Canadian pairs skater Stellato-Dudek calls pre-Olympic injury ‘a living nightmare’

MILAN – Deanna Stellato-Dudek says it’s too soon to share details about the injury that almost ended her long-sought Olympic dream.

At times visibly emotional, her voice wavered as she described the outpouring of support she’s received.

“The last week and a half has been a living nightmare that I would not wish on anybody,” she said. “I have been told by doctors I’ve made a remarkable recovery.

“I received thousands of messages from people all around the world saying that they were lighting a candle for me and praying for me, and I also believe that that is what got me here.”

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

The 2024 world pairs champion with partner Maxime Deschamps practised for the first time at the Games on Friday after hitting her head on the ice while training in Quebec on Jan. 30. They will compete in the individual pairs competition beginning Sunday at Milano Ice Skating Arena after withdrawing from last week’s team event.

Besides clarifying that she did not have a concussion, Stellato-Dudek declined to elaborate on the nature of the injury or how it occurred.

“I’m not going to get into specifics,” she said. “I myself have not processed what has happened. From the moment the accident occurred, the only focus was tunnel vision on, ‘How can I get here?’

“I’m going to need time to … process what happened before I can speak about it with any elegancy whatsoever.”

When a reporter pressed Stellato-Dudek on what the injury was, if not a concussion, she pushed back.

“In every country, there are laws surrounding privacy for any individual about their medical records,” she said. “I don’t deserve to know anybody else’s personal medical information, nor do you deserve to learn mine.

“We are still processing through all that happened, and I’m still doing my exercises off ice.”

Stellato-Dudek was willing to reveal that she and Deschamps have removed the assisted backflip from their “Carmina Burana” short program due to its inherent risk.

The move made headlines earlier this season, and the Canadian duo had hoped to be the first team to perform it in Olympic competition.

“We don’t want to do anything that’s going to hinder the rest of my life in terms of my health,” she said. “We just wanted to take out any unnecessary risk. Everything else in skating is pretty much upright. That’s the only thing that goes upside down.”

Otherwise, Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps executed jumps, throws and lifts during a run-through on the practice rink across the parking lot from Milan Ice Skating Arena on Friday, reporters surrounding the boards to catch a glimpse of her condition.

Stellato-Dudek appeared to hesitate during several jumps, particularly her salchow, but said she felt “totally fine” and “like nothing happened.” Added Deschamps, “She’s fully normal, I can tell.”

“If I were to take a 10-day vacation and then come back, I’m afraid to do everything. But there’s a very famous quote by Eleanor Roosevelt that says that you should do something every day that scares you,” said Stellato-Dudek, who later said she spent only three days off the ice. “You have fear, but you have to go through it. That’s it. There’s no other option.”

The injury jeopardized one of the most inspiring stories in figure skating.

Originally from the Chicago area, Stellato-Dudek was a world junior silver medallist in 2000 and 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 16 years later and became a pairs skater, moving to Canada in 2019 to team up with Deschamps outside Montreal.

Deschamps, meanwhile, had cycled through eight partners and was close to hanging up his skates before meeting the partner that would propel him to a world title and an Olympic berth.

The 34-year-old from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., was heartbroken to see their dream “slipping under our feet” when Stellato-Dudek injured herself.

“But I still believed in Deanna the whole time,” he added. “And I’ve been training super hard during that time and supported her.”

Entering their first Olympics, the Canadians are only two years removed from winning a world championship, but haven’t reached the same heights since. They finished fifth at worlds in Boston last year.

Stellato-Dudek said she has been fighting back tears since she and Deschamps finally landed in Italy on Thursday.

“Since we arrived here and we saw the Olympic rings, we’ve taken a bunch of photographs, and I’ve cried before everyone,” she said. “I look hideous in every picture I’ve taken, but it’s very emotional to be here. When I set out on this journey in 2016, not one person told me I would make it to the Olympics.

“To know me is to know that I wasn’t going down without a fight.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026.