Canada’s Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps in first place at worlds
MONTREAL — Deanna StellatoDudek matched the home crowd’s energy with fist pumps and elated cheers at centre ice.
Maxime Deschamps called it “definitely the most emotional performance of my career.”
“It was really special,” he said.
Competing on home soil, the Canadian pair jumped into first place in the short program Wednesday afternoon at the world figure skating championships.
Stellato-Dudek, of Chicago, and Deschamps, of VaudreuilDorion, Que., set a personal-best with a 77.48 score while skating to Cirque du Soleil’s “Oxygène” as an ode to Montreal.
The partisan crowd of about 5,000 responded with a standing ovation for one of Canada’s top medal contenders this week.
“This was our best short program of the year,” StellatoDudek said. “It being the program that we chose as a tribute to Montreal, I’m very happy that we can give the audience a good ride.”
The pair shattered their previous best of 73.05 and took a solid lead over their competition heading into Thursday evening’s free program.
Defending champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan were second (73.53) ahead of Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (72.88).
“It was really a culmination of a year’s work,” Deschamps said. “We’ve worked hard all year, it hasn’t always been perfect but we gave ourselves objectives and each time we succeeded in reaching those.
“Today we were able to put it all together.”
They also overcame plenty of nerves to do it.
Though American, StellatoDudek is confident she’ll receive Canadian citizenship before the 2026 Olympics and treats Montreal as home.
The 40-year-old retired from the sport at age 17 due to a chronic hip injury before returning 16 years later and eventually moving to Quebec to join forces with the 32-year-old Deschamps.
They say Wednesday’s crowd was filled with family, friends and children they skate with at their rink in nearby SainteJulie, Que. — a couple of whom were flower girls.
“I am way more nervous for this event than I have been for others,” Stellato-Dudek said. “Because it is a home worlds, and because I know a lot of people in the audience, including some people who never watch me skate and they’re here watching me skate, so I want them to think I’m cool.”
Despite jumping into the driver’s seat, they say their work is not done.
“Tomorrow’s a new day, a lot can happen in the long (program),” Stellato-Dudek said. “We just need to focus on what we can do.”
Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps weren’t the only Canadians to get a boost from the patient fans who waited four years for the event.
Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., advanced with a ninth-place finish (64.83). Pereira called performing at home on this stage a “once-in-alifetime experience.”
Kelly Ann Laurin of SaintJerome, Que., and Loucas Ethier of St-Alphonse, Que., placed 14th with a personal-best 60.18 to also qualify for the free program.