News

Canadian pairs wow home country crowd in Calgary

Valérie Marcoux and Craig Buntin

It was a great start to the pair competition for both Canadian teams at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2006.

Three-time Canadian Champions Valérie Marcoux and Craig Buntin turned in one of their best short programs of the season and stand in fourth-place, less than one point out of third-place.

"In our performance we (Marcoux and Buntin) really felt Canadian out there," said Buntin after the duo's program. "There were Canadian flags everywhere. The crowd was really behind us, and they had a lot of energy."

Marcoux and Buntin began their performance with solid side-by-side triple toeloops, followed by a double twist and an innovative overhead lift with a difficult exit. The duo brought their performance to a close with a spectacular throw triple loop.

"I don't think we're going to change our strategy for the long program," said Buntin. "We've never been in this position before, but we have enough experience that we know what to do."

Marcoux and Buntin's score of 62.66 was just off their previous personal best score of 64.02, which they earned in the short program at the 2004 MasterCard Skate Canada International.

Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison

Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison, the young Canadian duo that made their way on to the Canadian Olympic and world team with two outstanding programs at the national championships in Ottawa in January, were awarded a new personal best score of 58.81 and are in seventh heading into Wednesday's free skate.

Dubé and Davison opened their program with strong side-by-side triple Salchows. They also included a double twist, an excellent overhead lift and a fantastic throw triple loop.

"We're excited to be here and perform in front of a Canadian crowd," said Davison. "We love the home crowd. It really felt great out there today."

Currently in first is the Chinese team of Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang, the Olympic silver medallists, who were awarded a total of 65.58, also a new personal best score.

Qing Pang and Jian Tong, also of China, are second with a score of 64.98, while Russians Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov are third with 63.04 points.

Marcoux and Buntin will skate second in the final group on Wednesday, while Dubé and Davison will skate third in the second to last group.