Keegan Messing finally did it. After nine seasons skating for Canada, Keegs won his first national title, doing it the hardest way possible: in a pandemic, with skates that didn’t arrive (at first), with his best friend suffering from COVID, with a trip from hell to get to the national skating championships in Ottawa. Somehow, […]
Roman Sadovsky
Keegan Messing: Of Chainsaws and Car Batteries
It’s true, these are different times, but nobody on the planet prepares for a world figure skating championship the way Keegan Messing does. Nobody. The rope-climbing, ladder-ascending, pole-clinging, Lazy Boy-toting, Husky-loving, old car-tinkerer and iceberg paddler of a mountain man from Alaska had to resort to new tricks during a pandemic. The gym was […]
A Challenge to the Finish
“Show me a garden that’s bursting into life,” go the words to the song “Chasing Cars,” a hypnotic tune done by the Irish/Scottish rock band Snow Patrol. And so goes Roman Sadovsky, who won the senior men’s event at the Skate Canada Challenge event on Sunday. After winning his first national title last year – […]
Light in a Dark Place: Seniors
Reigning Canadian champion Roman Sadovsky found it hard to watch himself, remotely, at home in front of a screen, competing at the Skate Canada Challenge – which being that the national championships have been cancelled due to COVID-19 – remains the closest thing to it. When Sadovsky performed his virtual routines about six weeks […]
Keegan Messing: Perfect. Well, Almost
His wedding day back in August up in Alaska doesn’t grow old for Keegan Messing. He’s still celebrating it. He won the men’s short program at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships with a routine dedicated to his wife, Lane, using the music from their first dance: “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. The one thought on […]
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 […]
Boys to Men
One thing leads to another. Keegan Messing finished fifth at the Canadian championships last season. That landed him on the national team. That meant he got some financial help for training. And it means that this season, he is actually a full-time skater. Skate Canada photo All of these upticks in his personal situation rolled […]
The Margaret Garrison show: 2015
In the early morning light – say 7 a.m – a battalion of choreographers showed up at the Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ont. Their job? To create moving, arresting, complicated routines for the sixth Margaret Garrison Ice Show. In one day. In all, 29 choreographers lent their talents to this show. This show held extra […]
Patrick Chan golden at Japan Open
The Japan Open has often been a cruel rite of passage for Patrick Chan. Not this time. Early Saturday, Chan won the men’s free skate with a powerful performance that had teammate Jeff Buttle looking pleasantly delighted and shocked in Team North America’s kiss and cry. This team included Chan, Buttle, Mirai Nagasu and Ashley […]