Cory Smith - Sports reporter
Wednesday January 18, 2006

BARRIE - Two jumps, and easy ones at that.
In most competitions, Christopher Mabee nails the triple lutz, triple toe combination.
If you asked him to do it 10 times, he probably wouldn’t have a problem doing so.
But during his short program at the Canadian championships in Ottawa this past weekend, the 20-year-old skater crashed to the Civic Centre ice, ultimately dashing his 2006 Olympic hopes.
"Had I made that, everything would have been fine," Mabee said Tuesday after practice at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie. "I think I got too casual. When I got up I was in shock. To do that, it was like ‘Oh my God."
To put it in perspective, during his long program two nights later, Mabee reeled off eight triple jumps in a performance reminiscent of last year’s nationals in London.
But after tumbling from third to eighth after the short program, the Tillsonburg native couldn’t recover.
He finished with a score of 225.22, over seven points behind Shawn Sawyer and that close from joining Jeff Buttle and Emanuel Sandhu on a plane to Turin, Italy next month.
"It’s really disappointing. I’m still having a hard time getting over the fact I was so close," Mabee said. "Every time I think about it and watch the tape it takes me back and I think, ‘What could I have done differently?’
"I had people come up to me and tell me had I made (the jumps), I would have gone to the Olympics."
Mabee returned from Ottawa Monday night and was reluctantly, back on the ice Tuesday with coaches Doug Leigh and Lee Barkell.
The fall still haunts him as he gets ready for an ISU event next week, but Mabee is proud of what he accomplished.
He was third after the qualifying skate last Wednesday, putting him in a tenuous position for an Olympic berth, and after slipping to eighth on Friday, he nearly skated himself to the Games on Sunday.
He’s now the first alternate to go to Turin should someone be unable to go.
"I was completely happy," Mabee said. "I don’t want to be arrogant but I was amazing all week. I had a good qualifier and a good long program, and my short was good too, but there was the one jump."
Mabee will have a chance to redeem himself next week at the Four Continents championships in Colorado Springs.
"I have another international opportunity and I have another chance to show them I can do the triple lutz and triple toe," Mabee said. "I feel like I’ve learned a lot from nationals. Now I’m going to take the momentum and use it in international competition and show them I belong there."
Despite narrowly missing out on a trip to the Olympics in February, Mabee is preparing himself for the Vancouver Games four years down the road.
"We looked at the (Turin) Olympics as an opportunity to go four years before our original goal, which was 2010," Mabee said. "It’s all about building towards that."
In the meantime, he’ll be one of the thousands cheering on Buttle in Turin, Mabee’s best friend who he also shares coaches with.
"He’s definitely going to be a contender for a medal," Mabee predicted, "and hopefully he brings back the first men’s (skating) gold in Canadian Olympic history."