(March 5, 2004)

It was a successful outing for Canada’s Christopher Mabee at the 2004 International Skating Union (ISU) World Junior Figure Skating Championships, in a very competitive Men’s event.

Mabee, 18, of Tillsonburg, Ont., placed sixth in his qualifying group, fourth in the short program and fourth in the free skate to place fifth overall. He delivered strong performances throughout the week, especially in the short program and free skate. The judges rewarded Mabee for his impressive free skate with marks ranging from 4.7 to 5.5 for technical merit and from 5.2 to 5.5 for presentation.

Meanwhile, Shawn Sawyer was also making his way up the ranks after delivering an excellent free skate. Sawyer, 19, of Edmundston, N.B., placed seventh in his qualifying group, 14th in the short program and eighth in the free skate to place 10th overall.

Sawyer received good marks for his free skate, with his technical marks ranging from 4.7 to 5.5 and his presentation marks ranging from 4.8 to 5.5.

Winning the gold medal in the event was Russia’s Andrei Griazev. Two Americans, Evan Lysacek and Jordan Brauninger, captured the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

The results at the 2004 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships cap off a very positive season for both Mabee and Sawyer.

Mabee won two medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit – a gold medal at the Junior Grand Prix event in Bled, Slovenia and a bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix event in Bratislava, Slovakia. His impressive showings on the Junior Grand Prix circuit qualified him for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, at which he won the bronze medal.

Mabee went on to place sixth in the Senior Men’s event at the 2004 BMO Financial Group Canadian Championships in Edmonton in January.

Sawyer also won two medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit this year, capturing the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix event in both Bled, Slovenia and Sofia, Bulgaria. He also competed in the Senior Men’s event at the 2004 BMO Financial Group Canadian Championships, where he placed ninth.

Mabee’s fifth-place finish combined with Sawyer’s 10th-place finish at this event enables Canada to send two entries to the 2005 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, which will be held in Kitchener, Ont., and provides two Canadian entries for each of the eight ISU Junior Grand Prix events next season.