Skate Canada is part of exciting year for Osmond
Completing 2016-17 season without injury a first for motivated skater
A silver-medal showing at the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships is a gold-plated memory for Kaetlyn Osmond.
“It has been six months, pretty much, since worlds and it still hasn’t fully registered,” Osmond marvelled Monday while visiting Regina to promote Skate Canada International. “People keep saying that I’m a world silver medallist and half the time I don’t even believe what they’re saying.
“It’s really exciting and definitely something I never thought I’d be able to say in my life. I’ve worked really hard for it, and the Canadian fans — and every fan around the world who has supported me — have been a big help.”
The Edmonton-based Osmond’s medal-winning performance, which showcased the success of her comeback from a broken leg, was made even sweeter by the fact that she shared the podium with another Canadian. Toronto’s Gabrielle Daleman finished third in women’s singles.
“I think it brought a respect for Canadian ladies again,” Osmond said. “We haven’t had a consistent lady other than Joannie Rochette and a few others, but there haven’t been that many ladies. We’ve always had a man or a pairs team or a dance team, so this year I think it brought a lot of respect having two Canadian ladies for the first time ever on the world podium.
“Throughout the year, we kept capitalizing on how well the Canadian ladies have done. I can see even in the younger levels that the Canadian ladies are trying to risk more elements and trying harder things, trying to compete not just at the Canadian level but at an international level. That has really helped with getting a fan base to support the ladies more.”
The 21-year-old Osmond looks forward to the support from fans at the Brandt Centre, where Skate Canada International — the second of six events in the International Skating Union’s Grand Prix series — is to be held Oct. 26 to 29.
“When we’re on the ice, the audience isn’t there to celebrate the skater individually,” Osmond said. “They’re there celebrating the Canadians and the joy that skating brings everyone.”
Osmond finished first at Skate Canada International in 2012. The following year, she was fifth after the short program before withdrawing due to a torn hamstring. The broken leg, suffered in September of 2014, prevented her from competing in Skate Canada that year.
In 2015, Osmond returned to Skate Canada and placed 11th, before ascending to second last year.
“Skate Canada has always been a roller-coaster competition for me,” she said. “I won it my very first year ever competing there. That was one of the biggest highlights of my skating career. It was a Canadian crowd. It was the first senior Canadian competition that I had done. It was my first Grand Prix event and to win it was something that I’ll never forget.
“Then I had a few rough years, but I was able to get out there again last year and enjoy the moment of it. I didn’t feel nervous at all last year. I just wanted to enjoy skating and being in front of the Canadian crowd, and it worked out in my favour.”
Osmond is quick to voice her appreciation for the fan support.
“It definitely helps, especially in the roller-coaster years that I’ve had,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if I skate well or not. The Canadian crowd is always supporting me. It feels really good and takes a lot of the pressure off, knowing that I don’t have to skate perfectly to keep my fan base.
“At competitions, I feed off the crowd energy a lot, and being in front of a Canadian crowd when they’re so excited about watching me skate helps me a lot.”
Osmond’s successes last winter leave her excited about the 2017-18 skating season, which will include February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
“It’s definitely a good motivation for me to know that I have that year under my belt, the year before the Olympics, knowing that it is possible — that I can come second in the world and that I can compete consistently all year,” Osmond said.
“It was actually the first time I finished an entire season without being injured, so it was really exciting for me just to make it to worlds. Having that under my belt gives me a lot more motivation.”