Alexandra Paul killed in car wreck

[victorskid]

Alexandra's death has even made the BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66637282?

 

[Sylvia]

Excerpt from the New York Times' article today (August 28, 2023):

Alexandra Paul, Olympic Figure Skater From Canada, Is Killed in Car Crash (Published 2023)

Ms. Paul, 31, competed in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Her infant son survived the crash, the authorities said.

www.nytimes.com

During the 2014 Olympics, Mr. Islam and Ms. Paul spoke to [Mary Pilon of] The New York Times about the unique challenges of ice dancing, which requires competitors to maintain a stoic smile before a panel of judges, no matter their level of stress or physical exertion.
“Talking to some of the Olympians we’ve met here, I brag that’s the hard thing about our sport,” Mr. Islam said. “We’re just as tired as any other endurance athlete gets doing their sport, but we have to look pretty when we’re doing it. It’s a little tougher.”
Ms. Paul added, “The speedskaters, not a lot.”
The pair said they had spent hours analyzing their performance faces in studio mirrors and on video, as well as on the ice during grueling workouts.

Another quote from Alex in the February 17, 2014 online article (published in the print edition the next day): "You don't want to think how your face looks during the program. You want it to just be how you feel."

ETA:

$219,558 CAD raised from 1.6K donations as of today: https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-baby-charlie-loss-of-mother-alex-paul

 

[barbk]

Here is a gift link to the full NY TImes Obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/28/...A8RJ_chj3hzRPUfQZ57kKzbMbfaEEQ&smid=url-share

 

[Judy]

I expect that charges will be laid at some point. I think there were other people hurt and one airlifted. I believe they are ok though. Not sure how badly injured the airlifted person was though .

 

[screech]

I expect that charges will be laid at some point. I think there were other people hurt and one airlifted. I believe they are ok though. Not sure how badly injured the airlifted person was though .

I thought it was Alexandra's baby that was airlifted...
And I fully anticipate charges to be brought as well.

 

[icedancefan!!]

I thought it was Alexandra's baby that was airlifted...
And I fully anticipate charges to be brought as well.

No, I saw an article that said Alex’s baby was taken to hospital by ambulance and the person airlifted was an older male who had to be extricated from his vehicle.

 

[skatingfan5]

Only learned of this very sad and shocking news. My condolences to her family and friends for their devastating loss of such a vibrant and lovely young woman.
Thank you to those posting the news links and especially for the beautiful skating clips.

 

[Judy]

I thought it was Alexandra's baby that was airlifted...
And I fully anticipate charges to be brought as well.

It was another person from what I read at least.

 

[uandmfan]

It was another person from what I read at least.

I also read the it was another person airlifted, a senior. No updates, but I hope they are recovering. I read the baby was taken to hospital with non-life threating injuries.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/beta.cp24.com/news/2023/8/25/1_6535287.html

 

[ice coverage]

Closing excerpt from ISU's obituary today:

"... Alexandra Paul is survived by her husband Mitchell Islam and son Charles. She will be remembered fondly by the Skating family as an outstanding athlete and role model on and off the ice.

The ISU pays tribute to Alexandra Paul and will remember her with great affection."

Obituary of Alexandra Paul (CAN) - International Skating Union

It is with deep regret and sorrow that the ISU has learned of the passing of former Ice Dancer and Olympian Alexandra Paul (CAN) who tragically lost her life in a motor vehicle accident on August 22, 2023 at age 31.

isu.org

 

[Judy]

I thought it was Alexandra's baby that was airlifted...
And I fully anticipate charges to be brought as well.

Former figure skating Olympian from Barrie, Ont., identified as new mom killed in Melancthon crash

A figure skating Olympian from Barrie, Ont. has been identified as the 31-year-old woman killed in a multi-vehicle collision in Melancthon Township, north of Shelburne, earlier this week.

barrie.ctvnews.ca

a 67 year old man. There’s really not a ton of info. It’s just so sad.

 

[Sylvia]

@jmtfti wrote extensively about Paul/Islam (her articles go back to 2013 2012 on the " Two For The Ice" website ...)

Remembering Alexandra Paul - Interview Archive | Two for the Ice

I’m not yet ready to write exactly what I want to in more depth about Alexandra Paul and her skating legacy. But this collection of past interviews with, and observations about from others, may be a helpful resource for some. If you’re able, please consider donating to this GoFundMe to support...

www.twofortheice.com

 

[Sylvia]

Daphne & Gina talk about Alexandra Paul's sudden & tragic death last week as well as reminisce about some of their favorite programs from Paul/Islam's career, in the first 15 minutes of the August 29th episode of their This Week in Skating podcast:

This Week in Skating Podcast

Listen to This Week in Skating Podcast on RedCircle

redcircle.com

 

[Rob]

Oh my so terrible.

 

[Sylvia]

Mike Slipchuk's quotes in this Canadian Press article that was published today (Aug. 31):

'Outgoing personality': Former Olympic figure skater Alexandra Paul remembered

Whether on the ice, in the courtroom or in her latest role as a new mother, Alexandra Paul brought passion and joy to all she did, those who knew the former Olympic…

nationalpost.com

Mike Slipchuk, the high performance director with Skate Canada who had worked with Paul for years, said news of her death has been heartbreaking.
Paul was “just a great-all-around person,” he said, and will be remembered fondly by all who knew her.
“She had an outgoing personality.” he said.
“She was very fun to be around and had a very positive impact.”
Slipchuk said he first met Paul in 2008, when she was competing at the junior level. He worked with Paul and her figure skating partner Mitchell Islam, whom she later married, until they retired from skating in 2016.
He last saw Paul just a few days before the fatal crash, during a summer skating competition in Waterloo, Ont., where her husband was a coach.

(I remember seeing Mitch with Gabby Daleman after her FP during the livestream of the Skate Ontario August Sectional Series on Aug. 20.)

Slipchuk said the couple were a successful team and became World Junior ice dance silver medallists before becoming three-time Canadian senior medallists.
Paul and Islam competed at two World Championships in 2014 and 2015 and were members of the Canadian team at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, Slipchuk said.
“They pushed ahead and kept getting stronger and if one year, if one event, didn’t work the way they had hoped, the next one was better,” he said.
“It culminated in them being part of Olympic team which is every athlete’s dream and it was so great to see them get to that milestone and accomplish that.”

Alex's "Celebration of Life" should be underway in Barrie now.

 

[Colonel Green]

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

KMT writes about Alexandra.

 

[victorskid]

I understand that there was an incredible line-up of people who attended the reception/event last evening - people waiting outside for hours before joining a line inside.

 

[karmena]

I did not know Alexandra in person but her passing away deeply touched my heart; it felt like someone very close and dear has passed away. I think it is her purity of soul that touches people so deeply, a purity of her soul and goodness of heart.
Charlie, mother's love is eternal. There is no boundaries either in time or space for mother's love. Her love always will be with you in many different and unexpected ways.

 

[Sylvia]

Touching tribute by Kaitlyn Weaver: https://www.instagram.com/p/CwtElnDu_qO/

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Sylvia]

After Sabatini-Speciale/Buelow's Junior FD today, Dana took out her phone in the kiss & cry and showed a Paul/Islam family pic (Kelly Johnson coached them in Istanbul):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1700532924053963126

 

[Sylvia]

Beverley Smith published a touching obituary for Alexandra Paul today (Sept. 28) but it's behind the Globe and Mail's paywall (eta that I was able to read it on my phone):

Beloved figure skater Alexandra Paul remembered for ‘dogged determination’ on and off the ice

Ms. Paul and her partner, whom she later married, had a meteoric rise when they teamed up. She died in August at age 31 from injuries sustained in a car accident

www.theglobeandmail.com

Excerpts:

Ms. Paul died at age 31 on Aug. 22 from injuries sustained in a car accident north of Shelburne, Ont., when a transport truck collided with a line of seven cars stopped at a construction site. Ms. Paul was in one of those cars with her 10-month-old infant, Charlie, who survived with a buckle fracture of the lower tibia of his right leg. The child’s grandfather David Islam refers to him as “the miracle that is Charlie.”
Ms. Paul had been on her way home to Barrie, Ont., from a family cottage at Grand Bend, Ont., to have dinner with the Islam family, her in-laws. Charlie was in the back seat.
The romance between the two skaters was such that you could not imagine one without the other. “Ali was the belle of the ball and the light of my life,” Mitchell Islam said. “I loved her with every part of me. I will miss her as long as I am breathing.”

Debbie Islam, mother of Mitchell and an international figure skating judge, said her fondest memories of Ms. Paul are of watching her as a mother. “She embraced it,” Ms. Islam said. “She was up on every development in child care and all the gadgets. The joy and delight on her face, watching her young son was something I will never forget.”
Anne Paul noted that her daughter would make use of every single hour of her life. “She embraced every day,” she said. “She found joy in it, made people happy. She always found something when she was exhausted after being up with Charlie all night as a newborn.
“She would look at him and say: ‘I just love him. All I need to do is look at him and everything is fine.’”

Mitch Islam said in a text that he was in awe every day with how his wife cared for Charlie. “She was such a vibrant, loving mother,” he said. “She made me want to be a better father. While my heart is broken into a thousand pieces, I will do everything every day to raise Charlie the way she would have.”
While the Islam family has brown eyes, Charlie has his mother’s blue eyes. “Looking into Charlie’s eyes, Alex will never really be gone,” Gord said. “It’s beautiful and tragic and awful and amazing.”

Ms. Paul’s death has touched such a nerve in the skating community – and beyond – that a celebration of life on Aug. 31 at the Barrie Country Club brought a flood of well-wishers that filled the parking lots and jammed the streets leading in. The crowds were unprecedented. Pasquale Camerlengo, one of their dance coaches in Michigan drove seven hours and arrived as everyone was leaving. Then he drove back.
“The kids were always well regarded,” Ms. Islam said. “Everyone loved who they were as people and what they meant to them. I think that’s what spurred [Mr. Camerlengo] to come all that way.” [...]
“The skating family has really stepped up for this one,” Ms. Islam said. “It has been a great comfort.”
Mr. Islam is now a single father. “Nothing will ever be the same,” he said. “But she will forever be my dance partner.”

 

[azcalder]

Devastating

Former figure skating Olympian from Barrie, Ont., identified as new mom killed in Melancthon crash

A figure skating Olympian from Barrie, Ont. has been identified as the 31-year-old woman killed in a multi-vehicle collision in Melancthon Township, north of Shelburne, earlier this week.

barrie.ctvnews.ca

Could we please change the topic of this post to - Alexandra Paul. Thank You.

 

[Sylvia]

Could we please change the topic of this post to - Alexandra Paul. Thank You.

You can make a request to the Admins in this thread (usually the original thread starter is consulted?): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/update-thread-title.108946/

Thank you, Ice-Dance.com for this tribute!

Remembering Alexandra Paul – Ice-dance.com

www.ice-dance.com

 

[victorskid]

A man has now been charged in relation to this incident: https://www.orilliamatters.com/poli...-in-crash-that-killed-former-olympian-7607167

 

[Sylvia]

At the end of Beverley Smith's Gilles/Poirier SCI23 article (Oct. 29, 2023): https://bevsmithwrites.com/gilles-and-poirier-a-wuthering-masterpiece/
... all of the flower girls at Skate Canada were dressed in costumes that were a version of the red Olympic free dance outfit worn by Alexandra Paul, who was killed in a car crash in August. The costumes had “AP” stitched on them. Paul’s mother-in-law, Debbie Islam was at Skate Canada, working as a technical controller for the women’s event. As she sat down to watch the rhythm dance, a friend told her about the outfits so that she wasn’t caught unaware. It was a lovely tribute. The skating family spreads from coast to coast.

ETA that a Japanese fan tweeted side-by-side photos of Alexandra's red dress & the SCI23 flower girls in the background after G/P's RD: https://twitter.com/Ak1uSapisuK/status/1718674896933519508

 

[victorskid]

At the end of Beverley Smith's Gilles/Poirier SCI23 article (Oct. 29, 2023): https://bevsmithwrites.com/gilles-and-poirier-a-wuthering-masterpiece/
... all of the flower girls at Skate Canada were dressed in costumes that were a version of the red Olympic free dance outfit worn by Alexandra Paul, who was killed in a car crash in August. The costumes had “AP” stitched on them. Paul’s mother-in-law, Debbie Islam was at Skate Canada, working as a technical controller for the women’s event. As she sat down to watch the rhythm dance, a friend told her about the outfits so that she wasn’t caught unaware. It was a lovely tribute. The skating family spreads from coast to coast.

ETA that a Japanese fan tweeted side-by-side photos of Alexandra's red dress & the SCI23 flower girls in the background after G/P's RD: https://twitter.com/Ak1uSapisuK/status/1718674896933519508

The designs for the flower retrievers, as mentioned during the broadcast, were from Charlene Bailey (cb.) a Canadian designer based in the Toronto area: https://www.cbofficial.ca/
You may have seen the cb. appearing among the promotional ads during the Skate Canada Productions broadcast. I understand there was also a booth among those on the concourse.

 

[airgelaal]

At the end of Beverley Smith's Gilles/Poirier SCI23 article (Oct. 29, 2023): https://bevsmithwrites.com/gilles-and-poirier-a-wuthering-masterpiece/
... all of the flower girls at Skate Canada were dressed in costumes that were a version of the red Olympic free dance outfit worn by Alexandra Paul, who was killed in a car crash in August. The costumes had “AP” stitched on them. Paul’s mother-in-law, Debbie Islam was at Skate Canada, working as a technical controller for the women’s event. As she sat down to watch the rhythm dance, a friend told her about the outfits so that she wasn’t caught unaware. It was a lovely tribute. The skating family spreads from coast to coast.

From Skate Canada

https://twitter.com/x/status/1718689230678036987

 

[Lacey]

Beautiful!

 

[FSWer]

Cute Dresses. But I still can't believe someone would kill such a gorgous Skater in a car wreck.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Cute Dresses. But I still can't believe someone would kill such a gorgous Skater in a car wreck.

It's wasn't done on purpose!