Coquitlam figure skater Kevin Reynolds was not expected to compete in the team event at the Sochi Olympics last weekend.
But when Patrick Chan dropped out of the contest so the defending world men's singles champion could rest ahead of the individual skating event, Reynolds got the call to fill in.
And the 23-year-old did not disappoint.
He posted Canada's best performance in the team event, perfectly executing three quad jumps for a 167.92 total segment score. His efforts bolstered Canada to a second place finish behind Russia (168.92) and ahead of the United States (165.85).
Sunday was Reynolds first Olympic event and his only international competition this season, after being sidelined with skate issues for the duration of the Grand Prix season. For most of the year, the Canadian skater, who was born in North Vancouver, has had difficulty finding a boot that fits properly.
"I'm feeling really good after this performance," Reynolds told CTV News. "Considering that I didn't have any experience in the first half of the Grand Prix season and only national championships as a precursor to this, I'm very, very happy that I was able to get a relatively strong performance here, the first time at Olympic Games."
Reynolds finished behind Russian veteran Evgeni Plushenko, who helped the host country take its first gold medal of the 2014 Games. The team event was Plushenko's first international competition since his silver-medal performance in Vancouver in 2010.
Reynolds will be back in action again on Thursday at 7 a.m. (PST) competing in the men's figure skating short program, along with fellow North Van native Liam Firus.
