It was a bold decision that spoke volumes about both her confidence and potential.
Shortly before Christmas – already immersed in Olympic preparation ‘crunch time’ – Madeline Schizas and her Milton Skating Club team committed to a new slower-paced free program with seven triples.
While the revamped skate to ‘Butterfly Lovers Concerto’ was better suited to her style, introducing it so close to nationals – and in an Olympic qualification year to boot – was no easy task.
“That’s rarely done,” the 21-year-old Oakville Olympian said of the move, which meant a heightened seven-week workload for longtime coach Nancy Lemaire and her technical crew. “But it was clearly the right decision for me. It’s clearly within my comfort zone and what I’m best at. It’s a really good vehicle for me and one that set me up for success.”
That was abundantly evident at Laval, Quebec’s Place Bell Place Jan. 18-19, with Schizas delivering a near-flawless performance in both rounds to reclaim the overall senior women’s gold she captured in 2022 and 2023.
It was sweet redemption after hopes for a three-peat met with a mistake-riddled long program last year and overall second-place finish.
Breaking her own national record in the free skate with a 133.87-point effort this time around, she ended the weekend with a 203.87-point score to beat her closest rival by a whopping 21 points. An impressive 70-point short program was also good enough for first.
“It was exciting. It felt really deserved,” said the McMaster University environmental science major, who – unlike at many major competitions in recent years – had her extended family on hand in Laval. “I really feel like I stepped up. It took a lot of work and sacrifice from everyone to get it together in time.”
The return to national supremacy, noted Lemaire, is especially encouraging after a post 2022 Olympic season that met with a downturn in energy and focus for the still maturing skater.
“You kind of worry if that’s (drop off) the norm, which of course it isn’t,” said Schizas’ longtime coach, who was with her for an 18th-place showing at the Beijing Winter Games. “She’s in a really good spot (now). Technically it’s all the same skills she was doing before; it’s just more consistency, more confidence.”
Canada’s three-time champ will need the full extent of both to keep herself at the forefront of Olympic selection talks.
Now feeling much more equipped to handle the international environment than during her initial Olympic go-around, Schizas heads to Seoul in two weeks for the Four Continents championships.
From there, she’ll look to nail down a top-10 finish at her fifth world championships March 24-30 in Boston.
“I’m a lot more prepared now. There’s going to be a lot of strong competition, but if I skate the way I can I’m definitely in the mix.”