新专访FROM TSN.CA
http://www.tsn.ca/figure_skating/news_story.asp?ID=221765
还是一些老生常谈的问题，火灾啊，跳跃啊
The Canadian Press
10/30/2007 6:42:10 PM
Jeff Buttle, who escaped California's brush fires in the nick of time, is ready to face the heat of competition at figure skating's highest level for the first time this season.
The Canadian champion will be a headliner along with French and world champion Brian Joubert in men's singles at the HomeSense Skate Canada International meet that begins Friday in Quebec City.
Buttle spent most of his training time in California and returned to Canada just days before devastating fires raged around the Lake Arrowhead area where he shared a cabin. After he left, another athlete living in the building had to be evacuated.
"I made it out just in time," said Buttle. "The fires were a five-minute drive from the cabin."
Buttle had to withdraw from his Grand Prix meets last autumn due to a back injury, but he's fit now.
"The summer went very well," he said. "It was injury-free, which is much better than last year.
"I feel I've been able to improve all the basics I didn't get a chance to work on last year before I started competing. I've been plugging away at my training and looking forward to doing the Grand Prix meets this year."
Buttle finished sixth at the last two world championships after winning silver in 2005 and Olympic bronze in 2006.
The 25-year-old Toronto resident needs to insert a four-revolution quad in his jumping arsenal to challenge the likes of Joubert.
"I'm still working on it," he said. "I'm doing off-ice work with a trainer and that has really helped this year.
"I think the consistency will improve during the season. I didn't start working on it until December last year so I'm ahead of the game this year."
Also representing Canada will be national silver medallist Chris Mabee of Tillsonburg, Ont., who was 13th in his world championship debut last March, and Vaughn Chipeur of Edmonton.
The meet will be the second of six on the International Skating Union's premier circuit. Skaters can enter a maximum of three and gain points from no more than two. The top six point-getters in each of the four disciplines qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy, in December.
The season is always a gradual buildup as skaters aim to peak at the world championships, which will be held in Goteborg, Sweden, next March.
"You can never tell how a season is going to go after one competition," said Buttle. "I don't want to go (to Quebec) and have the best performances of the year.
"I'll skate my hardest but . . . I'm looking to build and improve throughout the season."
World silver medallist Mao Asada of Japan will be the top-ranked skater in women's singles in Quebec, where Canadian champion Joannie Rochette also will get her first test of the new season.
"Training has been going well," said the 21-year-old native of Ile Dupas, Que. "I've done everything I could to be ready for this season."
Buttle needs a consistent quad, and Rochette has to start landing triple-triple combinations as if they were routine to stand a chance of getting near the world podium. She was 10th last time after placing seventh in 2006.
"Last year I was a little too cautious," she said. "This year I'll just go for it. Even if it's not there every time, I have to try it. It's a challenge but I'm up to it."
Also representing Canada will be Cynthia Phaneuf of Contrecouer, Que., and Lesley Hawker of Barrie, Ont.
Canadian champions Jessica Dube of Drummondville, Que., and Bryce Davison of Cambridge, Ont., who are No. 7 in the world, are coming off a pairs victory at Skate America. They are hoping to reinforce their status as one of the top up-and-coming pairs in the sport.
"Our personal best, we feel that in the next few years, it can be on top of the world," Davison said.
The top-ranked pair will be world bronze medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany.
Former Canadian champ Craig Buntin of Kelowna, B.C., will make his debut with new partner Meagan Duhamel of Bradford, Ont. Anabelle Langlois of Grand-Mere, Que., and Cody Hay of Grande Prairie, Alta., give Canada three strong pairs for the event.
One of the most anticipated shows will be ice dancing as Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., make their season debut.
They were second in Canada last season and sixth in their senior world championship debut. With longtime national champions Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon taking the year off, Virtue and Moir could be ready to fill the void.
Gold could be in their hands by Sunday.
Also representing Canada will be Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Kitchener, Ont., and Allie Hann-McCurdy of Barrie, Ont., and Michael Coreno of Delhi, Ont. |
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显身卡
非常可惜，罗大姐仍然是个大问题，只是我们现在尽量回避她
