Meagan defends her World title

An initial glance may have led many to believe prospects were good, as Meagan and her partner Eric Radford had retained their Canadian title emphatically in January. However, both skaters felt that their form had been faltering.

“It’s been frustration after frustration after frustration for us this season,” said Megan recently. “You work so hard, and that frustration — it hurts you so deeply. It just feels so good when it all comes together.”

Quality opposition

This year’s competition saw tough competition and they knew a strong performance was required. Among their rivals were a team who had won the World title five times and the Olympic Gold winners.

Their short routine placed them in second place behind a Chinese pair, which meant prospects were good as Meagan and Eric expected to do well in the long programme.

Technical excellence at difficult aspects included successfully landing a side-by-side triple Lutz and an acclaimed throw quad Salchow.

As the performance finished Meagan felt they had done enough to win.  Meanwhile TV commentators were describing their performance as “the best of the night” and “absolutley phenomenol, technically”.  The long programme (watch it here) scored them a personal-best 153.81 points and gave them a 231.99 total. This gave them a clear lead of over seven points over second, although the quality of the competition showed with six pairs scoring over 200 points.

The win is another chapter in an amazing recent couple of years which has earned vegan Meagan and her partner Eric a place in the history of their sport.

Skating article on the win

Scores

News report

Another report

Meagan’s profile