There were the teenyboppers. And then there was the Empress. Together, they tell the story of what you will see in the women’s event at the Olympics in Beijing next year: quads, triple Axels and youth – except for that upstart Empress. The Empress is Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia, who hadn’t even made it out […]
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Jitters Hit Women in World Short Program
Jitters ruled the day. So many women had not skated in such a long time, and here they were at the world figure skating championships in Stockholm that some weren’t sure would happen at all. None of it went as scripted, except that Anna Shcherbakova ended up in the lead with a healthy 81.00 points […]
Patrick Chan, a Farewell Look
When I first met Patrick Chan, he was peering over the Hershey Centre rink boards from the ice with only his eyes in sight. He was 10 years old but looked eight, maybe less, at the Canadian national junior championships. As a juvenile, the category on the lowest rung, he took a bronze medal. His […]
Seguin and Bilodeau: not a medal but a win
Perhaps you could call the Olympic debut of Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau a happy ending to a pressure-packed road. Perhaps even more so a happy beginning. The fetching young team finished eighth in the pair free skate this week in Pyeongchang, and ninth overall, under the watchful eye of veteran coach Josee Picard. Picard […]
An emotional Olympic pair final
You can’t make this stuff up. No Hollywood writer could have conjured up such a load of emotion and tears and effort and heart as the Olympic pair final. It was epic. Bruno Massot looked so apologetic after he had doubled a triple Salchow in the short program the previous night. He felt as if […]
Keegan Messing, speechless
VANCOUVER Keegan Messing got the call late Saturday night, hours after the men’s final at the National Skating Championships. His coach, Ralph Burghart called him to tell him that yes, he was on Canada’s Olympic team and he’d better be ready to pack his bags for Pyeongchang next month. Because it was so late, Messing, […]
The men's short program in Vancouver
VANCOUVER From the mists of Vancouver finally emerged Patrick Chan. And he is shedding some rust. “It’s slippery,” he said, after he fell on his opening quad toe loop, then sliding unceremoniously on his side. Thinking on his feet, he added a triple toe loop to his triple Lutz, but then stepped out of a […]
The miracle of Elladj Balde
VANCOUVER You have your Patrick Chans, your Kevin Reynolds, your Keegan Messings. All good. But Elladj Balde stole the show in the men’s short program at the National Skating Championships Friday night. He expected nothing. Perhaps no more than a fond farewell. This is his final season as a competitor. He so wanted this season […]
Perfection cometh after the fall
VANCOUVER Close to perfection, judges seemed to say. Not far off it. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir claimed victory in the Latin short dance with a score of 85.12, and that is only .18 short of all they can possibly get if they max out their components and grades of execution. On the other hand, […]
Gabby Daleman taking no prisoners
VANCOUVER Forget the strep throat, the pneumonia, and all of the inflictions that have ever encroached upon Gabby Daleman’s life. The 19-year-old (she’ll be 20 on Sunday), powered her way through the women’s short program at the National Skating Championships on Friday, defying all of it, facing it squarely with her brown eyes. And she’s […]