After battling through the predictable/unpredictable trenches of ice dancing for 15 years, and a rash of ups and downs enough to startle a tornado, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier both stepped onto an Olympic podium in Milan last month and jumped up and down with utter, irrepressible joy.
“We wanted to stay on the podium forever,” Gilles said in a conference call in advance of the world championships next week in Prague.
Their Olympic bronze medals felt like – looked like – gold on that podium.
Gilles keeps hers in her purse, like a passport. It’s always with her. When Poirier returns from showing it off, he puts it down in some random place when he gets home. The bronze medals are still so fresh. They will find permanent homes eventually.
For the first time on that Olympic podium, they felt contentment, peace. They had never allowed themselves to feel content after a program. There was always the next competition to think about. What to improve? At the Olympics, they realized that what they did was enough. They were present in the moment, especially in the “not-team” event, skating the way they do at home. Hang the pressure.
That it itself might have been the impetus to call their competitive career a day, stop on a high, good feeling. It would have been natural to have stopped here. When they came home, they had a chat with their team. They have always led with their hearts and what their bodies want to do, Gilles said.
They had only two days off, and still tired after the Olympic over-stimulation, they started to train to see if their bodies were still cooperating. They are committed to a Stars on Ice tour right after the world championships, so there was that. After about a week they realized they felt excited about the idea of going to Prague, even through their fatigue. Prague became a yes.
But they are going to treat this event like a celebration of their skating, to enjoy what they have accomplished this season. They will skate with less pressure, and enjoy all they have accomplished. “We just want to make the most of the experience,” Poirier said.
And to give their fans – and new fans from the Olympics, an opportunity to see them skate one more time. One more “I’m Too Sexy.” One more “Starry Night.”
Whatever judging calisthenics goes on at the side of the rink, they will not care. “This event for us is a personal one,” Poirier said. “We want to celebrate and enjoy our skating and we don’t get to do that if we are worried about the outcome, and we’re worried about things that are not in our control.” While Poirier said they are happy there is currently a dialogue about judging silliness, judging will not be in the forefront of their minds in Prague.
In a way, they will be like Alysa Liu, skating for the love of it, Gilles said.
And although commentators remarked often that this season was their last, Gilles and Poirier have not said so. They are still leaving the future “open-ended.” In Prague, they do not want the mindset that this event will be their last, with a lingering wistfulness hanging over their heads. They will always be involved in skating in some way, whether it be shows or…
They started this past Olympic quad the same way: It was about how they felt, what new and cool things they could do creatively, with only committing themselves year by year – until the Olympic became so close, they were irresistible. They will skate with celebration in beautiful Prague and “leave it at that.” Gilles said.
“It’s very hard to predict how you are going to feel, [after an Olympics]” Poirier said. What will motivate you? What could make you feel more of that rare contentment? They had been satisfied with how they skated at the Olympics. Their main goal for the season was everything Olympic. And, depending on who you are, there is a risk of the post-Olympic drag. Having to go to another competition delays the post-Olympic malaise, they say.
They have been in a quiet place since the Olympics, at home with friends and family. It has been rejuvenating. They had moments to themselves.
“The last few weeks have been very peaceful in a lot of ways, in ways we weren’t anticipating,” Poirier said. “We honestly thought there would be more excitement, because it was very exciting. But there is kind of a level of content and peace after we accomplished that and it has been really nice.”
The sweetness of their biggest success – that Olympic bronze – is even more satisfying in that it happened towards the end of their career. “I kind of like the way we’ve done it,” Gilles said. “If you are successful in the middle of your career, then you are trying to chase that the rest of it. That’s really hard. That can be extremely successful, so for us to slowly build: we’re like the tortoise and the hare. [Gilles and Poirier being the tortoise, imagine.]
“We get there in the end,” she said. “And end up winning on our own time, that’s an example for any athlete coming up, and maybe feeling that they are not making it.
“You can still get there. It’s your own path, your own journey. I think that’s what we are extremely proud of.
“And we’re extremely happy that we got there.”
Their time in Prague next week? They will skate with more joy than they ever have in those 15 years. Picture them jumping up and down on that Milan podium. More of that, please.
Leave a Reply