Former world champions Stellato-Dudek, Deschamps to compete at Olympics

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, of Canada, compete in the pairs' short program segment at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya, central Japan, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

MILAN — Deanna Stellato-Dudek’s Olympic dream is not over.

Defying all odds — again — she and Maxime Deschamps will compete at the Milan Cortina Olympic Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee and Skate Canada said in a joint release Tuesday that Stellato-Dudek has been medically cleared after hitting her head on the ice while training in Quebec on Jan. 30, keeping one of figure skating’s most inspiring and age-defying stories alive.

“I want to thank everyone for their concern and support. I’ve been working closely with the medical team, and feel ready and excited to compete,” Stellato-Dudek said in a statement. “My priority right now is skating my best. Maxime and I respectfully ask the media to allow us space to focus on the competition.”

The COC said the decision to compete was made under the guidance of medical professionals and that Stellato-Dudek is feeling well and looking forward to competing.

The former world champions from Canada are expected to travel Wednesday, arriving Thursday in Italy, and set to take the ice in the individual pairs event on Sunday at Milano Ice Skating Arena after withdrawing from last week’s team event.

The 42-year-old Stellato-Dudek is poised to become the oldest female figure skater in nearly a century to compete at the Olympics.

Originally from the Chicago area, she was a world junior silver medallist in 2000 and was projected to be the next American women’s singles star when a chronic hip injury forced her into retirement at 17.

She returned to the ice in 2016 after a team-building exercise at a work retreat sparked her unlikely comeback, then moved to Canada in 2019 to team up with Deschamps outside the Montreal area.

Deschamps, a 34-year-old from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., had cycled through eight partners and was close to hanging up his skates before Stellato-Dudek came calling.

Together, they were crowned world figure skating champions on Montreal ice in 2024, as Stellato-Dudek became the oldest woman in any discipline to capture a world title.

Stellato-Dudek gained Canadian citizenship in December that year, making her eligible to represent the country at the Games.

The pair has struggled to stay consistent the past two seasons despite remaining among the world’s elite, finishing a disappointing fifth at the world championships last year to end their title-defence campaign.

The three-time Canadian champions also dropped to a surprising second-place finish at nationals in January, as Stellato-Dudek battled through a stomach bug, but still secured an Olympic berth before the training accident put her long-sought dream in jeopardy.

Stellato-Dudek is intent on having an Olympic moment. She and Deschamps plan to perform the first assisted backflip in Olympic competition during their “Carmina Burana” short program.

She’s also set to skate in costumes designed by luxury fashion house Oscar de la Renta, wearing a glitter-gold outfit for the short program and a red dress — with a signature flower at the collar — in the free skate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press