LOCAL SKATERS CLAIM BRONZE AT COMPETITION

The day before figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was assaulted at the U.S. Championships in Detroit, a pair of local skaters earned third place medals at their skill level.

Matt Buttrey, 17, of Scott City, and Sarah Booth, 12, of Marble Hill skated to the bronze medal at the novice level on Jan. 5.

They earned medals on Wednesday. The next day, a man brandishing a club struck Kerrigan after a practice session forcing her to withdraw from the competition.

Buttrey and Booth skated in the same arena and walked the same halls as Kerrigan and her attacker.

Buttrey said, "We warmed up in the same arena where she was mugged."

On the day of the attack, they were in the same building where the man clubbed Kerrigan.

Buttrey recalled: "We had just come from the Cobo Arena to the Joe Louis Arena when we heard about it. We could not believe it was true."

Following the assault, Buttrey said, security around the skaters tighten noticeably.

Booth said, "I was kind of scared. But my mom was usually around and I have lots of friends.

"I hope she hasn't done anything," said Booth of skater Tonya Harding. Harding's bodyguard and ex-husband have been named in the investigation. If Harding is innocent of involvement, Booth said, she feels Harding should be allowed to compete in the Olympics.

Buttrey agreed. But if she was involved, he said, "She should be kicked out."

Buttrey said in his experience Harding was "snooty" and had a "bad attitude."

As competitors at the national contest, they rubbed elbows with all the top skaters

"All the competitors stayed at the same hotel," Buttrey said. "With a competitor's tag we could go almost anywhere. All the competitors rode on the same bus over to the arena. I could have gone down on the ice and talked with Brian Boitano."

To qualify for the national competition, Buttrey and Booth first competed at the Midwestern Sectional Competition in early December at Indianapolis.

They placed second of the nine pairs in that competition.

"They take the top four to nationals," Buttrey explained.

"We skated a really good short program," Buttrey said. "But we were in seventh place. There were 13 pairs.

"Then we skated the best long program we have ever skated and pulled up to third."

Booth said the pair's death spirals and the split double twist and the lifts were right on during the performance.

"We usually skate consistently on the long program," Buttrey said. "But this was just better than normal."

That Wednesday was Buttrey's 17th birthday. "It was a really good birthday," he said.

Following their success at the national competition, the pair will take a weekend off. Then they have a new goal to pursue.

Buttrey and Booth compete at the novice level. This spring they plan to take the test to advance to the junior level. Olympic competitors compete at the next level.

"If all goes well we would like to try out for the Junior World's," Buttrey said. "That could mean we would compete in a foreign country."

At the junior level, Buttrey said, the rules change. The length of skating programs increases from three minutes to four minutes and limitations imposed at the novice level are lifted.

Ultimately, they said, competing at the Olympics is their goal. "It will take a while to get there," said Booth.

"But I'm pretty sure we can do it," Buttrey said.

Figure skating has enjoyed an increase in popularity in the United States. Buttrey said he read a recent poll that ranked women's figure skating fifth, ahead of hockey, and pairs skating 10 in popularity.

Booth said, "I think that's because it's graceful and all and it's athletic at the same time."