Deanna Stellato-Dudek made figure skating history Thursday night, becoming the oldest figure skater to win the World Figure Skating Championship at age 40.
Stellato-Dudek and her partner Maxime Deschamps of Canada defeated 2023 world champions Rika Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan for the 2024 title.
Stellato-Dudek was born in Illinois and represented the U.S., first as a singles skater, winning the U.S. Figure Skating title in 1999, the same year Michelle Kwan won the senior title. After retiring at age 17, Stellato-Dudek returned as a pair skater for the U.S. and eventually paired with Deschamps, 32, in 2019.
After the short program, the Canadians had a convincing lead with a score of 77.48, almost four points ahead of the Japanese skaters.
Miura and Kihara actually won the free skate portion on Thursday night, but they couldn’t overcome the lead of Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps.
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Ironically, both teams had minor problems with the elements of the individual skate, with Stellato-Dudek falling out of her triple toe loop-single Axel-double Axel jump series and Miura also doubling her triple Salchow jump.
But the Canadians undoubtedly had the support of the home crowd, who gave their skaters a standing ovation even before their vampire program ended.
Miura and Kihara settled for silver, while German Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won bronze.
Stelato-Dudek was overcome with emotion when the results were announced.
She thanked the audience in French, then added in English: “I’m even happier, it’s a dream come true.”
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With the world title, Stellato-Dudek becomes the oldest athlete in any skating discipline (singles, pairs or ice dance) to win a world championship. She tops the record held by Ludowika Jakobsson, who won the doubles title for Finland in 1923 at the age of 38, by skating historian and sports journalist Phil Hersh.
In an interview after the event, she added: “(This record) wasn’t something I set out to do when I came back to skating, but I knew it was bound to happen if I wanted to achieve my dreams, because I’m the oldest anywhere. But it’s something I wear with pride and I’m very proud of it. I hope that many athletes will stay for a long time. I hope it inspires people to not stop before they reach their potential and I hope it spreads to other areas, not only in sports, but in other areas of life, such as work and professional careers.”
The pair have their sights set on the 2026 Winter Olympics, which Stellato-Dudek hopes will earn her Canadian citizenship in time.
The 2024 World Figure Skating Championships continue over the weekend.
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Source: HIS Education