David Pelletier
David Pelletier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Sayabec, Quebec, Canada | November 22, 1974||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Partner | Jamie Salé | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Skating club | CPA Pierrefonds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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David Jacques Pelletier (born November 22, 1974) is a
Early life and career
Pelletier was born in
After failing to reach the podium the next two years, Pelletier and Gaylor split and Pelletier paired up with young singles skater Caroline Roy. Just before the 1998 Canadian championships, Pelletier's former partner Julie Laporte was killed in a car accident. Pelletier and Roy had a strong skate, but placed 6th and split soon after the event.
Partnership with Jamie Salé
Pelletier asked coach Richard Gauthier to help him find another partner, and he suggested Salé. They traveled to Edmonton in February 1998 to try out with Salé again. "The first time we grabbed hands, it was just great," said Pelletier, and by the next month Salé had moved to Montreal to skate with him.
The
Their fall successes made them favorites for the Canadian title, but they struggled technically and finished second. The silver medal earned them a spot on the
1999–2000
In the summer of 1999, Gauthier enlisted the help of
They competed at the 2000
2000–2001
Salé and Pelletier returned to Lori Nichol for their 2000–01 programs. She choreographed a jazzy short to "Come Rain or Come Shine" and a dramatic, mature long to
The pair was again a great hit at the 2001 Canadian Championships in
The 2001 World Championships were held in Vancouver, and Salé and Pelletier entered as heavy favorites. Trouble on the side-by-side jumps landed them in third place in the short program, but the team was placed first in the long program despite Salé singling a side-by-side double axel. They were the first Canadian pair to win Worlds since Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler in 1993, and the first pair to win at a Worlds held in Canada since Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini in 1984. They would later win the Lou Marsh Trophy as outstanding Canadian athlete in 2001.
2002 Winter Olympics
Salé and Pelletier again demonstrated early success in the 2001–02 season, winning both Skate America and Skate Canada with their new long program to "Adagio Sostenuto" by
The Grand Prix Final, held in Kitchener, Ontario, was important because it was the only chance to test their programs against the top contenders before the Olympics. Despite a rough performance of "Orchid" in the first long program, Salé and Pelletier once again won skating a flawless performance of "Love Story" for their second long program. They headed into the 2002 Canadian Championships in Hamilton, Ontario, with confidence, having defeated Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze, their biggest rivals. They were able to win the title despite a badly flawed long program.
The pressure for the Olympics was intense. Despite several silvers and bronzes, Canada had only won two gold medals in figure skating, in 1948 and 1960. All eyes were on Salé and Pelletier to break the streak and win, overcoming the Russian pairs dominance that had lasted for 40 years. They skated their short program well, only to trip and fall on their closing pose. Because the fall was not on an element, it did not receive a deduction. They placed second behind Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze.
The controversy resulted in several changes to the judging system after Salt Lake City. First anonymous judging was incorporated to "relieve outside pressure" from judges by separating their names from their marks so pressurers could not assert whether the judge had acted as they wished or not. The ISU Judging System, based on a Code of Points rather than a 6.0 scale, was adopted for use in the Grand Prix season of 2003–04, and for all 2004–05 competitions and thereafter.
Post-Olympic career
After the Olympics, having settled in Edmonton, Alberta, the pair turned professional and toured North America with Stars on Ice, a popular figure skating show.
Salé and Pelletier were inducted into the
Battle of the Blades
On August 22, 2011, CBC television announced that Pelletier would compete in Season 3 of their figure skating competition TV program Battle of the Blades. He was paired with hockey player Tessa Bonhomme, and on November 14, 2011, the pair won the $100,000 first prize for the charities of their choice, Ronald McDonald House Southern Alberta (Pelletier) and Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation ‘CIBC Run for the Cure’ – Sudbury Run Site (Bonhomme).[12]
Hockey coach
After retiring from competition, Pelletier became an ice hockey power skating coach, working with professional and high level amateur players, including players from the Canadian women's hockey team.[13]
In September 2014, Pelletier was hired as a skating coach for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League,[13] a role he still holds as of the 2021–22 season.[14]
Personal life
Pelletier was married to ice dancer Marie-Josee Fortin for a year before he began skating with Salé and ended his marriage. Pelletier proposed to Salé on
In June 2010, Salé and Pelletier announced plans to divorce following an 18-month separation, sharing custody of their son.[18] They continued to skate together until retiring in 2012.[1] Pelletier married Russian figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva on July 25, 2020.[19][20] They live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Competitive results
Pairs
Amateur
(with Jamie Salé)
Event | 1998–1999 | 1999–2000 | 2000–2001 | 2001–2002 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Winter Olympic Games | 1st | |||
World Championships | 4th | 1st | ||
Four Continents Championships |
1st | 1st | ||
Grand Prix Final |
5th | 1st | 1st | |
GP Skate America | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
GP Skate Canada International | 3rd | 1st | 1st | |
GP Nations Cup | 2nd | |||
GP Trophée Lalique |
2nd | |||
GP NHK Trophy | 3rd | |||
Canadian Championships | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
Canadian Open | 1st | |||
Masters of Figure Skating | 4th |
(with Caroline Roy)
Event | 1997–1998 |
---|---|
Canadian Championships | 6th |
(with Allison Gaylor)
Event | 1993–1994 | 1994–1995 | 1995–1996 | 1996–1997 |
---|---|---|---|---|
World Championships | 15th | |||
Nations Cup | 12th | |||
Canadian Championships | 8th | 2nd | 5th | 6th |
(with Julie Laporte)
Event | 1991–1992 | 1992–1993 |
---|---|---|
World Junior Championships | 5th | 7th |
Professional
(with Salé)
2003:
- World Team Challenge: 1st place (Team)
- Ice Wars: 2nd place (Team)
2002:
- Hallmark Skaters' Championship: 1st place
- Sears Canadian Open: 1st place
Singles
1995:
- Canadian Figure Skating Championships: 4th place
Awards and honours
- 2001 – Winner of Lou Marsh Trophyas Canadian athlete of the year (with Jamie Salé)
- 2012 - Inducted in the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame[21]
References
- ^ a b Barlott, Caroline (April 1, 2015). "A Modern Family: After splitting up on and off the ice, Olympic gold medallists Jamie Sal and David Pelletier have formed a new kind of partnership". Avenue magazine Edmonton. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze impress the judges". Associated Press. February 9, 2002.
- ^ a b Harvey, Randy (February 13, 2002). "Skating on Thin Ice? It Figures". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Dixon, Robyn (February 16, 2002). "It's an Outrage to Russians". Los Angeles Times.
- ISBN 9781845134914. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ "2002 Olympic Winter Games: Pairs Figure Skating Highlights". Golden Skate. February 12, 2002. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008.
[Salé/Pelletier's program] was not quite up to the standard set by the Russians in terms of complexity and originality
- ^ Mittan, Barry (March 2, 2002). "As the Skate Spins". Golden Skate. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008.
- ^ Loosemore, Sandra (writer for CBS Sportsline) (February 2002). "2002 Olympic Pairs Free Skate Analysis". SkateWeb. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010.
- ^ "Maybe the Russians really did win". Pasadena Star News. February 13, 2002.
- ^ "* Index * Jamie Sale". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011.
- ^ Little, Lyndon (January 23, 2009). "Sale, Pelletier among inductees into Olympic Hall of Fame". The Vancouver Sun. Postmedia Network Inc. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^ "Headline". CBC News. Archived from the original on November 2, 2011.
- ^ a b Sexsmith, John (September 14, 2014). "Edmonton Oilers hire former Olympic champion David Pelletier as skating coach". Global News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ "David Pelletier – Skating Coach". oilers.ice.nhl.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "David Pelletier and Jamie Salé Marriage Profile". Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2007.
- ^ "Olympic Figure Skaters Wed". People. January 7, 2006. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ Benet, Lorenzo (October 1, 2007). "Ice Skaters Jamie Salé & David Pelletier Have a Son". People. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "Olympic gold medallists Salé, Pelletier divorce". CBC.ca. June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ^ Prahl, Amanda (October 6, 2021). "Bad Sport: How Jamie Salé and David Pelletier's Lives Changed After the 2002 Olympics". Yahoo!. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ "Ekaterina Gordeeva on Instagram". Instagram. July 26, 2021. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ "Canada's Sports Hall of Fame". sportshall.ca. Retrieved August 24, 2017.[permanent dead link]
External links
- David Pelletier at the International Skating Union
- David Pelletier at Team Canada
- David Pelletier at Olympics.com
- David Pelletier at Olympedia
- David Pelletier at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- David Pelletier at IMDb