Women in Power: Canada’s Gold Medal Skate Team

Canada just won its first gold at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang in the Team Skate event. The event first debuted four years ago in Sochi, where Canada narrowly missed the gold and settled for the silver. Four years later, Canada took the gold with an insurmountable lead, ending up with 7 point difference between them and the second place Russians. This win was truly a team effort; every skater on the Canadian roster pulled their weight in securing the gold. And while the rest of this article will be dedicated to all of the female skaters on the team, Patrick Chan (men’s), Eric Radford (pairs), and Scott Moir (ice dance) deserve all the applause in the world for their performances as well. 

Meaghan Duhamel (Pairs)-  “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”

Duhamel, along with Radford, won back to back world titles in 2015 and 2016. They’re the second Canadian pair in history to defend their world title since Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul in 1957. During their 2015 season, they had an undefeated run, winning at both of their Grand Prix events, Grand Prix Final, and the Four Continents Championships. At Sochi in 2014, she won a silver along with the Canadian team in the figure skating team event.

She recently recovered from a herniated disc that she suffered at the 2017 World Championships. Coming into Pyeongchang 2018, she and Radford won bronze at the Grand Prix Final two months ago. 

During the team event, Duhamel and Radford placed second in the short program, just behind Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR), and earned 9 points for the team. However, they truly shined in the long program: Duhamel and Radford not only placed first and earned 10 points for team Canada, but they also scored a full 10 points higher than the second place pair from Italy (even though the score doesn’t technically matter as only the relative placement does, it’s still worth noting and applauding).

Kaetlyn Osmond (Ladies’ short program)- “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”

Osmond made history (along with Gabrielle Daleman) in 2017 when she took home the silver at the World Championships it was the first time two Canadian women had stood on that podium together (Daleman won bronze). Osmond has excelled in this sport despite having an injury plagued career. She had to withdraw from events in 2013 from a hamstring injury but still went on to win her second Canadian title in January 2014. She won silver in the team skate event with Canada in Sochi 2014, but then broke her right fibula later in the year and had to undergo two surgeries. After spending the 2015-2016 season relearning how to compete, she defended her national title, won a Grand Prix at Skate Canada International, and won bronze at the Grand Prix Final, all in 2017. 

During the team event, Osmond skated the ladies’ short program and placed third, helping Canada earn 8 points towards their total score. 

Gabrielle Daleman (Ladies’ free program)- “Play like you’re in first, but train like you’re in second.”

In Sochi 2014, she was the youngest member of the entire Canadian Olympic Team at 16 years old. At that time, she hadn’t even competed in a world championship yet. Daleman went on to win her first national title the following year. In 2017, she won silver at the Four Continents Championship, becoming the first Canadian woman to stand on the podium at that event since 2009 and made history with Kaetlyn Osmond at the World Championships by winning a bronze, like previously mentioned.

During the team event, Daleman skated the ladies’ free program and placed third, narrowly missing second place by less than 0.4 points in her total score, earning 8 points for Canada. At this point, Daleman had secured the gold medal for Canada before the final ice dance event. 

Tessa Virtue (Ice dance)- “Don’t be delicate. Be vast and brilliant.”

Tessa Virtue, along with her partner Scott Moir, has become a legend in the ice dance discipline. She and Moir won the world junior title in 2006, the silver medal in the senior world championships in 2008, and the bronze in 2009. Her early international success with Moir made them strong contenders for the gold in Vancouver 2010. And despite Virtue still suffering from immense leg pain that made a short walk a struggle, the pair won the gold with a tear jerking free skate in front of the home crowd and made history by being both the first North American team to do so, as well as the youngest ice dance team to do so; at the time, Virtue was only 20 and Moir was 22. A month later, she won her first world title with Moir. 

Virtue and Moir went on to win many titles in the following years. In 2014, they were part of the Silver medal team in the team skate event and also took home another silver in the ice dance event. She then went on a two year hiatus before making a successful comeback in the 2016-2017 season by gaining another world title as well as a win at the ISU Grand Prix Final. For PyeongChang 2018, Virtue and Moir were selected to be Canada’s opening Ceremony flag bearers as well as co-captains for the team skate event. 

During the team event, Virtue and Moir finished first in both the short and the free program, bringing a combined 20 points for team Canada’s overall score. For both events, their scores were well above the second place team; they’re absolutely incredible and untouchable. 

Each athlete is titled with the format: Name (event competed in team skate) – “favourite quote”

images taken from Canadian Olympics, Skate Canada, ET Canada, and National Post

• canada
• figure skating
• gold
• olympics
• tessa virtue