Golden reunion: Olympic medallists highlight Stars on Ice
Call it the Pyeongchang effect.
It really didn’t hit the members of Canada’s greatest Olympic figure-skating team, about just how appreciative the country was, until they stepped out to perform late last month on the first night of the Stars on Ice tour in Halifax.
“The ovation was chilling . . . thunderous,” said Meagan Duhamel, part of the Canadian gold medal in the team event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, and also bronze-medallist in pairs with Eric Radford.
It’s continued across the country.
Tonight’s penultimate Stars on Ice performance at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre is sold out.
“The reception has been incredible across the country with sold-out crowds . . . it’s so much bigger than in some past years,” said Kaetlyn Osmond, who followed up her Olympic team gold, and individual women’s bronze, with gold at the 2018 world championships.
“It’s a new experience. And very much a welcome one. I’m loving every single minute of it. It’s pure celebration,” added Osmond, by phone, in-between tour stops.
All seven Canadian medallists from four events in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be skating tonight on Blanshard Street, headlined by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who laid down a performance for the ages in winning their second Olympic ice-dance gold to go with their win at Vancouver 2010.
“The fan reaction [this year during Stars on Ice] has been incredible and heart-warming and really touching,” said Virtue.
“It still surprises me that every time we take to the ice there’s an eruption of applause. I wish I could thank each and every audience member personally. Having the opportunity to go across the country and celebrate with those who supported us every step of the way has been really thrilling and we’re so grateful. It has been such a special part of our post-Olympic story.”
Moir said the annual Victoria visit is a tour highlight among the skaters.
“Victoria is our favourite stop,” he said.
“It’s such a cool city with such a different coastal vibe than anywhere else in Canada. We try to get in a couple of rounds of golf and maybe ride bikes and enjoy the coast. Skating at Save-on-Foods Centre is always special for us because we get such great support and a lively crowd. It’s one of our more intimate settings. We like playing rooms like that. It’s always full and people bring a certain excitement.”
Tonight’s skaters include Virtue, Moir, Osmond, Duhamel, Radford and the other Pyeongchang Olympic team gold medallists Patrick Chan, the three-time world men’s champion, and Gabrielle Daleman.
“It was a special moment to be on top of the Olympic podium with all the members of the Canadian team,” said Osmond.
“When I later went on the podium for [bronze in] the single, it felt kind of lonely.”
Coming off the Canadian golden oldies rack tonight on Blanshard are three-time world champion and 1994 Lillehammer and 1998 Nagano Olympic silver-medallist Elvis Stojko and 2006 Turin Olympic bronze-medallist Jeffrey Buttle. Also skating are world championship silver-medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, along with two-time men’s world champion and 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic bronze-medallist Javier Fernandez of Spain.