Deanna Stellato-Dudek injured pre-Olympics - news & updates

[my little pony]

my gut has been saying concussion, I dont want to be right. I hope Deanna gets to compete.

 

[skategal]

This article says it was a fall in practice and Skate Canada would not confirm a head injury when asked.

Hope it wasn’t a fall from a lift.

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2026/02/02/chute-a-lentrainement-la-presence-aux-jeux-olympiques-du-couple-stelatto-dudek-et-deschamps-est-incertaine

 

[Private Citizen]

If it is a concussion / head injury, isn't a typical protocol around 7-10 days? Which gives them some hope?

It would track with delaying their departure to Milan, and with withdrawing from the team event but not the individual. It would also track with a SC doctor making the ultimate call. I'd think for other injuries that the athlete would be able to decide?

 

[honey]

Everything about this is extremely concussion coded. “Training accident”. It happened with a fall. They have not travelled yet. She is not on the ice. It will not be her decision, but rather that of a doctor on whether she is allowed to compete.

All of that seems to strongly indicate she’s under a concussion protocol right now.

 

[Vagabond]

If it is a concussion / head injury, isn't a typical protocol around 7-10 days? Which gives them some hope

I am not sure that there is a "typical" protocol or a "typical" concussion for that matter. The brain is a delicate and complex organ. Be that as it may, it often takes weeks or months before someone who sustains a concussion to be fit enough to resume strenuous activities.

 

[Desperado]

Through this terrible event, I'm glad the decision is out of Deanna's hands. Understandably, Olympic athletes want to push beyond their limits, but it's a very narrow mindset when it comes to having a good life.

No matter what happens this month, she's a world champion with tons of good things to come her way.

It's still heartbreaking, but health is everything.

It must be so crushing for Max too, especially if the fall did happen on a lift. I don't know him at all, but he looks like a guy who would feel guilt, on top of the possible pain of missing his only Olympics.

Echoing Maddie Schizas in hoping they are both well supported.

 

[overedge]

What @Desperado said.

If Deanna and Max don't go to the Olympics because of this injury, or if they go and they don't win a gold medal or any Olympic medal - I know both of them are very focused and motivated, and that might feel to them like they have failed, regardless of anything else.

But they have accomplished truly amazing things and overcome huge obstacles to do so, and they won a world championship. That is something they can always be proud of, even if they don't get to the goal they set out to achieve.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

When US nationals was doing the team announcement show, the commentators kept saying over and over again that everyone who selected for the team was in Olympian now and they would always be Olympians and every time they said it I cringed.

This is the exact thing I was dreading.

 

[zigzig]

So sad :-(

Hope it all works out.

Was heartbroken for Vincent Z in Beijing and will be for them too if they can't skate.

 

[Coco]

But when you're named to the team, you are an Olympian, in my book.

So many athletes, particularly in team sports, don't get to play as much as intended or planned, etc. Some don't even play at all. They are still Olympians.

 

[just tuned in]

But when you're named to the team, you are an Olympian, in my book.

So many athletes, particularly in team sports, don't get to play as much as intended or planned, etc. Some don't even play at all. They are still Olympians.

It is all semantics, but Tim Daggett says that you not an Olympian until you get on the Olympic equipment. (paraphrasing)

 

[Dobre]

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Deeply depressing news. Totally agree that it’s concussion-coded language. Imagine the uproar if the accident resulted from training the backflip.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

But when you're named to the team, you are an Olympian, in my book.

I think that's a nice sentiment, but not reflective of the reality of the situation for the people who don't get to go.

 

[CantALoop]

So sad :-(

Hope it all works out.

Was heartbroken for Vincent Z in Beijing and will be for them too if they can't skate.

This is also giving me flashbacks to the days leading up to Torino with Michelle Kwan

 

[peibeck]

If it is a concussion, which I speculated it might be (or a hairline fracture) in the Canadian pairs thread, at least it doesn't sound as dire as the one Totmianina suffered at Skate America. It could still be quite serious, but they haven't indicated she's being hospitalized for days on end, and are raising the possibility that they may still do the individual event.

If they do end up traveling to Milan, I hope she's evaluated after arrival and each practice though.

Concussions are not trivial health issues. Movement, light, sound, even smell, can trigger dizziness, feeling off balance (even if you aren't), and cognitive issues sometimes. I've had persistent tinnitus since the concussion I suffered last May, which was a mild one. (And I still have a knot on the back of my head from a serious concussion I had as a 9 year old falling off the monkey bars at school and getting knocked unconscious).

 

[Gazpacho]

I remember Deanna as a junior back in the late 1990s. The fact that she revived her career and won a world championship in her 40s is inspirational and heroic. I'm devastated for her but still hanging onto hope.

 

[MacMadame]

it often takes weeks or months before someone who sustains a concussion to be fit enough to resume strenuous activities.

or years. but also days.

What I was told when I got my last concussion is that most people feel fine and shake off the symptoms in a few days. But for some people, it takes weeks. And for a very few, it takes as much as 6 months. And then some of us are basically recovered but have lingering symptoms for years.

The lingering symptoms aren't going stop people from living their lives. It's the immediate symptoms. Let's hope that Deanna is one of those who recover in a few days and not one who takes months.

 

[miffy]

I feel horrible because everyone seems to be hoping she will somehow make it to skate, but if she’s got serious concussion I kind of hope she doesn’t. I know that sounds horribly mean after Deanna’s amazing journey and achievements, but if she just gets cleared in time she won’t have practiced in a couple of weeks, imagine suddenly doing lifts, twists and throws in a high pressure situation after not being able to train. It could be so dangerous for her, her partner (and potentially even others on the warm up.) I know there are experts who will make a decision but I still feel it would be risky.

(I was front row right in front of Totmianina at SA, so maybe that has made me over anxious over pairs accidents. We saw things that weren’t televised and I’ll never forget it.)

 

[Aceon6]

I’m starting to see posts from less reputable news sites saying that StelDud are out. Clickbait or real?

 

[skategal]

I’m starting to see posts from less reputable news sites saying that StelDud are out. Clickbait or real?

Maybe they haven't figured out that being out of the Team Event does not mean out of the Individual event?

I've had a few people IRL tell me Deanna & Max are out of Olympics but it was only out of Team Event.

The people I'm speaking of don't follow figure skating just sports in general.

 

[terisa]

...

(I was front row right in front of Totmianina at SA, so maybe that has made me over anxious over pairs accidents. We saw things that weren’t televised and I’ll never forget it.)

Worlds 2025 was the first time I've watched any pairs competition without checking first to make sure there were no bad falls. And I chickened out on the SP, (of course I had the excuse of 4 British coaches sat near me in the bar I was in...)

 

[overedge]

@miffy I agree with you. If it's a concussion, like @peibeck said it's something that could affect her for the rest of her life. That's a more important consideration IMO than competing, even if the competition is the Olympics.

 

[Smiley0884]

I feel horrible because everyone seems to be hoping she will somehow make it to skate, but if she’s got serious concussion I kind of hope she doesn’t. I know that sounds horribly mean after Deanna’s amazing journey and achievements, but if she just gets cleared in time she won’t have practiced in a couple of weeks, imagine suddenly doing lifts, twists and throws in a high pressure situation after not being able to train. It could be so dangerous for her, her partner (and potentially even others on the warm up.) I know there are experts who will make a decision but I still feel it would be risky.

(I was front row right in front of Totmianina at SA, so maybe that has made me over anxious over pairs accidents. We saw things that weren’t televised and I’ll never forget it.)

Totmianina's fall is seared into my memory for life. Being there to see it in person was so horrifying and I agree that it has made me super anxious over pairs or dance accidents/falls. Thank goodness she was able to recover and skated beautifully in Torino. Recently a girl on my daughter's gymnastics team had a SCARY fall on her neck at a meet while on the uneven bars, and it brought me right back. Thankfully she ended up being ok, and it just looked scarier than it was.

I agree - if Deanna has a serious concussion, the risk of her getting another one is so incredibly dangerous. I hope it works out for Max and Deanna to compete, but only if she is truly recovered and isn't putting her health at further risk. It's so heartbreaking for them, ugh.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

It’s been made clear that the decision will be made by a doctor. If a doctor clears Deanna, then I don’t see why she shouldn’t skate.

If it would seriously endanger her future health to skate, then a reputable doctor should not clear her.

 

[once_upon]

I agree with @Theatregirl1122 regarding the Olympian status. Being named to the team isn't really being someone who actually participates in the events

It's in the use of the term I guess.

 

[Coco]

So if this injury keeps her from competing in the Games, and she's subsequently in SOI marketing materials as an Olympian, is it really a lie?

Athletes in this scenario might handle it a variety of ways and have a huge range of feelings about whether or not they are Olympians. I'm talking about the truth of the word.

This debate reminds me of Bedazzled, with Brendan Frasier and Liz Hurley. His character keeps getting wishes granted by the devil, but with major, major deal breaking aspects that make the wish worse than regular life. If this injury keeps her out of the Games, she's an Olympian but what she really wanted was to compete in the Olympics.

 

[A.H.Black]

So if this injury keeps her from competing in the Games, and she's subsequently in SOI marketing materials as an Olympian, is it really a lie?

In this case, you avoid the problem by calling them World Champions. Anyway I would.

All the best to Deanna.

 

[DreamSkates]

Deeply depressing news. Totally agree that it’s concussion-coded language. Imagine the uproar if the accident resulted from training the backflip.

I cringe every time Malinin does one.

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

When I had a concussion, my doctors relied heavily on my personal feedback for dizziness, smell loss…I have to admit that I didn’t tell them everything because I wanted to fly to my best friend’s wedding. Even the flight to Europe can be a risk factor. I did what every patient does: Google what to do to recover faster. You know that Deanna is doing everything humanly possible to get there.