Stellato-Dudek & Deschamps End Short Program in Seventh Position

Summary:

• Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps’ pairs short routine brought them  67.32 points on Wednesday. 
• The score ranked the defending world champions seventh in Boston.
• The duo is still determined to perform well at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Figure skating duo Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are looking at a challenging road ahead in their attempt to hold on to their precious world championship title. 

Their performance in Wednesday night’s short program in Boston at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships left them in seventh place, adding pressure ahead of the free skate.

Stellato-Dudek: “It Just Felt a Little Off, But Not Like That Bad.”

Set to a remix of Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love,” their short program earned them 67.32 points in a routine with its share of mistakes. By comparison with last year’s result in the same program, the pair obtained a personal-best 77.48, which set the stage for a gold-medal finish in Montreal. 

Last night, Stellato-Dudek stumbled on a throw triple loop while the pair’s side-by-side combination spin wasn’t well synchronized. 

Reflecting on their performance, the 40-year-old American-Canadian who joined forces with Deschamps in 2019 and became a Canadian citizen in December to secure eligibility for the 2026 Olympics, admitted,

It just felt a little off, but not like that bad. Everything’s pretty tight here, so you gotta be on your game. It’s a learning experience.

At the top of the leaderboard, Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara scored 76.57, followed closely by Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (74.61) and Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin (73.59). 

The decisive free skate will take place Thursday night, when the men’s short program has also been scheduled, culminating with the men’s free program on Saturday.

Hard Season for the Golden Pair

The current season has been riddled with hiccups for the two talented skaters. Despite putting in their best efforts, they only reached a best total score of 210.92 that failed to rise to their personal record of 221.56. 

A series of health issues also caused issues, with Deschamps’ illness forcing them to step down from the Grand Prix Final. Stellato-Dudek also battled several minor injuries.

Stellato-Dudek commented,

This year has been a tough year, and everybody told us that it would be, but we didn’t understand it until we lived it, I don’t think we’re out for the count this year or next year. I just think we have to go back to the drawing board and maybe restructure our process.

The Wardrobe Mishap

Despite their setbacks, the pair has kept optimistic about their chances at this year’s ISU World Figure Skating Championships. 

“Everything was going so well, until the performance.”, Deschamps commented.

Meanwhile, Stellato-Dudek revealed a last-minute wardrobe mishap, nearly skating in “joggers” after forgetting her dress at the hotel.

Got it in the nick of time. Right before we went out I just changed real quick.

Two other Canadian pair teams have qualified for the free program. Ontarians Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud currently rank tenth with 63.28 points, while Quebec-based Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier are twelfth with 62.30 points.