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
Another Canadian man made world history on Friday night at the Skate Canada figure skating competition, but it wasn't two-time world silver medalist Patrick Chan.
Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., became the first man to land two quads in the short program, earning enough points to put him in second place behind seasoned competitor Nobunari Oda of Japan.
Chan made the crowd silent for all the wrong reasons, falling on his opening quad, falling on a triple Axel, then slipping onto his butt during an intricate footwork sequence. He ended up in fourth place, held up by his brilliant presentation marks, highest among the 12 men. Tops in the technical category was Reynolds.
American Adam Rippon, coached by Brian Orser, is in third place.
In practice yesterday, Rippon and Chan collided. Rippon skated the short program with a bruise on his face (from hitting the ice) and walked into the interview Friday night with his left shoulder in a sling.
Chan seemed none the worse for wear, perhaps a little winded after the incident, but said a combination of things led to his downfall. The dominoes began to fall when he missed the quad, causing him to lose confidence.
"The quad is a big jump and it's really important to me," he said. "It's a lack of experience, to be honest. ... It's part of the learning process."
Chan said he won't dwell on the incident.
Reynolds was able to make history because of an International Skating Union rule that allows two quads in the program for the first time. It was a rule tailor-made for Canada's quad king, who landed his first quad when he was 15. He's now 20.
When Reynolds landed the second quad, he threw his arms up into the air, and was a little bit off in a spin that followed, before he regained his composure and finished the program, to a partial standing ovation.
Reynolds may be out to make history again Saturday in the long program, because he's thinking of attempting a quadruple loop, a jump that has never been performed before in competition.
He said it depends on how well it goes in practice, where he draws to skate - he'd rather try it if he were first or second after a warmup - and whether he wants to aim to do well here and then at his next competition in France.
Reynolds has never competed at a Skate Canada before. The only other Grand Prix he has never competed at is the one in France.
Cynthia Phaneuf, the top-ranked Canadian woman here in the absence of Olympic bronze medalist Joannie Rochette, scored 58.24 points to win the women's short program.
Ksenia Makarova of Russia was second in the short program in the 11-skater field with 57.90 points while American Agnes Zawadzki was third with 56.29.