Local teen skating circles around the competition
Sherbrooke figure skater Sarahmaude Blanchard is no stranger to The Record. The paper has been following her career since her fourth place finish at the Provincial Championships in Rivière du Loup when she was just 11years-old. Now a seasoned professional at 17, Blanchard recently competed as a junior in the National Skating Championships held between Jan. 8-14 in Vancouver. She placed first in the short program scoring a personal best of 58.24 and ended the competition second overall with a combined score of 148.52.
The lead up to the nationals included a qualifying round where Blanchard skated against the best 48 skaters in the country in her category. The top 18
moved on to the nationals.
This was Blanchard’s third time competing at the Canadian Nationals. Her first experience was in Halifax in 2016 where she placed fourth. The following year in Ottawa she finished in 13th place.
This time around Blanchard came second to BC skater Olivia Gran by a margin of 1.13 points at the recent competition. The third place finisher was close to 10 points behind.
Blanchard and Gran have been on the circuit together for years and know each other well, Blanchard said. At the 2015 Canada Games, the roles were reversed; Blanchard won first place and Gran came second.
Blanchard is currently in the sports concentration program at Triolet High School.
Her days start around 7 a.m. with two hours of skating followed by off-ice work; ballet, dance, gym workouts.
The competition season begins in the summer and finishes in January after nationals.
Blanchard took last week off but will be back on the ice this morning to resume training and prepare for the next season, when she will begin competing at the senior level.
When asked about future plans, Blanchard said she has her sights set on the Olympics in four years.