wellnessfitpro 
MILAN – Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are coming to Italy.
The former world champions from Canada are set to compete at the Milan Cortina Games in the individual pairs event after Stellato-Dudek hit 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.
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Skate Canada said in a joint release Tuesday that the decision to compete was made under the guidance of medical professionals and that Stellato-Dudek is feeling well and is looking forward to competing.
The 42-year-old 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, which concluded Sunday, but are now on track to take the ice for the individual competition Feb. 15-16 at Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Related Videos
Originally from the Chicago area, Stellato-Dudek 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.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
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 struggled to stick the landing in the past two seasons despite remaining among the world’s elite, finishing a disappointing fifth at the world championships last year to end an inconsistent title-defence campaign.
The three-time national winners also dropped to a surprising second-place finish at the Canadian championships 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.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
Sports,2026 Olympics2026 Olympics, Sports#Top #Canadian #pair #compete #Games1770742575
