Woe Canada, What A Tumble

My, what a difference 24 hours can make.
Just yesterday, Canadians were cheering the performances of the country's three men's entries at the Tokyo worlds. Jeff Buttle seemed like a sure medal bet. His training mate, worlds newbie Christopher Mabee, was on the fringe of podium contention. Even Emanuel Sandhu, just five points back, had to rank as an outside threat.
Then came today.
Splat. Splat. And splat.
Just like that, no medals for Canada. And one less men's berth for the red and white at next year's worlds in Sweden.
Ouch, indeed.
Let's start with some happier stuff. France's Brian Joubert, twice a world silver medallist, finally claimed the world crown, even though he placed third in today's free skate.
The story of the night was Daisuke Takahashi, who enthralled his home country fans with a marvelous free skate that included eight triple jumps and a quad. It was almost enough to push Takahashi to the top of the podium, but he fell a few points shy.
The final scoring: Joubert, 240.85 points; Takahashi, 237.95.
Two-time defending champ Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, who looked rather ordinary during the short program (he placed sixth), rebounded in a big way in the free skate. The Little Zebra totalled 233.35 points to claim the bronze medal.
The top three all landed quads in their free skates.
Now, about those Canadians ...
Buttle appeared to be an absolute medal lock with the impressive form he showed in the short program. But it all unravelled in the free and, two falls later (on a quad and triple Axel), the three-time Canadian champion had tumbled to sixth, matching his finish at the 2006 Calgary worlds.
Mabee, who looked so relaxed during his career-best short program, crumbled under the spotlight today. He wound up 13th.
Sandhu's slide was even more disastrous. He also tumbled to the ice twice and generally struggled through a free skate. He skidded all the way to 16th place — his worst finish at a worlds since 1999, when he placed 18th in Helsinki.
While Sandhu bravely spoke yesterday of still making a run at the 2010 Olympics in his adopted home town of Vancouver, it appears his career is about to hit a crossroads. If he can't land a spot on the world team next year — and there are only two of them now — it'll truly be decision time.
Maybe he can summon some of that old magic in Vancouver, where the Canadian championships will be held next year. And the same city where, a decade ago, Sandhu first really flashed some of his immense promise by winning the national junior title.
Seems like such a long time ago now, though, doesn't it?