Canadian skater, 42, aiming for Winter Olympics history after ending 16-year retirement

At 42, Canadian pair skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek is poised to make her Olympic debut at the Milano Cortina Games, not as a mere participant, but as a reigning world champion with her sights firmly set on gold.

In a sport often dominated by youth, Stellato-Dudek stands as a testament to enduring ambition, with no intention of retiring once the Games conclude.

Her journey is an extraordinary comeback story. Once a teenage prodigy, a debilitating injury forced her into retirement for 16 years.

She defied expectations by returning to the ice, and in 2024, alongside partner Maxime Deschamps, she became the oldest female world figure skating champion.

Now, she aims to add another record to her name: the oldest pair skater to clinch an Olympic title.

"Because of my age, people say time is ticking for me," Stellato-Dudek revealed in a recent Olympics.com documentary.

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"Make no mistake, I'm going to do everything it takes to win, because I want to be Olympic champion. I'm going to do what it takes to become the oldest Olympic champion ever."

Her initial career saw her capture a world junior silver medal for the United States before a severe hip flexor injury derailed her path at 17. She announced her retirement less than a year before the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics.

"My life was skating full speed ahead for my entire life up until that moment," she recalled. "Then it was like a slap in the face."

Her mother, Ann Stellato, remembers the moment vividly: "I just remember her very sombrely saying, 'I don't think I can do this anymore'."

After stepping away from the rink, Stellato-Dudek built a successful career as an aesthetician, learning to live a life away from competitive sport. Yet, the allure of skating never truly faded.

"Even when I was retired, I would hear a song on the radio and imagine myself skating to it," she admitted.

The turning point arrived during a work retreat in 2016. Asked what she would do if she knew she could not fail, her unfiltered response surprised even herself: "I would win an Olympic gold medal." Two weeks later, she was asking her mother if her old skates were still around.

For her second act in skating, she embraced pairs, a discipline she had previously resisted despite her petite stature.

In 2019, she teamed up with Canadian Deschamps and relocated to Montreal. They targeted the 2026 Olympics, knowing Canadian citizenship would not be granted in time for the 2022 Games. She became a citizen just over a year ago.

Stellato-Dudek is candid about the immense sacrifices involved. "It's important to understand that I am almost never not in pain," she stated.

"I'm sore every day. I'm still sore on Monday from Friday." The physical toll is constant, but she maintains she would make the same choices again.

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She is acutely aware that her age often polarises public opinion, with online criticism frequently targeting her appearance.

However, she insists her age is an asset, not a hindrance. "I give my age no power," she affirmed. "I think it gives me strength. I've lived a lot of life. I've loved, I've lost — and I can portray those experiences on the ice."

Stellato-Dudek skates with the conviction of an athlete in control of her destiny, not one racing against time.

Her Olympic debut will not mark her farewell. "I'm not going to stop skating until I have decided that I'm done, regardless of what other people think a female should or should not be doing at a certain age," she told Reuters earlier this season.

"I already left this sport once before my time, so I'm not going to do that again. I will continue to skate until I feel like I have accomplished what I want to accomplish."