Brian Joubert Claims Title After Disappointing Short

Warsaw, Poland. The last time the European Figure Skating Championships were held in Poland was in 1908 - almost a century ago. In those days this was a male only event – women were not permitted to compete.

Though many expected Brian Joubert of France to sail through both portions of this event, Joubert found himself the underdog after the short. In a most unexpected turn of events, the upstart Tomas Verner from the Czech Republic out-skated the popular Frenchman. Sergei Davydov from Belarus placed third.

Verner was the last skater in a field of 32 competitors in the short. The Czech Champion had the skate of his life, nailing every jump and showing solid footwork and spin sequences. The 20-year-old scored 76.56 points (41.114/35.42) surpassing his previous personal best score. Verner could not contain his elation in the Kiss & Cry when he realized he was in first place. “It’s hard to describe my feelings,” he said. “These are the European Championships and I drew last in such a good group. It was quite a lot of pressure. I tried not to look at [my competitors] so I didn’t know anything about what they did in their programs. I just concentrated on my work.”

Joubert landed a solid triple Axel, triple flip and three level-four spins in his performance to “Die another day” (James Bond soundtrack), but stumbled out of his quadruple toe loop, leaving him with no combination. The reigning World silver medalist earned 75.18 points (37.82/37.36). “I am a bit disappointed because I’m second after the short program for the first time this season,” Joubert said. “I had a big mistake on the combination jump and lost a lot of points. But the rest of the program was clean. It’s very close with Tomas Verner. It will be interesting [in the free]. We’re going to see a good fight. The most upsetting thing is this error that I didn’t do in practice.” Joubert said it was his goal to land three quadruple jumps in the long program.
Davydov earned a new personal best score of 70.14 points (37.47/32.67). “The third place after the short program is a big surprise for me,” he said. “I made a few little errors - the program could have been cleaner, but overall I’m still pleased with it.”

The Men’s free skating was a melody of strong performances and new personal best scores. Joubert won his second European title with Verner second and Belgium’s Kevin van der Perren a surprising third. It was the first time Verner and van der Perren had medaled at a European Championships.

Joubert’s performance to “The Unforgiven” and “Nothing Else Matters” by Apocalyptica plays Metallica was not stunning but was enough to win the title. He landed a quad-toe double toe-loop combination and seven triple jumps in his performance. The 2006 Grand Prix Final Champion received a level four for his change foot sit and combination spins. The 22-year-old earned 151.94 points (74.72/77.22) for the free, earning a combined score of 227.12 points. It was his sixth medal in as many appearances in this event.

“Now I know how to deal with it,” Joubert said. “I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t do the quad Salchow. It was very hard for me after Stéphane Lambiel withdrew. The French press didn’t stop writing that I’m the top favorite. Then I was second in the short, and the pressure was even higher.

Verner fell on his opening quadruple toe loop and tripled his planned second quad toe. He came back landing four more clean triples, but stepped out of the triple Axel. The 20-year-old, skating to “Lessiem Mystic Spirit Voices,” earned 136.13 points (64.33/72.80). Ranked third in the free, Verner placed second overall with a score of 212.69 points. “This is my first medal at such an important competition,” he said. “I’m disappointed with my free skating. I can do it better. It was a hard fight, because it was a new position for me (to be in first after the short). It was a lot of pressure, although I tried not to think about it. I was a bit upset, my choreography is better in practice”, he stated.

Kevin Van der Perren, the last skater of the evening, was the dark horse. Skating to “Pirates of the Caribbean”, the 24-year-old executed a quadruple toe loop and a succession of triple jumps but fell short on his spins and step sequences that were graded only a level one or two. However, he scored 137.67 points (68.57/69.10) and moved up from fourth to third with a total score of 204.85 points.

It has been 60 years since a skater from Belgium had medaled at Europeans - Fernand Leemans won bronze in 1947. The last time van der Perren stood on an international podium was in 2002 when he claimed silver at the 2002 World Junior Championships. “I think it (the second title) is nicer than the first one, because it was much harder to get it, even though the competition was weaker. Mentally, it was (hard), I think I never had so much stress during a competition. This was the best quad I’ve ever done” a delighted van der Perren said. “It has been a few years since I won a medal at an ISU Championship. I came here to be in the top five. I am most of all happy that I did a good performance. It has been awhile.”