Skate Canada: Events: 2007 BMO Financial Group Canadian Championships

News

Exciting Finish Brings Championships to a Close

By Laurie Nealin
Reporting for Skate Canada

Dubreuil / Lauzon HALIFAX -- World silver medallists Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon wove their magic on ice on Sunday, delighting the crowd with their sultry yet flirty romp set to the bluesy jazz tones of Etta James "At Last."

To no one's surprise, their captivating performance kept them in the gold medal position for the fifth time at the BMO Canadian Championships.

"It was really fun to skate here tonight. The crowd was amazing," Lauzon said.

Also, as expected, reigning world junior champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir claimed silver with 189.49 points to the champions 203.54.

But then came the totally unexpected in the likes of Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, who appeared virtually out of nowhere to amass 160.65 points and snatch the bronze medal.

A year ago at this time, Weaver, a native of Houston, Texas, had finished fourth as a junior in the U.S. Championships, while Poje and his former partner were ninth among the seniors at the 2006 Canadians. When each of their partners decided to retire and head off to university, Weaver and Poje came together and decided to compete for Canada.

"Pinch me," Weaver said minutes after the results were final. "I can't believe this is happening."

Poje, whose hope was to sneak into the top five before the event began, said, "It's been unreal. It's like a dream... We kept getting higher and higher (in the standings). We just stood there in amazement."

Despite Dubreuil and Lauzon's well-earned standing ovation from 4300-plus fans, a close look revealed that Dubreuil wasn't quite as sharp and assured as usual. Afterwards in speaking with the media, she revealed the reason why.

Dubreuil was skating on a sore left leg that she injured when she keeled over on the ice after contacting a flu virus and suffering a bout of vertigo -- a disorder in the inner ear. Last Monday, she wasn't even sure she could make the trip to Halifax from their training site in Lyon, France.

Once in Canada, Dubreuil began taking the medication the doctor prescribed for vertigo and slept sitting up as he advised. The dizziness subsided but her leg continued to ache and it was painful to walk this week. She might now take a week off to ensure the injury heals before they head to Four Continents in Colorado Springs next month and the World Championships in March.

"My leg was a little bit shaky today, but it's fine. I'll take care of it," said Dubreuil, crediting adrenaline for getting her through Sunday's finale.

"The main thing is for us to be at our peak at Worlds and not here at Canadians. I think in past years we've been at our peak at Canadians so it was hard to continue to build up," Dubreuil added.

It will be in Tokyo that Dubreuil and Lauzon intend to realize their life-long dream of winning the global crown. Between now and Worlds, they will refine their choreography and make changes to steps with which they are not totally happy.

Virtue and Moir and Weaver and Poje will be there with them. For both young couples -- the girls are both 17 and their partners 19 -- Tokyo will mark their ISU World Championships debut.

Up until two years ago, Virtue and Moir, now based in Canton, Mich., trained in Waterloo with coach Paul MacIntosh, the man who works with Weaver and Poje.

The new kids on the block will also go to the World Junior Championships next month in Germany, while Virtue and Moir are off to Colorado Springs for Four Continents.

"We were in Waterloo a couple of weeks ago doing some extra training (with choreographer Susie McGrigor) and we had a chance to skate with (Weaver and Poje) and they're amazing," Virtue said.

Of their impending trip to their first senior World championships, Moir said, "We're pumped. We've always said it's a whole new game up in senior and we're really excited to get this first one under our belts."

Coming in to Sunday's final, Weaver and Poje were in a three-way battle for the bronze medal with veteran couple Chantal Lefebvre and Arseny Markov and B.C./Manitoba duo Lauren Senft and Leif Gislason. Senft and Gislason ended up fourth, three points off the bronze medal pace and just under two points ahead of Lefebvre and Markov. Senft and Gislason will be the third dance team headed to the ISU Four Continents Championships.

Weaver and Poje had a very successful start to their partnership, earning two bronze medals in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series last fall and creating a buzz on the international scene.

On Sunday, their free dance set to Puccini's Madame Butterfly was silky smooth and they cast a spell over the audience with their mesmerizing choreography as big as the music itself.

Intent on competing at the Worlds and Olympics one day, Weaver has already begun the process of obtaining Canadian citizenship which is an Olympic Games requirement to represent Canada.

Asked how she liked Canada now, Weaver exclaimed, "I think Canada's great. It's really fun for me and right now, I'm on cloud nine. I love my country -- U.S.A. -- but I'm happy to be here in Canada."