Jeffrey Buttle

Jeffrey Buttle

Buttle on the podium at the 2008 World Championships
Personal information
Country represented Canada
Born September 1, 1982
Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario, Canada
Home town Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Former coach Lee Barkell, Rafael Arutyunyan, Doug Leigh, Wendy Philion
Choreographer David Wilson, Linda Garneau
Skating club Sudbury SC
Former training locations Barrie, Ontario
Lake Arrowhead, California
Retired September 10, 2008
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 245.17
2008 Worlds
Short program 83.85
2008 Four Continents
Free skate 163.07
2008 Worlds

Jeffrey Buttle (born September 1, 1982) is a Canadian figure skater. He is the 2006 Winter Olympics bronze medalist, the 2008 World champion, the 2002 and 2004 Four Continents champion and the 2005-2007 Canadian champion. On March 22, 2008, Buttle became the first Canadian man since Elvis Stojko in 1997 to win the World Title. He announced his retirement from competitive skating on September 10, 2008.[1][2][3]

Personal life

Buttle was born in Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario and raised in Sudbury.[1] During his career, he lived in Barrie, Ontario.[4]

He attended École Don Bosco, a French-language elementary school. While Buttle's family is not French-Canadian, Buttle attended French language schools as a child and is bilingual in English and French.[5] He studied chemical engineering at the University of Toronto part-time before taking time off to focus on his skating.[6]

Buttle is gay and married Justin Harris in February 2014.[7] Buttle currently plays ice hockey for a team in the Toronto Gay Hockey Association.[8][9]

Career

Buttle began skating at age two and competing at age six.[10] He did competitive ballet to improve his skating.[10][11] Buttle also competed in ice dancing with his elder sister, Meghan.[10] He trained at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario.[5]

Early career

Buttle won the silver medal on the junior level at the Canadian Championships in 1998. The next year, he placed in the top ten at his first senior nationals. He rose steadily through the ranks, gaining experience on the junior level. He made his senior international debut in the 2001–2002 season, making his mark immediately by winning the silver medal at the 2001 NHK Trophy behind Takeshi Honda. At the Canadian Championships, Buttle made his first run on the podium and placed third. It earned him a trip to Korea for the Four Continents, where he won his first gold medal.[3][12]

Buttle's bronze medal finish at Nationals was not enough for him to be qualified as an alternate to the Canadian 2002 Olympic figure skating team. He hadn't met Canadian Olympic Association criteria.[13] Silver medalist Emanuel Sandhu withdrew from the competition while Buttle could not replace him.[14] Instead, Buttle went to the 2002 Worlds and placed high enough to earn Canada two spots to the next World Championships.[3][15]

The next season, Buttle repeated his podium finish at Nationals, but was unable to defend his title at Four Continents. He worked to turn things around in the 2003–2004 season. He won his first Grand Prix gold medal at 2003 NHK Trophy, followed by his second silver, at 2003 Skate Canada.[3] Buttle qualified for the Grand Prix Final, but was forced to withdraw.[16][17] After that setback, he had a disappointing Nationals and did not earn a spot to Worlds. Buttle was instead sent to the Four Continents, which he won for the second time.[18][19] Buttle spent that summer training in Lake Arrowhead with Rafael Arutyunyan,[20] who would remain as his secondary coach with Lee Barkell.[6][21] He recovered in the 2004–2005 season. He qualified for the Grand Prix Final a second time and won the silver medal.[22] He went on to win his first National title. He finished the year with a silver medal at the 2005 Worlds.[3]

Senior success

Buttle and Evan Lysacek performed a throw jump at the 2008 Four Continents exhibition gala
Buttle performs a Lunge at the 2007 Skate Canada.

In the 2005–2006 Olympics season, Buttle won the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard and came in second at the 2005 Skate Canada.[23] He had a wardrobe malfunction at Skate Canada when his pants split during his performance.[6][24] With a gold and a silver medal, he qualified for the 2005–2006 Grand Prix Final and captured his second consecutive silver medal at that competition.[25] He went on to win his second National title at the 2006 Canadian Championships and went into the Olympics as the reigning World silver medalist. While not a favorite to win, he was a favorite to medal.[26]

At the Olympics, Buttle's short program left him in sixth place going into the free skate. Two days later, during the free skate, Buttle fell on his attempt at a quad toe jump and then put a hand down on the ice after a triple axel, where he ended up losing to Evgeni Plushenko from Russia. In the free skate, he scored a personal best and place second in the segment, third overall, winning Canada's first bronze medal in men's figure skating since Toller Cranston in 1976. Buttle later said that he kept thinking of winning a medal in his short program but later focused on simply enjoying himself in the free skate program, and it paid off.[26]

After the Olympics, Buttle went on to the 2006 Worlds, held in Calgary. He placed sixth.[3]

Buttle withdrew from the 2006 Grand Prix series due to a stress fracture in his back.[27][28] He began his season at the 2007 Canadian Championships, where he won his third consecutive national title.[29] After Nationals, Buttle went on to the 2007 Four Continents in Colorado. He was the leader after the short program, and became the first male under the Code of Points system to gain level fours on all spins and footwork. A free skate in which he only did a double axel without combination and a single on the second attempt left him with the silver medal, behind American Evan Lysacek.[3][30][31]

Buttle then competed at the 2007 Worlds. In his second international competition of the season, Buttle was second after the short program with a new personal best. He placed eighth in the free skate, dropping down to sixth place overall.[32] His placement, combined with that of Christopher Mabee, earned Canada two spots to the 2008 World Championships.

For the 2007–2008 season, Buttle started off slow, placing third and fourth at his two Grand Prix events.[33] At Nationals, despite taking the lead after the short program, he ended up losing his title to a rising star Patrick Chan. At the 2008 Four Continents, after a third place finish in the short program, Buttle went on to place second in the long and consequently won the silver medal.[34]

Buttle (left) during the awarding of the "ISU small medals" for the men's free skate during the 2008 World Championships closing banquet.

At the 2008 Worlds, Buttle placed first in the short program. He then went on to deliver a personal best performance to win the gold medal by a 13.95 point margin over the defending world champion, France's Brian Joubert.[1][35] Following his win at Worlds, Buttle appeared as a guest on many TV shows including CBC's Air Farce Live.[36][37]

Assigned to the 2008 Skate Canada and 2008 Cup of China for the 2008-2009 season, Buttle prepared a new short program to "M.A.Y. in the Backyard" (Ryuichi Sakamoto) and a new free program to "Eclogue" (Gerald Finzi).[38] However, he announced his retirement from competitive skating on September 10, 2008, saying that he had achieved his goals in skating, and competing was no longer in his heart.[2][39] He represented the Sudbury Skating Club throughout his career.[9]

Skate Canada published a Jeffrey Buttle Tribute Book on December 15, 2008.[40][41] A second book about Buttle, Jeffrey Buttle Artist Book chapter TWO, was published in 2009 in Japan.[42] Buttle served as the athlete representative on the Skate Canada Officials Advisory Committee.[34][36]

Buttle acted as the Athlete Ambassader for the 2010 and 2011 Canadian Nationals.[43] On November 15, 2012, Skate Canada announced he would be inducted into Skate Canada Hall of Fame in the athletic category.[44][45]

Post-competitive career

Buttle has toured with Canadian Stars on Ice since his eligible days, and continued to skate in shows after his retirement from amateur competition. He appeared in the 2009 US "Smuckers Stars on Ice" tour and has skated in several shows in China, Japan, Korea, and Europe.[46][47][48][49][50][51][52] He participates in a pro-am competition in Japan every year.[9][53]

In addition to his skating, Buttle works as a choreographer.[9][54] His past and current clients include:

Also, he has choreographed ensemble numbers for Stars on Ice and Holiday Festival on Ice, and has worked as part of the choreography team on the Canadian TV competition show Battle of the Blades.[48][49][7][68]

Programs

Buttle performs his exhibition Personal Jesus at the 2008 Canadian Stars on Ice in Halifax.
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2007–2008
[69][70][71]
2006–2007
[71][72][4]
2005–2006
[71][73][74][75]
2004–2005
[71][76][77]
2003–2004
[71][78][79]
2002–2003
[71][80]
2001–2002
[71][81]
2000–2001
[82]

Competitive highlights

Buttle (center) with other medalists at the 2008 World Championships.
International[3]
Event 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08
Olympics 3rd
Worlds 8th 15th 2nd 6th 6th 1st
Four Continents 1st 4th 1st 2nd 2nd
Grand Prix Final WD 2nd 2nd
GP Bompard 1st
GP Cup of China 1st
GP Cup of Russia 4th
GP NHK Trophy 2nd 5th 1st
GP Skate Canada 7th 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd
Bofrost Cup 2nd
Karl Schäfer 3rd
Nebelhorn 7th 2nd
International: Junior[3]
Junior Worlds 7th
JGP China 4th
JGP Germany 6th
JGP Japan 6th
JGP Slovenia 4th
JGP Ukraine 3rd
National[3][4]
Canadians 2nd J. 10th 6th 9th 3rd 2nd 3rd 1st 1st 1st 2nd
GP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix; J. = Junior level; WD = Withdrew
Team events[3][83][84]
Event 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Japan Open 2nd T
(2nd P) 		2nd T
(6th P) 		1st T
(4th P) 		2nd T
(3rd P) 		2nd T
(5th P) 		2nd T
(5th P)
T = Team result; P = Personal result; Medals awarded for team result only.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Jeff Buttle wins world figure skating title". CBC Sports. March 22, 2008. Archived from the original on March 26, 2008.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Jeffrey Buttle retires from figure skating". CBC Sports. September 10, 2008. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 "Competition Results: Jeffrey BUTTLE". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "National teams: Team profiles - Jeffrey Buttle: 2006/2007". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Athlete Profile - Men - Jeffrey Buttle". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on July 5, 2006.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Kempf, Susanne; Flade, Tatjana (2006). "Jeffrey Buttle interview, part II". AbsoluteSkating.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Smith, Beverley (May 20, 2014). "Jeff Buttle's creative ideas come alive on the Stars on Ice tours" (Press release). Skate Canada. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ Campbell, Ken (December 6, 2012). "It's Never Too Late". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Young, Laura E. (December 27, 2012). "Buttle busier than ever on the ice". The Sudbury Star.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Kempf, Susanne; Flade, Tatjana (2006). "Jeffrey Buttle interview, part I". AbsoluteSkating.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (June 3, 2011). "The Inside Edge with Sarah and Drew - June 3". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ Mittan, Barry (January 29, 2003). "Jeffrey Buttle: Here comes the judge". GoldenSkate.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012.
  13. ↑ Smith, Beverley (January 24, 2002). "Buttle makes most of opportunity". The Globe and Mail.
  14. ↑ "Sandhu looking past roller-coaster season". The Globe and Mail. Canadian Press. March 8, 2002.
  15. ↑ "Buttle to Make World Debut" (Press release). Skate Canada. February 27, 2002. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Canada to be well-represented in ISU Grand Prix Final" (Press release). Skate Canada. December 1, 2003. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Sandhu captures first ISU Grand Prix title" (Press release). Skate Canada. December 16, 2003. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Skate Canada announces teams for Worlds, Four Continents events" (Press release). Skate Canada. January 11, 2004. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Canadian skaters successful at 2004 ISU Four Continents Championships" (Press release). Skate Canada. January 26, 2004. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  20. ↑ Elfman, Lois (August 27, 2013). "Legendary Ice Castle rink to close its doors". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Record five Canadian entries qualified for ISU Grand Prix Final" (Press release). Skate Canada. November 29, 2004. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Rochette, Buttle capture medals at ISU Grand Prix Final" (Press release). Skate Canada. December 20, 2004. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Buttle, Marcoux and Buntin capture medals in Paris" (Press release). Skate Canada. November 21, 2005. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Sandhu claims gold at Skate Canada". TSN. Canadian Press. October 29, 2005. Archived from the original on September 19, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Canadian skaters capture two medals at the ISU Grand Prix Final" (Press release). Skate Canada. December 10, 2005. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Buttle skates to bronze in free-skate". TSN. Canadian Press. February 16, 2006. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007.
  27. ↑ "Buttle withdraws from 2006 HomeSense Skate Canada International" (Press release). Skate Canada. October 16, 2006. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014.
  28. ↑ Starkman, Randy (January 10, 2007). "Buttle battles back to the ice". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014.
  29. ↑ Starkman, Randy (January 21, 2007). "Breathless Buttle wins third men's title". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  30. ↑ Walker, Elvin (February 8, 2007). "Buttle leads men in Colorado Springs". GoldenSkate.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012.
  31. ↑ Walker, Elvin (February 10, 2007). "Lysacek captures second Four Continents title". GoldenSkate.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012.
  32. ↑ "Buttle finishes sixth at world championships in Tokyo" (Press release). Skate Canada. March 22, 2007. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Joannie Rochette wins the bronze medal at ISU Grand Prix" (Press release). Skate Canada. November 25, 2007. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Mittan, Barry (May 31, 2009). "Buttle bounces back". GoldenSkate.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012.
  35. ↑ "Buttle on top of the World at 2008 ISU World Figure Skating Championships" (Press release). Skate Canada. March 22, 2008. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 "Biography". Official website of Jeffrey Buttle. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012.
  37. ↑ Smith, Beverley (April 26, 2008). "Buttle still living the dream". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  38. ↑ Nealin, Laurie (July 16, 2008). "Buttle preparing new programs in California". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014.
  39. ↑ "World Champion Jeffrey Buttle retires from competitive figure skating" (Press release). Skate Canada. September 10, 2008. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Media release: Jeffrey Buttle tribute book on-sale now!" (PDF) (Press release). Skate Canada. December 15, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2011.
  41. ↑ "Jeffrey Buttle tribute book on-sale now" (Press release). Skate Canada. December 15, 2008. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  42. ↑ "ジェフリー・バトル　アーティストブック chapter TWO メイキング・ダイアリー" [behind the scenes of Jeffrey Buttle Artist Book chapter TWO] (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4-05-404279-7. Archived from the original on September 1, 2014. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  43. ↑ "Jeff Buttle joins the 2011 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships lineup as the Athlete Ambassador" (Press release). Skate Canada. November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on September 17, 2011.
  44. ↑ "Skate Canada Hall of Fame welcomes six new members" (Press release). Skate Canada. November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012.
  45. ↑ "Buttle, Pockar to be inducted into Skate Canada Hall of Fame". Skate Canada (TSN). November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  46. ↑ "News & Updates". Official website of Jeffrey Buttle. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  47. ↑ Smith, Beverley (March 12, 2009). "Buttle busy, even in retirements". The Globe and Mail.
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Elfman, Lois (November 24, 2010). "Buttle joins "Stars on Ice" creative team". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Vernon, Nadin (February 23, 2011). "Jeffrey Buttle: "I really enjoy the process of making up programs"". AbsoluteSkating.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  50. ↑ Wang, Fannie X.F. (August 24, 2012). "Artistry on Ice: Red Temptation". AbsoluteSkating.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013.
  51. ↑ "Intimissimi on ice - OPERAPOP". AbsoluteSkating.com. December 24, 2014. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014.
  52. ↑ Pascal, Randy (December 29, 2014). "Buttle adjusting from life as elite international competitor". NorthernLife.ca. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014.
  53. ↑ "Japan Open Figure Skating Championships". GoldenSkate.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 Smith, Beverley (December 8, 2008). "Buttle turns to choreography". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  55. ↑ Brannen, Sarah; Meekins, Drew (June 23, 2014). "The Inside Edge: Choreographers take spotlight". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 Elfman, Lois (September 6, 2012). "Busy Buttle deftly juggles dual career paths". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013.
  57. ↑ "Alaine CHARTRAND: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. March 22, 2014. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014.
  58. ↑ "Who will be the men's breakout stars of 2014-15?". IceNetwork. August 25, 2014. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  59. ↑ Smith, Beverley (October 28, 2011). "World champions tumble at Skate Canada". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011.
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3 60.4 Brannen, Sarah (August 28, 2013). "How to succeed as a young choreographer". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  61. ↑ "Yuzuru HANYU". International Skating Union. October 5, 2014. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014.
  62. ↑ Luchianov, Vladislav (July 23, 2014). "Korpi ready to return following surgery on Achilles". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  63. ↑ "'Caravan' y 'Las cuatro estaciones' acompañarán a Sonia Lafuente esta temporada". Hielo Español (in Spanish). October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014.
  64. ↑ Slater, Paula (July 11, 2014). "No more "cute factor" for Canada's Nam Nguyen". GoldenSkate.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
  65. ↑ Thayer, Jacquelyn (June 26, 2013). "Paul and Islam Make a Home in Detroit". ice-dance.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015.
  66. ↑ "Lauren WILSON". International Skating Union. July 29, 2007. Archived from the original on January 1, 2010.
  67. ↑ "Yea-Ji YUN". International Skating Union. April 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013.
  68. ↑ Hopper, Donna (December 7, 2014). "10 of the best ring in the season (25 photos)". SooToday.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014.
  69. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008.
  70. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007.
  71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 71.2 71.3 71.4 71.5 71.6 "Programs". Official website of Jeffrey Buttle. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010.
  72. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 10, 2007.
  73. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006.
  74. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on December 18, 2005.
  75. ↑ "National teams: Team profiles - Jeffrey Buttle: 2005/2006". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on June 10, 2006.
  76. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 4, 2005.
  77. ↑ "National teams: Team profiles - Jeffrey Buttle: 2004/2005". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on March 23, 2005.
  78. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004.
  79. ↑ "National teams: Team profiles - Jeffrey Buttle: 2003/2004". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on March 26, 2004.
  80. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 18, 2003.
  81. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 13, 2002.
  82. ↑ "Jeffrey BUTTLE: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 25, 2001.
  83. ↑ "Kinoshita Group Cup Japan Open 2013". Japan Skating Federation Official Results & Data Site. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013.
  84. ↑ "Kinoshita Group Cup Japan Open 2014". Japan Skating Federation Official Results & Data Site. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jeffrey Buttle.