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

[just tuned in]

Named to the team but does not get (at least) on practice ice = not an Olympian.

 

[barbk]

I had a skull fracture & concussion as a pre-teen while skating. I was not OK mentally or balance-wise for months, and I wasn't trying to get back on the ice.

I have a bunch of students who have earned concussions during sports, and their recoveries are usually not swift either. Our state has a concussion protocol, and our district has a concussion protocol for academic work, too. Some kids bounce back relatively quickly, but many don't. Lights, sounds, mental focus, visual issues...all really common. Athletes desperately want to get back to their sport, and it is often not to the benefit of their longer term health.

I am so sorry for Deanna and Max.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

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

That's his opinion. IMO, you're named to the team, you're an Olympian! Just like the 1980 summer Olympians who competed at their Olympic Trials but were denied the opportunity to compete at the Moscow Games!

 

[once_upon]

So are the alternates named to the Olympics team, Olympians?

They've been named, they are on a roster, they have to be ready. But most importantly, I guess, is they are selected as someone as a potential replacement

 

[once_upon]

I sincerely wish Deanna fast healing and she/Max get to participate in the Olympics

 

[honey]

So are the alternates named to the Olympics team, Olympians?

They've been named, they are on a roster, they have to be ready. But most importantly, I guess, is they are selected as someone as a potential replacement

It probably depends on the sport. In skating, no I would absolutely say not. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an alternate refer to themselves as an Olympian.

But gymnastics seems to be very adamant that the alternates are Olympians in their view (in the U.S. anyway, not sure about other countries). When they do little ceremonies years later to acknowledge prior Olympic teams, they always include the alternates for example. And I’ve seen many of them refer to themselves as Olympians in their Instagram bios.

I’ve always wondered how the athletes feel about this though. I think it’s a nice recognition in some ways, but probably very painful in others.

But heartbreaking on a whole other level to be named to the team and have to withdraw due to injury I’d imagine. Still hoping for Deanna that by some miracle she will be ok and can complete this great story she’s been able to write.

 

[once_upon]

It doesn't make sense to have one way and not the other for a sport.

Anyway I hope they can skate.

 

[Badams]

I understand thread drift, but every time I see this thread with new posts, I hope for some news. I do not hope for arguments about people's opinions on what qualifies as an Olympian. So anyways, I hope Deanna is recovering and is healthy enough to compete.

 

[Sylvia]

A timely article about skaters' injuries and other challenges (Bates, Gogolev who once competed with "a stress fracture in my lumbar spine" & Michaud's shingles are all referenced) by Devika Desai for the National Post (Feb. 4):

From shingles to smiles: Why Olympic figure skaters learn to mask their pain

Hockey players are celebrated for playing hurt, figure skaters at the Milan-Cortina Olympics are trained to conceal their aches and pains

nationalpost.com

Deanna Stellato-Dudek was set to represent Canada in ice dancing with her partner, Maxime Deschamps, until an injury sustained during a practice in Quebec prevented her from flying out to Milan in time for the team event on Friday.
Skate Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have not disclosed the nature or severity of Stellato-Dudek’s injury, only that her condition is being assessed on a daily basis. The pair have not yet pulled out of the individual pairs event to be held next week. [...]
Assuming Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps are set to compete next week, [Jackie] Wong expects that they would throw themselves into the performance, just as any other competitive skating pair.
“Once the music comes on,” he said, “they switch off everything else, and they switch on what they are used to, which is just, you’re going out there and doing what you’re supposed to do.”

 

[puglover]

A timely article about skaters' injuries and other challenges (Bates, Gogolev who once competed with "a stress fracture in my lumbar spine" & Michaud's shingles are all referenced) by Devika Desai for the National Post (Feb. 4):

From shingles to smiles: Why Olympic figure skaters learn to mask their pain

Hockey players are celebrated for playing hurt, figure skaters at the Milan-Cortina Olympics are trained to conceal their aches and pains

nationalpost.com

Not ice dancing but we get the picture.