- Joined
- Nov 7, 2007
They had not been able to do both well in the same program. It wasn't necessary then. Some one, like Joubert, would win with quads and some, like Buttle, would win with skating.
Ok, I felt I should address this point with more clarification.
It was important even back then to have both quads and footwork (....or actual, well-choreographed programs), particularly if you look at the larger context of Joubert and Buttle's world titles.
Joubert actually lost the long program in 2007 Worlds to both Lambiel and Takahashi. And it wasn't by razor-thin margins either--Takahashi had won the LP by about 6 points. The reason why Joubert won the gold overall was because Lambiel and Takahashi both botched their short programs, especially Lambiel, who skated dreadfully in terms of jumps. Joubert skated cleanly in the SP and decently enough in the LP and was thus able to hang onto his lead overall. If Takahashi and Lambiel didn't screw up in the short, they definitely would have beat Joubert soundly. It's also interesting that neither Lambiel or Takahashi were completely perfect in their LPs as well, but they still beat Joubert nonetheless (though admittedly, Joubert had watered down his LP somewhat). But 2006 Worlds, in my opinion, had already established the writing on the wall for Joubert vs. Lambiel--though both had quads, the judges were going to go for the more complete skater if they both skated well: Lambiel. In the LP, Joubert skated perfectly, while Lambiel had no triple axel and two-footed a jump--yet Lambiel still won.
As for Buttle's world title, it definitely wasn't clear during that season that a quadless man could even win the world title. Lambiel had been skating quite sloppily all season (but still with quads) but the judges had been scoring him quite generously nonetheless (e.g. 2007 GPF). Takahashi, meanwhile, was coming to Worlds after the breaking the world record at the 2008 4CC with 2 quads in his LP, completely thrashing silver medallist Buttle (and bronze medallist Lysacek, for that matter) there by literally 30 points. However, both Takahashi and Lambiel melted down in the LP at 2008 Worlds (additionally, Takahashi also Zayaked himself out of contention) and Buttle had been able to skate cleanly and take advantage. However, if you look at the way Takahashi and Lambiel were being scored that season, it was clear that Buttle would not have won the world title if Lambiel and Takahashi had been anywhere near decent in Goteborg.
Of course, coulda, woulda, shoulda. Joubert and Buttle deserved their world titles given what transpired, but it was Takahashi and Lambiel's lack of consistency that smoothed the way. If you really wanted to control your own destiny and win the gold back then, you would have showed up with both quads and footwork, like now. All things considered, it was clear that Takahashi and Lambiel were the judges' favourites and were going to win if they skated anywhere near decently (or in Lambiel's case at the 2007 GPF, even if he wasn't so decent)....but they, of course, didn't always.
What really changed the playing field were the events of fall 2008, when Takahashi severely injured himself and had to sit out for an entire season, while Lambiel abruptly retired after leaving Peter Grutter. After the two main guys with both quads and footwork were out of the picture...well, imagine how the playing field would look like now if both Chan and Takahashi (or Kozuka, I guess) suddenly retired.
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