Defining Moment Day 10

Where do I start?

First the terrible news that jolted us early in the morning – that Joannie Rochette’s mom had suddenly died.

Therese Rochette was just 55 years old and had just arrived in Vancouver to watch her daughter, Canada’s ladies figure skating champion, compete at the ultimate competition in sport – the Olympic Games.

All the training, all of the focus, all of the positive thinking could not have prepared Joannie for this shocking news.

You see, like most of the athletes competing here in Vancouver, Joannie has always relied on her parents for all the things one needs to become a champion. The endless rides to and from practice, the skate sharpenings, the costume buying and making, the hot chocolates, the shoulders to cry on, and of course the warm hug at the end of a competition.

Therese Rochette was that and more to her only daughter. She was her rock. She was her pillow. Like every parent – she made so many sacrifices just so her child could skate out a dream. And just like that, unfathomably – she’s gone.

Only hours after learning of her death from her father, Joannie bravely said she would continue to compete at the Games and that her mother would have wanted that.

And surprisingly, there she was at practice. Eyes swollen, lost in thought but still skating.

Occasionally glancing to the heavens and every once in a while flashing a small smile at those she knew and of course her dad, Normand who was watching her every move.

How hard will it be for Joannie Rochette to do this? Only she knows. But talking with my colleague Elizabeth Manley who also recently lost her mom, said that Joannie is a fighter and perhaps the best way to deal with this life altering setback  for the momentis to channel it, compartmentalize it and try to focus on the task here. This loss will hit much harder later.

Liz, the 1988 Olympic silver medalist in Calgary, knows a lot about being able to skate outside herself. She did it in front of a huge hometown crowd at the Saddledome rising up and stealing the show in the showdown between Katarina Witt and Debi Thomas. Liz has been a mentor to Joannie and will be helping her through this tremendously emotional ordeal.

Whatever Joannie does, however she skates, medal or no medal, this is all about her and her mom and I can’t imagine what it’ll be like when she skates her short program on Tuesday.

The rest of the skating world, especially the tight-knit Canadian team was shaken. No one could believe that something like this could happen on the eve of Joannie’s biggest day of her skating life.

But as we know, sport is real reality and often life intervenes in our fun and games. And so it does with this tragic news.

Reality check time for all of us. Perspective time – contrary to what you often hear when someone loses a medal at the Olympics – it is not devastating. 

It’s devastating when you lose someone you love. Our sympathies and prayers are with the Rochette family. Joannie you are one of the most courageous athletes I know.

We are all so sorry for your loss. Mes sympathies, mes condoleances. Bonne chance.

Joannie’s roommate at the athlete’s village before her mother’s sudden passing was ice dancer Tessa Virtue who was very emotional when trying to come up with words to explain her feelings. She didn’t know what to say. Who does?

Deeply saddened, Tessa and her partner Scott Moir then went out and did what Joannie will have to do. They went out and skated. Motivated to ease the pain for their teammate – they danced the performance of a lifetime in their original dance.

A flawless Flamenco that brought the capacity crowd to it’s feet and the roof down.

They were spectacular and lead the way heading into Monday’s free dance with a chance to dance for gold. If they do, they would become North America’s first gold medalists in this discipline in Olympic history.

Their chances? Golden.

They are the best ice dancers on the planet. That’s not my passport talking, that’s the truth. The only team close to them – their own training mates from their club in Michigan – Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States who sit second and are looking to spoil the Canadian party.

You never know what can happen in dance.

The only certainty is that one or more teams will come out on the ice and wear ridiculous outfits like the Russians who were dressed or should I say undressed like Adam and Eve in Stanley Park. Do these people not get it? Do they have a mirror in their dressing room?

Skating in costumes that you wouldn’t wear in a parade does not help a sport that is still in the rebuilding mode.

Wake up. Smell the coffee. Show some class.

This is a sport – not a Halloween party.

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