Diana Stellato-Dudek becomes the oldest woman to win the World Figure Skating Championships – A message for non-athletes

CNN
—

Deanna Stellato Dudek retired in 2001, hit by injuries and burnt out by the demands of the sport. This was before the birth of many of today's elite skaters.

But this week Stellato-Dudek accomplished the unthinkable. Together with her partner Maxime Deschamps, the 40-year-old retired athlete defeated competitors less than half her age to become the oldest woman to win the World Figure Skating Championships.

What's even more remarkable is that she achieved it in the pairs event. The event is a notoriously dangerous event in which the top female athlete is thrown onto the ice, lifted over her partner's head with one arm, and hurled more than 10 feet into the air, all accomplished while spinning. . About multiple times.

Stellato-Dudek said he hopes the historic win will be an inspiration to everyone, even if they aren't skaters, who think it's too late to pursue and achieve their goals.

“I hope this piece encourages people to never stop before reaching their potential,” she told reporters after winning the title Thursday night. “And I hope that that permeates not only into sports, but into other areas of life, such as work and professional careers.”

“I'm the oldest anywhere” – and I'm proud of it

Figure skaters, a sport filled with dangerous techniques and unforgiving injuries, often retire by their mid-20s.

That's exactly what Stellato-Dudek did. She had a great junior career as a single skater, where she won the 1999-2000 International Junior Grand Prix Final and a silver medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships.

However, she suffered a series of injuries, including a fractured left ankle, torn ligaments in her right ankle, and a severe injury to her lower back. So she retired in 2001 at the age of 17.

For the next 16 years, Stellat Dudek lived a relatively normal adulthood. She became a successful esthetician and got married. She no longer attempted the dangerous triple jump on international ice.

However, the pain of unfinished business continued to haunt her. What would have happened if she had left the sport too soon? What if she had more to accomplish in skating?

So she put on her old skates, learned how to become a pairs skater in her 30s, and took on the unfathomable challenge of returning to competitive ice.

While elite single skating often rewards young people and requires enormous stamina to pull off quadruple jumps and triple-triple jump combinations, pair skating comes with unique dangers. Female pairs skaters must have the strength to stabilize high in the air and enough control to land powerful throw triple jumps on thin steel blades. Failure to do either can have dire consequences.

Then there's the challenge of finding a partner. In 2016, Stellato-Dudek, a Chicago area native, moved to Florida and began skating with 2014 Olympian Nathan Bartholomew, who was looking for a new partner for his girlfriend. They won two national bronze medals as a pair until Bartholomew's injury ended their partnership in 2019.

Still, Stellat-Dudek told writer Beverley Smith, “I called every coach I've ever met in my life to see if they were potential partners.”

The search led her to Canada and Deschamps, a native of Quebec who was more than eight years her junior. He has also had a successful junior career and has been open about his own personal challenges, including living with his ADHD.

Stellato-Dudek left his life in Chicago and moved to Montreal to skate with a new partner. The gamble paid off, with Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps now 40 and 32 years old and unlikely to become world champions.

Becoming the oldest female world champion was “not something I set out to do when I returned to skating,” Stellato-Dudek said after her win. “But I knew that if I tried to achieve my dreams, it would inevitably happen because I'm the oldest everywhere.”

And being the oldest is perfectly fine for her.

“It's something I take pride in and I'm very proud of it,” she said. “I hope that many of our athletes will be around for a longer period of time.”

German skater Minerva Fabienne Hase, one of two top competitors for the world title, bowed to the pair after her winning performance. Hase, 24, was just a baby when Stellato-Dudek retired.

“Deanna, that's amazing considering your age. We all bowed before you,” said Hase, according to CNN partner CBC. “I have the utmost respect for you.”

Stellat Dudek is not finished yet. Her next big goal is to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics at the age of 42, where she could break her record again.

But first, she needs to become a Canadian citizen. When she and Deschamps first teamed up several years ago, she chose to represent Canada rather than the U.S., thinking it would be faster for her to obtain Canadian citizenship than for Deschamps to obtain U.S. citizenship. I decided to serve.

“I'm doing everything I can to be more attractive to Canada,” Stellato-Dudek said with a laugh after winning this week's short program, according to NBC Sports.

Nationality requirements effectively made it impossible for the pair to compete in the 2022 Olympics.

So “my goal is always 2026, if my body lasts that long,” Stellato-Dudek told Smith in 2020. “I'm too old for this, and in six more years I might be too old. So what's the difference? ”

It's not easy. According to NBC Sports, Stellato-Dudek already endures two to three hours of additional physical training each night to prepare his 40-year-old body for the next day's practice.

But her obvious intensity and voracious approach to daily training leaves little doubt that she will be ready for the next Olympics.

“She's a warrior,” her partner said. “Every day is the Olympics for her.”