The 2024-25 figure skating season is crucial for Canadian athletes as they prepare for the 2026 Olympics. The season culminates with the world championships in Boston, followed by a shortened off-season. Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, defending world champions, aim to become the first Canadian pair to achieve back-to-back titles.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps perform during the exhibition gala at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Sunday, March 24, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi As the calendar flips to 2025, the countdown to the 2026 Olympics begins for Canada ’s top figure skaters.“We’re one year from the Olympics — I look at it that way,” said Skate Canada high-performance director Mike Slipchuk .
“A year from now all we have left is nationals, and then we’re in Italy.” The 2024-25 figure skating season, culminating with the world championships this March in Boston, will give Slipchuk and the Canadian team a sense of where we’re at.' After that comes an intense and shortened off-season as athletes prepare for the Milan-Cortina Games, beginning Feb. 6, 2026. “The clock is ticking,” Slipchuk said. “It’ll be about ensuring they have the right plan in place to be at their best when they get to Milan.”Will Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps repeat as world champions? They’ll aim to become the first Canadian pair to achieve the feat since Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford went back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps struck gold in both Grand Prix assignments after their triumph in Montreal last year, but four teams posted higher scores during the GP season. They also withdrew from the Grand Prix Final — the top competition of the first half of the season — while Deschamps recovered from an illness. Slipchuk is confident they’ll return to their best with the Canadian championship in Laval, Que., approaching on Jan. 14-19. The pair can finally focus on throws, lifts and jumps instead of immigration after American-born Stellato-Dudek gained Canadian citizenship in December. The 41-year-old is now eligible to represent Canada at the Olympics. 'Every year they become a bit stronger, they refine certain elements,” Slipchuk said. “They need to use the next two months .
Figure Skating Olympics Canada Deanna Stellato-Dudek Maxime Deschamps 2026 Olympics Mike Slipchuk
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