Vanessa James and Eric Radford sat in the virtually empty TD Place Arena stands on Saturday, watching as their rivals competed in the pairs free skate at the Canadian figure skating championships.
A day later, James and Radford found themselves having to defend their berth on Canada’s team for the Beijing Olympics.
The veteran skaters, who contracted COVID-19 just before Christmas, were awarded one of the two berths in pairs on Sunday, despite withdrawing from the championships in Ottawa after the short program. The decision drew the ire of some skating fans.
“The criteria was stated at the beginning of the season. And so, from the beginning until now, we all have the same opportunities to perform and score, and Vanessa and I posted the highest short and free program scores internationally, we had the highest placements,” Radford said from Ottawa. “Sport is about what you do on the field of play within the set requirements for the season.”
James and Radford, who teamed up last spring, pulled out of the competition Saturday after their fourth-place finish in Friday’s short program. They said they weren’t fully recovered to perform at their best.
“We think we made the best decision for us, so that we can be the best in a month when it’s the most important,” Radford said Sunday.
WATCH l That Figure Skating Show goes through Canada’s Olympic squad:
Canada, meet your Olympic figure skating team
8 hours ago
Duration 4:43
That Figure Skating Show goes through Canada’s Olympic figure skating team and speculates medal chances in Beijing. 4:43
The Canadian championships are part, but not all, of Skate Canada’s Olympic qualifying criteria.
The selection criteria, written before the season started, also includes scores and results from international events this season, the placement at last year’s world championships, and the potential for the best finish in Beijing based on the whole season.
“Unfortunately, with all sports, in an Olympic year when you have a national championship, a lot of people assume that is the end-all and be-all in the final determining factor,” said Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada’s high-performance director. “A national championship is always important and it’s important for athletes to be a national champion, to be a medallist. But when we did the assessment with our committee, we looked at all those factors … and not one is weighted higher than the other.
“If you look at the international season, Vanessa and Eric out of all our pairs teams had the strongest scores. Unfortunately, with a situation largely out of one’s control, with Omicron and COVID, they just weren’t able to complete the event. But we look at the body of work of all athletes and we want to make the best assessment for the strongest team we feel has the best ability for us at the Games.”
‘These Games will be extremely different’
The rest of the Canadian team selection was more cut and dried. Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro secured the other berth with their excellent skates in both the short and long programs that earned them gold.
Going to the Olympic Winter Games is just such a dream.— 2022 Canadian women’s champion Madeline Schizas
“Obviously with the climate of the world right now these Games will be extremely different … I just heard Paul [Poirier] say it’s different to not be able to hug your teammates and show them how excited you are for them. But it’s been a nice day for us and we’re super proud and excited.”
Keegan Messing and Roman Sadovsky are Canada’s men’s singles entries and Madeline Schizas earned the one berth in women’s singles.
WATCH l That Figure Skating Show recaps Messing’s 1st Canadian title:
Keegan Messing wins 1st national title, Roman Sadovsky takes silver
21 hours ago
Duration 8:32
That Figure Skating Show recaps the men’s program at the 2022 Canadian National Championships in Ottawa and discusses who likely made the Olympic team. 8:32
“Going to the Olympic Winter Games is just such a dream,” Schizas said. “I watched the 2010 Games in Vancouver. I watched Joannie Rochette there and since then it’s just been such a dream of mine.”
World bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were a lock for an ice dance berth, while Saturday’s silver medallists Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen, and bronze medallists Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha filled out the three spots.
When it came to the contentious pairs berths, some skating fans argued that silver medallists Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud were robbed.
Meagan Duhamel, who won two world titles with Radford, tweeted, with a broken heart emoji: “I am disappointed in my sport today.”
“The Canadian pairs all sucked all season,” Duhamel told The Canadian Press. “The only teams to do a strong short and strong long in the same competition is Evelyn and Trent and Kirsten and Mike at Canadians. And since no [pairs] team is a medal contender, we don’t need to pick based on potential.”
Radford, who won Olympic bronze with Duhamel in 2018 and gold in the team event, came out of retirement at age 36 to compete with James. The 34-year-old James is a Toronto native but competed for France, winning world bronze in 2018 with Morgan Cipres.
COVID-19 casts pall over Olympics
“[The season] has been up and down, but it’s always been progressive, we’ve showed improvement, our scores have been consistently quite high for Canadian skating, and we are still looking forward to reaching higher points and levels and positions in our skating, comparing ourselves to the best in the world,” James said.
“We’re saddened that we couldn’t compete at this competition … we wanted to show up and try our best, show sportsmanship and give it our all, and it just didn’t happen for us for the short program. It just solidified the fact that we are not prepared to do a great program that we need to show before going into the Olympics.”
The number of berths allotted to each country in each of the four disciplines depends on placing at the world championships the previous year.
COVID-19 has cast a pall over the Games less than a month before they open, with athletes such as Canadian men’s skaters Nam Nguyen and Stephen Gogolev contracting the virus recently.
Gilles and Poirier, who have their sights set on climbing the podium in Beijing, said they’re focusing on their skating preparation rather than fixating on the virus threat.
“You can just get wrapped up in it, so we just choose to be positive, this is a very exciting time for so many people,” Gilles said. “I think this is something that people really need in a time like this. We need to show the world that we can move forward and celebrate things that we love to do. So, we need to be positive about in all the things that we’re going into, and it’s going to be something to celebrate, not look at the negative.”
WATCH | Ice dancers Gilles, Poirier secure Canadian title:
Gilles and Poirier win Canadian ice dance title
1 day ago
Duration 7:43
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won by a convincing 12.59 points at the National Figure Skating Championships. 7:43
Radford said while being in quarantine for 10 days leading into the national championships was frustrating, he’s thankful the chance of catching COVID-19 won’t constantly be on his mind.
“It simultaneously was a really annoying and bad thing to happen because it didn’t allow us to prepare for this competition, but now compared to athletes that haven’t gotten it yet, we can be a little bit more at ease,” he said. “We’ll be very vigilant still. But I can tell you, from talking to other athletes [who haven’t had the virus], I know I’m more relaxed than they are at this point.
“We’re both feeling a small sense of relief that we’ve got that over with, and now we have a little bit more of a clearer and less stressful path as we train for Beijing.”
The Olympic figure skating competition begins Feb. 4 with the team event at the Capitol Indoor Stadium.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
