Patrick Chan, Virtue and Moir to skip world championships
Canada sending 11 skaters to event in Japan
Patrick Chan will not be skating for a fourth consecutive figure skating world championship.
Neither the Toronto native nor Canadian ice dance greats Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were on the list of athletes competing at the worlds in Japan later this month released by Skate Canada on Monday.
Chan took home a silver medal at the Sochi Olympics, and hinted afterwards that the world championships wouldn't be on his agenda.
Ice dance champs Davis, White also not going to worlds
Olympic gold medalist ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White will not compete at the world championships later this month.
As far as their competitive future beyond worlds, White says in a news release that "we will leave our options open."
Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton will take their spot after finishing fifth at U.S. Championships in January. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, who were fourth, are sidelined because Hubbell needs surgery on a torn labrum in her left hip.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates and siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani, who both finished in the top 10 at the Sochi Games last month, will also represent the United States in ice dance.
- The Associated Press
It was even more of a certainty that Virtue, of Ilderton, Ont., and Moir, of London, Ont., wouldn't attend. The 2010 Olympic champions in ice dance are likely done as far as competitive skating is concerned.
Virtue and Moir came second in Sochi to American rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White, with whom they share a coach. After the Sochi competition, the Canadian duo said they sometimes felt Russian coach Marina Zoueva wasn't always fully in their corner this season.
Chan, and Virtue and Moir, were also part of Canada's silver-medal effort in the inaugural Olympic team competition in figure skating.
Canada will be sending 11 skaters to the world championships in Saitama beginning March 24.
The withdrawals leave Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., as the only medallists from last year's world championships. The pair won bronze at the London, Ont., event.
Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., and Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, Nfld., will be leading the charge in the individual events.
Reynolds was fifth at last year's world championships and Osmond eighth. Neither skater could match that standing at the Sochi Olympics, but they could have a shot at the podium at worlds.
Reynolds and Osmond are among six heading to Japan who won silver in Sochi as part of the team competition
It will be the second trip to Japan in five months for ice dancers Piper Gilles of Toronto and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., and pairs skaters Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers.
Gilles and Poirier were fifth at the NHK Trophy Grand Prix competition in November, while Lawrence and Swiegers finished sixth.
The Canadian team features seven skaters who were in Japan last spring as part of the Team Trophy competition, including Kaitlyn Weaver of Waterloo, Ont. & Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., who finished seventh in Sochi in ice dance.
Weaver and Poje were also part of the team silver medal in Sochi, as were Osmond, Reynolds, and Duhamel and Radford.
Nam Nguyen of Toronto is scheduled to get a double dose of championship experience this month. The 15-year-old will compete at the junior worlds in Sofia, Bulgaria, and will also perform at the senior event in Saitama.
Here is a full list of the Canadian team heading to the senior championships in Japan:
Men:
- Elladj Baldé, 23, Pierrefonds, Que.
- Nam Nguyen, 15, Toronto.
- Kevin Reynolds, 23, Coquitlam, B.C.
Women's:
- Gabrielle Daleman, 16, Newmarket, Ont.
- Kaetlyn Osmond, 18, Marystown, Nfld. & Sherwood Park, Alta.
Pairs:
- Meagan Duhamel, 28, Lively, Ont. & Eric Radford, 29, Balmertown, Ont.
- Paige Lawrence, 24, Kennedy, Sask. & Rudi Swiegers, 26, Kipling, Sask.
- Kirsten Moore-Towers, 21, St. Catharines, Ont. & Dylan Moscovitch, 29, Toronto.
Ice Dance:
- Piper Gilles, 22, Toronto, & Paul Poirier, 22, Unionville, Ont.
- Alexandra Paul, 22, Midhurst, Ont. & Mitchell Islam, 24, Barrie, Ont.
- Kaitlyn Weaver, 24, Waterloo, Ont. & Andrew Poje, 27, Waterloo, Ont.