Deanna Stellato-Dudek: “I’m not embarrassed about my age, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. It’ll be great if younger athletes look at me and reconsider leaving the sport early. I want to inspire them for long careers.”
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps commented on their victory at the 2024 World Championships. Translation of Jason Brown’s comments at the 2024 World Championships.
original source: sports.ru by Maya Bagriantseva
Here’s a translation of Deanna Stellato-Dudek’s and Maxime Deschamps’ comments.
“Deanna Stellato-Dudek: I was not myself today. I haven’t been feeling well since yesterday, so it was a tense day. The six-minute warm-up didn’t work out, I really stressed out my coach and partner, they had to bear with my emotions. They really supported me – they told me that I am a fighter and I certainly couldn’t give in at that moment.
There were many of our loved ones and friends in the arena today, and I understood that I couldn’t let them down. I am very happy. A dream came true – I now know the meaning of these words.
I am a list person, always writing a list of tasks for myself and crossing out what has been done. I also had a ready-made plan for us for this season. And you know, almost everything is crossed off. I wanted to work on the consistency of jumps, add complexity to programs – and all this is done. It remains to learn how to perform well under pressure.
We were lucky that the World Championships was at home despite it being an additional stress. Performing in front of a home crowd is a gift from heavens. The audience carried us on the arms of love throughout the second half of the program today.
After the skate, I almost fainted. All I managed to mutter was, “God, did we make it?” I don’t remember anything. I was absolutely depleted.
Do I think about my age? You know, 40 is the new 20. Not that I returned to the sport for an age record, but I understood that it would always be discussed – and I am indeed older than everyone.
I am not embarrassed about my age, I am proud of what I have achieved and I am not going to avoid this question. It will be great if younger athletes look at me and reconsider leaving the sport early. I want to inspire them for long careers. And not only in sports – in other aspects of life as well.
What would I tell myself if I went back 20 years ago? Firstly, I would think I was crazy if I was still skating. Secondly, I would be surprised that I somehow gave up figure skating. At that time, I dreamed of the 2006 Olympics, so the fact that I am preparing for the 2026 Games would just shock me.
We have a series of shows coming up – in Japan and Canada. But I’ve already decided how to treat myself – I’ll go to ‘Chanel’ and buy something. Maybe a bag if I have enough money, haha.
In general, there are no plans to rest – maybe for this week. On Monday, I will start working on the next season. We already have a couple of ideas for next season, so it’s time to get to work. If you fail the preparation – prepare to fail the competitions.
Maxime Deschamps: She (Deanna) works as if every day is the Olympics. There really aren’t many like that, she’s unique. She sets records in everything – and first and foremost in attitude towards work. She is never satisfied with herself and always wants more.”
Related topics: Deanna Stellato-Dudek Maxime Deschamps, world championship
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