Stellato-Dudek: injury pre-Olympics ‘a nightmare’

MILAN – Canadian figure skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek says suffering an injury days before the Milan Cortina Olympic Games was “a living nightmare.”

The former world pairs champion with partner Maxime Deschamps practised for the first time at the Games on Friday after hitting her head on the ice on Jan. 30 while training in Quebec.

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Stellato-Dudek wouldn’t reveal details of her injury or how it occurred, but the 42-year-old said it was not a concussion.

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She also said she and Deschamps will not perform the assisted backflip they’d planned in their short program to “Carmina Burana.”

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

She and Deschamps initially withdrew from the team event, but will now compete in the individual pairs competition beginning Sunday at Milano Ice Skating Arena.

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