“It was fun all the same,” said Loucas Éthier to Kelly Ann Laurin, who had just cast a disappointed look at the ceiling of the Bell Center. Fourteenth after an emotional performance the day before, the Quebec recruits struggled during a free routine that they had nevertheless performed to perfection throughout the season, Thursday evening, during the free program of the World Championships in Montreal.
Kelly Ann Laurin got herself into hot water from the start by falling on a double Axel which concluded a triple sequence. “It’s something that we succeeded all year, and then I think it shook us for the rest of the program,” noted Loucas Éthier. The other errors happened from there. »
After a second fall on the triple Salchow, Laurin fought to land both flying jumps. She succeeded, although she had to put her hands on the ice. The damage was done. With 109.30 points, for a total of 169.48, the Canadians fell one place, to conclude their first participation in the Worlds at 15e place, exactly where their personal best ranked them before the start of the competition.
“Despite everything, I had fun,” said the 18-year-old.
I tried to enjoy the moment from start to finish, even if it wasn’t the best performance of our lives, certainly one of the worst. The crowd helped me finish the solo. It was really a good experience to be here.
Kelly Ann Laurin
Both injured towards the end of this long season – she with a hip, he with a knee – Laurin and Éthier did not have the necessary time to regain all their automatisms. “So many errors in the program, it’s very unusual,” said their coach Stéphanie Valois.
Disappointed, the two skaters left with their heads held high after this “unparalleled experience”, promising themselves for the next Worlds in Boston.
“It’s never fun to make mistakes, but I think that’s where you learn the most,” recalled Éthier. Honestly, if we had managed everything today, would we have left here with this much baggage? It would have been fun, but we might not have learned as much. We take that and go back to work to perform better next year. »