Decorated Canadian pairs skaters Duhamel and Radford officially retire
Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, who teamed up for two pairs world championship titles and three Olympic medals over their careers, have officially announced their retirement from competitive figure skating.
The 32-year-old Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and 33-year-old Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., made the announcement in a Skate Canada release Wednesday. They had previously indicated they would retire some time after the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
“I am extremely thankful and grateful for the incredible journey that the sport of figure skating gave me,” Duhamel said in the release. “I'm thankful to my family, who were my first supporters and first fans; they instilled a work ethic in me that became the base of my success and they encouraged me to dream big.”
The pair helped Canada win the team silver medal in figure skating at the 2014 Sochi Games when the event made its Olympic debut. Four years later, they helped Canada win gold in the team event and took bronze in pairs at the Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, becoming the first team to complete a quad throw Salchow in Olympic competition.
Duhamel and Radford won four medals at the ISU World Championships, including back-to-back gold in 2015 and 2016. They also won a record seven Canadian pairs titles from 2012 to 2018.
“I could never have imagined that my skating career would be filled with so many incredible and unforgettable moments,” Radford said. “From the outdoor rink in Balmertown to the Olympic podium, there were many people whose unwavering support made it all possible and gave the journey so much more meaning.”
Duhamel and Radford are both currently living in Montreal and plan to stay involved in skating together through skating shows and seminars.