(February 15, 2008)

GOYANG CITY, South Korea - Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., posted a personal best score on Friday to win the gold medal in ice dancing and Jeffrey Buttle of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., broke his Canadian record for silver in men’s singles at the Four Continents Championships figure skating competition.

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir led the field from the start and totalled 207.32 over the compulsory, original and free dances. Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the U.S., were second at 199.45 and their compatriots Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre third at 180.65.

Virtue and Moir’s free dance on Friday was performed to the soundtrack of the war-romance film Umbrellas of Cherbourg by Canadian composer Michel Legrand.

‘’We weren’t really focused on the marks but it is always nice to break the 100-point barrier in the free dance and 200 overall,’’ said Moir. ‘’But we left a couple of points on the table which we hope to improve on before worlds, In the free dance today, our last lift was a little off and those are points you don’t want to give away when you compete with the best in the world.

‘’Still it was our best performance this season for sure. What we were really going for this week was the performance aspect of the skating.’’

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., took fifth spot and Allie Hann-McCurdy of Ottawa-Orleans, Ont., and Michael Coreno, Delhi, Ont., were sixth.

In men’s singles, Daisuke Takahashi of Japan landed two quadruple jumps and won big with 264.41. Buttle was second with a Canadian record 234.02. His 148.98 in Friday’s free skate was also a national mark. Evan Lysacek of the U.S., was third at 233.11.

‘’It was definitely an improvement over Canadians,’’ said Buttle, the Olympic bronze medallist, who placed second at last month’s nationals. ‘’But it wasn’t without its mistakes. I still feel that I have something to push me in my training leading into worlds.

‘’This performance definitely helps. I was a bit disappointed after Canadians and I regained some confidence that I may have lost.’’

Vaughn Chipeur of Edmonton was seventh and Shawn Sawyer of Edmunston, N.B., ninth.

Competition ends Saturday with the women’s free skate. Joannie Rochette of Ile-Dupas, Que., was third after Thursday’s short program.

SCOREBOARD
Friday’s leading results at the Four Continents Championships figure skating competition at Goyang City, South Korea:

MEN
Final: 1. Daisuke Takahashi, Japan, 264.41; 2. Jeffrey Buttle, Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., 234.02; 3. Evan Lysacek, U.S., 233.11; 7. Vaughn Chipeur, Edmonton, 196.57; 9. Shawn Sawyer, Edmunston, N.B., 187.18.

ICE DANCING
Final: 1. Tessa Virtue, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, Ilderton, Ont., 207.32; 2. Meryl Davis and Charlie White, U.S., 199.45; 3. Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, U.S., 180.65; 5. Kaitlyn Weaver, Waterloo, Ont., and Andrew Poje, Waterloo, 174.36; 6. Allie Hann-McCurdy, Ottawa-Orleans, Ont., and Michael Coreno, Delhi, Ont., 164.02.