From a very young age I loved skating, and from that young age I started to skate. I have written about skating before on this blog (Back on the Ice – For a Moment). I longed to be a graceful, whisp-y figure, spinning in circles, skirt flying all ways. I remember learning to glide forward on one skate, other leg behind me, arms wide open and reaching forward, when I was four. I felt like a princess. I was quite surprised to realize that my leg was really not up as high as my teachers, but still loved it.
I think my love of skating was partly because, in my town of 800 people on the Alaska Highway, there really wasn’t much else that kids did for recreation. But it was also it felt so good. So, when we moved to a rural logging town on the West Coast, with no skating rink that my mom would be able to take me to, I was pretty heartbroken. Later, when I moved to Montreal as a young adult, it was a balm to my heartache when I could put on tights and skirt and go skate on the ponds in the urban parks there. Looking back I’m proud of myself – skating on that rough pond ice, poorly maintained, if at all.
So when I heard this week’s World Championship win by Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, I knew I had to write about it. The duo won in Pairs Figure Skating – a laudable accomplishment. But what is record-breaking is that at 40, Stellato-Dudek is the oldest female world champion – officially CBC describes that she is “the oldest woman to win a world title in sports history,” and the accomplishment has made international news (see here, here, and here)
I am finding this story to be quite fascinating, as I suppose many others are. Stellato-Dudek was a rising champion teenage figure skater, when chronic hip injuries led to her retirement. She put her skates back on at 36 in response to a team-building conversation exercise: “What would you do in your life if you knew you couldn’t fail at it?”
I’m wondering what messages Stellato-Dudek’s story gifts us with? What potential might we be leaving behind, or leaving on the table? I don’t think I’ll be returning to figure skating lessons, and I’m honestly ok with that. But I do feel like this moment is one worth both celebrating and reflecting on.
When interviewed by the CBC, Stellato-Dudek commented “I hope it encourages people not to stop until they’ve reached their potential.” What is your reaction to Deanna Stellato-Dudek’s accomplishment? Do you think we should even be paying so much attention to her age? Do you find any resonances in your own life? Let me know? I would love to hear.
