained the maximum quota of three entries in the discipline for next year.
"As much as I would love to say that I think it’s important for the U.S. to have three sports for the men, it’s not the most important thing for me," he replied. "Even if we have one spot, as long as it’s mine, then I don’t care."
Takahashi stumbled on his triple Axel landing, touching a hand to the ice to regain balance.
"I don’t know what happened but I was nervous," he said.<
He wasn’t alone.
Joubert fell on the approach to his Lutz.<
"The timing was off and I didn’t have my balance," he said.
Lambiel was the only skater among the leaders to attempt a quad. The landing was off and he touched a hand to the ice.
Buttle won his most important medals when others made mistakes. If there are mistakes Saturday, and he isn’t the one making them, it is conceivable he could emerge with gold. Going in, he’s still an underdog. He’s also in the best place he could possibly be.