Canada's Kevin Reynolds performs his short program in the men's competition at the Skate Canada International figure skating competition Friday, October 29, 2010 in Kingston, Ont. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul ChiassonPaul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
The postponement of the world figure skating championships to late April has given Canada's Quad King, Kevin Reynolds a lucky break.
Reynolds was named to the world team on Tuesday after the withdrawal of Canadian bronze medalist Shawn Sawyer, 26, of Edmundstun, N.B.
Reynolds, who was supposed to have given two-time world silver medalist Patrick Chan a tussle at the Canadian championships in January - at least in the jump department - had an off week, and finished fourth. Only the top three men qualify to the world championships.
Reynolds became the first man to land two quads in the short program during the Skate Canada competition in Kingston, Ont., last October. He also landed a rare quadruple-triple-triple combination at the 2008 Canadian championships.
His career seemed to be on an upswing when he won the short program at the Four Continents last season. This year, however, he finished a disappointing 11th.
The world championships were originally to have been held March 21 to 27 in Tokyo, but an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear disaster scuttled the event. It will now be held in Moscow from April 25 to May 1.
The delay also scuttled Sawyer's chances of competing. He decided to skate in the Stars on Ice tour across Canada that begins April 21 in Halifax and ends 11 stops later in Vancouver on May 13.
Canadian champions Cynthia Phaneuf of Contecour, Que., and Tessa Virtue, of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont. were also to be part of the tour. Both will compete in Moscow.
Reynolds just missed the Olympic Games in Vancouver by a small margin, and he intended to improve on his 11th place finish at the world championships in Turin, Italy, last year. Now he will get the chance,
Canada also lost another world team member when Canadian silver medalist Myriane Samson of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., was unable to recover from a knee injury that she'd been struggling with since the Four Continents Championships in Taiwan in February. Even with the delay, she could not be ready.
Instead, third-placed Amelie Lacoste of Delson, Que., will step into her place. Based on results from last year's world championships, Canada may send only two women.
"Amelie has been training well, and we know she is ready to step into the world championship with confidence," said Michael Slipchuk, director of high performance for Skate Canada.
"Shawn's decision was a difficult one for him," Slipchuk said. "His plans were obviously affected by the delay in the timing of the worlds' competition this year. We totally respect his decision to skate on the tour and wish him well."
Canada will field a team of 15 to Moscow, including Chan and Virtue and Moir.