LAVAL, Que. - It took five years, but Roman Sadovsky is once again a 好色tv champion.
Sadovsky captured his second gold medal in the men鈥檚 competition at the 好色tv figure skating championships Saturday, regaining the title he first won in 2020.
"How did I do it? Got my head in the game. I really trusted the training," he said. 鈥淎nother one in the book. Let鈥檚 see if we can get that hat trick.鈥
The charismatic 25-year-old from Vaughan, Ont., harnessed the energy from a raucous rink to reach the top of the podium.
When Sadovsky stepped on the surface, local favourite Anthony Paradis had just finished punching the ice in joy after bringing the crowd to its feet with an emotional skate.
鈥淭he crowd energy was wild,鈥 Sadovsky said. 鈥淚t was so loud to the point where I couldn't even hear the scores, for better or for worse.
鈥淚 really just tried to stay in the game, stay focused. Remembering to breathe is the biggest one, and not letting any mistakes get in my way."
While the fans at Place Bell serenaded Paradis, coach Tracey Wainman delivered a message to Sadovsky from behind the boards.
鈥淟isten, you're ready for this,鈥 she said. "Just trust in yourself.鈥
And he delivered.
Skating to music from "Interstellar," Sadovsky scored 158.91 points in an intense free program despite falling on a quad salchow jump, boosting his total to 240.35.
Paradis 鈥 a 17-year-old from Boisbriand, Que. 鈥 claimed silver with 225.56 and David Li of Richmond, B.C., totalled 197.99 to take bronze.
Later Saturday, reigning world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps won their third consecutive national pairs title despite a shaky free skate, by their standards.
Sadovsky, also a YouTuber, spoke before the competition about avoiding social media because of its 鈥渆xtreme鈥 negativity.
He stuck it to his haters on Saturday.
"It's very validating,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 wish I could say public opinion doesn't matter to me, but at the same time, it does a little bit, no matter what. You can see something, and you can have tough skin if you want. But no matter what, when someone openly says your deepest insecurities, you're like, 'Dude, I really didn't need that confirmation.'
鈥淩eally happy I could pull it off today, and it really is a stepping-stone for the rest of the season."
A year ago, Sadovsky finished sixth in his season debut at nationals following a stretch of seriously poor luck.
He began the campaign with an ankle injury and missed one event because he lost his luggage, including his skates. Then, he pulled out of another when his plane couldn鈥檛 land due to a snowstorm.
"I'm on a different floor at this point, right?鈥 he said. 鈥淛ust taking every step there, and I remember last season 鈥 I had to regroup after nationals.
鈥淭his time we're building."
Sadovsky鈥檚 鈥渂ig mission鈥 this year is to help Canada secure a second men鈥檚 spot for the 2026 Olympics. To do that, he鈥檒l need a top-10 finish at the Boston world championships in March 鈥 and he鈥檒l have to earn the single 好色tv selection first.
Skate Canada will announce its pick in February after the Four Continents Championship, where Sadovsky will have to prove himself again, although performances at nationals do factor into the decision.
In pairs, Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps didn鈥檛 enjoy the same satisfaction as Sadovsky despite ending up on top.
Stellato-Dudek and Deschamp鈥檚 free program score of 130.75 鈥 which included a fall on the throw triple loop 鈥 was second-best behind Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud鈥檚 134.53.
Their five-point cushion after Friday鈥檚 short was just enough to secure gold (207.06), but Stellato-Dudek answered with a definitive 鈥渘o鈥 when asked if they could enjoy another victory in Canada.
"I've done clean run-throughs since Max has been back (from an illness),鈥 she said. 鈥淚 don't really know what's happening this year, if I'm being totally honest. I don't know how many more clean run-throughs I have to do at home to do it in competition."
Pereira and Michaud won silver (204.96) while Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas 脡thier took bronze (187.29), matching the order of last year鈥檚 podium.
Earlier, two-time women鈥檚 champion Madeline Schizas took the lead after the short program. The 21-year-old from Oakville, Ont., scored 70 points with a stellar performance to her joyous 鈥淟ion King鈥 routine.
Ottawa鈥檚 Katherine Medland Spence had 61.99 points in second, while Montreal鈥檚 Sara-Maude Dupuis was third with 59.81.
Schizas won the event in 2022 and 2023 before Calgary鈥檚 Kaiya Ruiter spoiled her three-peat last year. Ruiter stumbled on her triple flip, triple toe loop combination and placed eighth Saturday (57.17).
Three-time ice dance champions Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won the rhythm dance, scoring 91.84 in their Beach Boys-themed routine. Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha placed second (86.42) and Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer were third (78.53).
The women鈥檚 free program and the free dance are scheduled for Sunday.
This report by 好色tvwas first published Jan. 18, 2025.
