Jason Burnett has a life as a magician waiting for him when he concludes his Olympic experience here in Beijing.
    
The Etobicoke resident pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat with his second routine at the National Indoor Stadium on Saturday. Sitting tied for 14th out of 16 after the compulsory routine, and needing to finish top eight to book a ticket to the finals, the 21-year old pulled it off.
   
His score of 41.20 in the freestyle routine tied for best overall, vaulting him all the way up the ladder to seventh.
   
"That routine, that was not a planned routine," he admitted afterward with a huge grin. "After the compulsory routine that didn't go very well at all, my coach, Dave Ross, said 'You have to do something bigger than what you planned.'
   
"I pretty much took my final routine, adjusted it a little bit and came up with something completely new."
   
In keeping with his magician theme, he disappeared between the two routines, leaving the competition area to return to a practice gym to adjust his elements for the freestyle.
   
He lost track of time, and had to hustle to get back on the floor.
   
"Dave came back and said 'You're up next,'" he said with a laugh. "We were jogging around the stadium as the Japanese competitor right before me was finishing his routine."
   
Despite having to rush, he nailed the final routine.
   
"You have to do what you have to do," he shrugged. "You can't get frustrated in there or nothing is going to go your way."
   
The slate is now clean for the eight finalists, with today's scores determining the order of appearance for the finals. Burnett will be second to compete in Tuesday's final.