New York in Luck as Figure Skating World Champions Set to Deliver Big Before Winter Olympics

“I think my younger self would think I’m crazy,” Deanna Stellato-Dudek said, according to Olympics.com, after she claimed her first world title in 2024, that too when she had hit 40. Being the oldest woman to win the World Gold Medal in the sport was only the beginning. The next big goal is the Olympic dream, which is also close to coming true. But before that, she and her partner, Maxime Deschamps, have a gift for New York.

As per the CBC, the 2024 World Champions are going to perform at the John Nicks Pairs Challenge on September 3 and 4. But not just that, they have a surprise. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps will have 2 new programs to showcase for the audience. Add to that an element never seen before in senior competitions. The element will be a part of their short program, choreographed to the powerful classical work “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff.

The 2 debut programs are choreographed by Lori Nichol, while the free skate routine will use a composition by Spanish flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo. The theme is centred on “love and passion”, something consciously chosen by the iconic pair. “This is our love for figure skating, for the sport of pair skating,” Deanna Stellato-Dudek said.

Talking more about their programs, the 2025 Canadian National Champion said, “Both of these programs are very magical and they’re masterpieces, and so we’ve been working hard to try to perform them to the level that they deserve to be performed.” And there is no better time or place to do it. The John Nicks Pairs Challenge often sees new programs being performed, a stage for bigger events to follow, like the Grand Prix or the Skate Canada International, or even the upcoming Winter Olympics in February.

The pair will compete in 2 Grand Prix events, the Grand Prix de France from October 17-19 at Angers, followed by the Skate Canada International in Saskatoon from October 31 to November 2. Unlike in 2024, they are in a great headspace. The 2025 season started with the pressure to defend their world title at the Boston World Championships. But they finished fifth, pegged back by a season-low score in the short program. But there have been other issues to deal with, too.

The lack of an off-season, and injuries to both Maxime Deschamps and Deanna Stellato-Dudek were massive hindrances. But they are feeling renewed vigour. “Maybe this was the spot that we were meant to be in to give us the fire to push and to get back on top, versus feeling the pressure and the expectation to stay there,” Stellato-Dudek said. Even her partner feels the same way. “It’s fun to look at what is in front and to really chase it,” Deschamps said. “When you have the target in front, it’s clear what you have to aim for.”

We know what the biggest aim in front of them is. Something that actually brought Stellato-Dudek back into figure skating.

A historic Olympics beckons the 2024 figure skating champions

A silver medal at the junior World Championships was an early indication of her natural ability. But injuries played a cruel role in keeping her away for 16 long years. But as the moral of her story is, defiance became her strength when she decided to make a comeback at the age of 32. And in 2019, when she partnered up with Canadian skater Maxime Deschamps, the talk of the 2026 Winter Olympics came up.

She was an American, which was an obstacle to the dream. But not anymore. In December, Deanna Stellato-Dudek received her Canadian citizenship, and she is eligible to make another move in history. Already 42, but she is not even close to slowing down. “The capacity for medalling and winning is not gone,” she said in a phone interview. “It just needs to be cultivated to be able to prosper once again.”

The Canadian figure skating championships are also in their plans, which is to take place from January 5-11. A busy winter for the former World Champions, but it seems Maxime Deschamps has it well under their control. “For us, it’s more we’re looking every little step, what to do to improve every day. That’s what matters, and it will bring us where we want when it’s time for it.”

A gold medal, or even a medal at the 2026 Olympics, would be so vindicating for the pair. It would certainly be for Stellato-Dudek, whose return to figure skating would come full circle.