GOTHENBURG—Canadian Jeffrey Buttle won the men's short programme at the world figure skating championships on Friday.
In a confident performance to Astor Piazzolla's Adios Nonino, Buttle took a surprise lead going into Saturday's final as several of the favourites, including defending champion Brian Joubert, made crucial mistakes.
Buttle, second in this year's Four Continents competition and bronze medallist at the Turin Olympics, scored the highest technical mark to end on 82.10 points, comfortably ahead of American Johnny Weir in second on 80.79 points.
Weir, coached by 1992 Olympic champion Viktor Petrenko and Galina Zmievskaia, turned in a near-faultless skate. Japan's Daisuke Takahashi was third on 80.40 points after a jump error.
Frenchman Joubert fell on his triple lutz and eked out just 77.75 points to stand sixth after a two-point deduction. An ISU official said France was appealing one of the deduction points, which was for the use of music with vocals.
Buttle said he felt "comfortable and confident" on the ice as he executed a clean short programme.
Rock Star
"We changed it before the nationals, the short programme, and ever since then it has been going really well," Buttle, who at 25 is a veteran in a sport increasingly dominated by youth, told reporters.
At last year's championships in Tokyo, Buttle finished the short programme in second place but fell to sixth in the final.
"I feel like I am in the same position as last year except that I am way more prepared and I am way more consistent," he said.
"I am going to go out there tomorrow more positive, more confident than last year."
Takahashi played to the crowd like a rock star with funky moves to a hip-hop version of Swan Lake.
The clear audience favourite, Takahashi landed the best presentation mark but his overall score suffered from an unbalanced landing on a triple Axel early on in the routine.
"I don't know what happened, but I was nervous today," said the Japanese. "I want to do a perfect and more exciting programme (in the final)."
Joubert, who skated to Sebastien Damiani's All for You, told Reuters he had used the same music at the last Skate Canada competition as well as the European championships and that no referee had objected then.
"It is okay because we are close, so nothing is lost. I just want to do my job," he told Reuters.
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