Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford CAN
2012 Grand Prix Final free skate
Remember when Meagan Duhamel flew through the air on a triple twist and landed elbow-to-nose with Eric Radford at Worlds in 2011? Broken nose and all, Radford persevered and finished the program, and they finished seventh at the event.
It was their first season together – Duhamel/Radford was a pair with lots of raw talent but little refinement. You wonder if they could translate it into success.
Last season was a revelation of sorts – they had two programs that played to their strengths – big elements and excitement. Their bread-and-butter was pushing the technical envelope, and their free skate at Canadians was breathtaking because of that. But this season, Duhamel/Radford made even bigger strides and have displayed moments of greatness.
Originally, this post was supposed to have been their free skate from Canadian Nationals. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to exist anywhere on the YouTube-verse, and TSN didn’t archive their upload. So I went to their free skate at the Grand Prix Final – and I realized that it is this program that truly exemplifies why they have come so far so fast.
After hitting some of the hardest elements in the world – including a side-by-side triple lutz – they botched their last lift. But the determination that this pair shows in that lift is exactly what has brought them to where they are today. That lift could have been a much bigger disruption to the program – they could’ve easily given up and omitted it completely. But they powered through.
It’s this characteristic that has lifted them (pun intended) from raw talent to cohesive pair. There’s no plateau in sight for them right now. It’s exciting to see.
NEXT: #20 They’ve been looking for someone like her
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