Maxime Deschamps

2022–23 season: First national title and Four Continents bronze

Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps began the 2022–23 season with a gold medal at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.^[10] The team was then invited to make their Grand Prix debut at the 2022 Skate America, and won the silver medal, only 3.5 points behind gold medalists Knierim/Frazier. This was the first Grand Prix medal for both skaters.^[11] They travelled to Angers for the 2022 Grand Prix de France, their second Grand Prix event, and won the gold medal. This was the first Grand Prix win for both skaters. Their results qualified them for the Grand Prix Final.^[12] Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps entered the event considered likely bronze medalists and placed third in the short program, distantly behind top-ranked teams Knierim/Frazier and Japan's Miura/Kihara and 2.04 points of Italians Conti/Macii. Stellato-Dudek said she was pleased by the result, revealing that she had "got really ill" in recent weeks and "had to take time off the ice and off the training, and I lost weight, and I lost muscles, so we were training very hard to try and be ready for here."^[13] However, the team struggled in the free skate, placing fifth in that segment and dropping behind the Italians for fourth overall.^[14] She called this a disappointment but said it was understandable in light of their training difficulties.^[15]

Stellato-Dudek continued to experience health difficulties in the aftermath of the Final, presumed to be a result of respiratory syncytial virus infection, which made her unable to breathe through her mouth. She had limited medical options for dealing with the virus given the need to remain compliant with WADA guidelines.^[16] Despite these difficulties, the pair resolved to compete at the 2023 Canadian Championships, with Stellato-Dudek explaining that "I want it so badly because I want it for Max so much, because this is his tenth Canadian championship and last year I was so proud, I was the first partner you got a medal with in senior. So, to be the partner that brings him the gold would be really special to me."^[17] They won the gold medal by a margin of 11.92 points over silver medallists McIntosh/Mimar.^[18]

Following the national championships, Stellato-Dudek eventually recovered from the extended illness, and was assessed as being at "100% of her physical power" for a week in advance of the 2023 Four Continents Championships. They finished second in the short program despite her stepping out of their throw jump.^[19][20] The free skate proved somewhat more difficult, with Deschamps falling on an attempt at the triple Salchow jump. They were third in that segment, albeit with a new personal best score, and won the bronze medal.^[21] This was the first ISU championship medal of Deschamps' career.^[22]

Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps placed fourth in the short program at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, only 0.43 points behind Conti/Macii in third.^[23] Both erred on their triple Salchow attempt in the free skate, and they finished sixth in that segment, but remained in fourth overall.^[24][25] Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps then joined Team Canada for the 2023 World Team Trophy, where they came third in the short program, narrowly beating Conti/Macii.^[26] They were fourth in the free skate, while Team Canada finished sixth overall.^[27]

2023–24 season: World and Four Continents champions, Grand Prix Final bronze

In anticipation of Deschamps' home province hosting the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, the duo selected Cirque du Soleil's "Oxygène" as a homage to French Canadian culture. Their Interview with the Vampire free program featured Stellato-Dudek acting the part of a vampire.^[28]

Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps won gold. They set new personal bests in the free skate and total score, passing 200 points in the latter for the first time.^[29] On the Grand Prix, they competed first at the 2023 Skate Canada International, placing first in both segments to win the gold medal. They broke the 140-point threshold in the free skate for the first time, and set a new personal best in total score as well. Stellato-Dudek commented afterward: "I am very happy, which is a rarity. We have been waiting for a performance like this for years!"^[30] At the 2023 Cup of China, they won the segment and earned a 4.06-point lead over Italians Ghilardi/Ambrosini, despite Stellato-Dudek putting a hand down on their throw. “We are happy our three-week marathon of competitions and travel is over,” Stellato-Dudek said. “We will check the protocols to see where we can improve. This week was a test to our mental and physical strength.”^[31] They said the event was a test for them given the travel to China.^[32] The free skate proved more difficult, including an aborted final lift, but they still won that segment as well and took another Grand Prix gold. She said afterward that they were "exhausted at the start of the program and it was fight from beginning to the end, but we are happy with the outcome."^[33]

Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps entered the 2023–24 Grand Prix Final as one of the perceived gold medal contenders. After minor mistakes on their jump and throw, they finished narrowly second in the short program, 1.34 points back of new German team Hase/Volodin and 0.92 ahead of Italians Conti/Macii in third. They had problems with both jumps and throws in the free skate as well, dropping to third place overall, albeit 2.13 points back of first. Both said that they had higher expectations, but Stellato-Dudek added that "we showed that even with big mistakes on the elements, we can score pretty high."^[34]

At the 2024 Canadian Championships, the duo finished first in the short program, but only by 0.82 points over Pereira/Michaud after errors on both their throw and side-by-side jumps. Despite jump errors in the free skate Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps won that segment by a wide margin and took their second consecutive national title. They both said that they had done considerable work on throw improvements in the leadup.^[35]

Returning to China for the third time that season for the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai, where Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps faced reigning Japanese world champions Miura/Kihara, who were returning to competition after an absence due to injury. The Canadians won the short program despite Deschamps falling on his triple toe loop attempt.^[36] They won the free skate as well, despite Stellato-Dudek hurting her arm on the landing of their opening triple twist and a later jump error by Deschamps, and took their first Four Continents title. Saying they were very happy with the result, Stellato-Dudek added there was "definitely still a lot of growth in the performance, we know we can do a lot better than that, and we're looking forward to doing that at Worlds."^[37]

At the World Championships, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps won the short program with a new personal best score of 77.48, an advantage of 3.95 points over Miura/Kihara in second place. In the free skate, Stellato-Dudek stepped out of the end of her jump combination attempt, but the program was otherwise clean. The team came second in that segment, 0.27 points behind Miura/Kihara, but remained in first place overall and took the gold medal.^[38] This was the first World title for a Canadian pair since Duhamel/Radford in 2016, and the first for Canada in any discipline since Kaetlyn Osmond in 2018.^[39] Deschamps said that he "felt nothing but pride" at their performance and the result,^[38] which attracted significant media coverage for the team due to Stellato-Dudek's becoming the oldest-ever figure skating World champion in any discipline.^[39][40]

2024–25 season: Four Continents silver

Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps began the season by winning silver at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy behind Hase/Volodin.^[41][42] Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, the pair won the short program at 2024 Skate Canada International with an almost nine-point lead over the teams in second and third place. However, they made several mistakes in the free skate and placed second in that segment of the competition, although their lead after the short program was enough to hang onto first place. Following the event, Deschamps said, "That was certainly not easy tonight. It was going well at home, but it's gonna happen sometimes."^[42][43]

Three weeks later, the pair would deliver stronger performances at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy, where they won a second Grand Prix gold medal. Stellato-Dudek had a fluke fall in the free skate, but said she felt it went better than at Skate Canada.^[44] They subsequently qualified for the 2024–25 Grand Prix Final.^[42] In the leadup to the Final, however, Deschamps fell ill, beginning with a fever that lasted four days. They ultimately had to withdraw from the Final.^[45]

On December 11, less than a week after their withdrawal from the Grand Prix Final, Stellato-Dudek took the Canadian oath of citizenship, resolving the team's longstanding questions around eligibility to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.^[45] The team next competed at the 2025 Canadian Championships, seeking a third consecutive national title. Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps won the short program with only a step-out on their throw jump. The free skate was more difficult, with a number of errors on jumps and throws, as well as a time violation deduction, and they came second in that segment behind Pereira/Michaud. Remaining first overall, they took the gold medal.^[46] Deschamps expressed frustration with the performance, adding "we won, but it’s not just about winning, it’s about what we put out on the ice. We want to do better, obviously.”"^[47]

In the short program at the 2025 Four Continents Championships, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps struggled somewhat, with Deschamps' triple toe landing imperfect and Stellato-Dudek putting a hand down on their throw triple loop. They came fourth in the segment, 0.13 points behind Pereira/Michaud in third. Speaking afterward, she again expressed frustration, noting as well that she had hurt her hip on a choreographic practice beforehand. The team then had a strong free skate, the only error being another touchdown by her on the throw triple loop element, coming second in the segment with a season's best score of 141.26 and rising to second place overall. Deschamps remarked afterward that "the whole year we haven't been able to pull it out in competition," but after the difficulties in the short program they were "just able to go out today and just go skate free and have fun and attack everything. That's what we haven't been doing this season."^[48]

Going on to compete at the 2025 World Championships, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps placed seventh in the short program and fifth in the free skate, finishing in fifth place overall.^[42][49] Reflecting on the event, Stellato-Dudek shared in an interview following the free skate, "Yesterday [the short program] was really kind of disappointing, today felt much better. It was a good bounce back. I’m a little bit disappointed about the toeloop. I haven’t missed one in two years, so that’s kind of upsetting. We were told that this season, going into everything as defending champions, would be difficult, but now we actually know what it means. A person who’s been in figure skating for more than 50 years told us that it’s probably a good thing to give that burden of being the defending world champion going into the Olympic season to someone else. Now I’m really hungry for next season. I feel like I am better at attacking."^[50]

Selected to compete for Team Canada at the 2025 World Team Trophy, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps placed fourth in all segments of the pairs event and Team Canada finished fifth overall.^[42][51][52] “This competition was tough,” said Stellato-Dudek. “You’re tired coming in and then the big jet lag for us from North America, and I was like, ‘oh this long program is going to be tough!’ It was harder than I thought it was going to be. I changed the position of my forward outside death spiral. It wasn’t for the level, it was for GOE.”^[52]

2025–26 season: Milano Cortina Olympics

Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps started their season in early September by winning gold at the 2025 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition.^[42] During the event, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps became the first pair team to perform an assisted backflip in an ISU competition.^[1][53]

They then went on to win the silver medal at the 2025 Grand Prix de France.^[54] "For me, winning the medal means that we fought through, and despite the mistakes, we didn't give up," said Stellato-Dudek after the free skate.^[55]

Two weeks later, Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps competed at 2025 Skate Canada International where they won their third consecutive Skate Canada International title. The team placed second in the short program after some mistakes. “For us, it was more attack than what we did in France,” said Deschamps when comparing the performances. “We got some little silly mistakes on some stuff, but it’s okay. We’ll get back and work on them to make sure that doesn’t happen.”^[56] Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps went on to place first in the free skate with a new season's best, moving up first place overall. “We’ve won Skate Canada before, but this one, it holds so much weight being in the big year,” said Stellato-Dudek. “We’re just really proud that we can have this victory in front of a home crowd.”^[56]

The following month, the duo finished sixth at the 2025–26 Grand Prix Final. "I don't really know what to say when it's like so far from how we practice," said Stellato-Dudek after the free skate. "We felt ready and everything," added Deschamps. "We had some good performances, but we need to do it more often, it's not enough right now. We will take a week off to recover."^[57]

In January, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps competed at the 2026 Canadian Championships as the heavy favourites. Shortly before the event, Stellato-Dudek fell ill with a stomach bug. Despite this, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps won the short program by a nine-point margin over Pereira/Michaud. Their free program, however, was riddled with errors, allowing Pereira/Michaud to capture the gold medal ahead of them.^[58] Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps were subsequently named to the 2026 Winter Olympic team.^[59]

On 2 February, days before the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team Event, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced that Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps would be unable to participate due to Stellato-Dudek sustaining an injury during training. They further stated that Stellato-Dudek's condition would be closely monitored to determine whether she and Deschamps will be able to partake in the Individual Pairs Event set to take place the following week.^[60] On 10 February, it was announced that Stellato-Dudek had been cleared to compete in the individual pair skating event despite having hit her head during a training accident.^[61][62]

The team went on to compete in the pairs' individual event at the 2026 Winter Olympics where they placed 11th overall. “We lost two weeks of training leading up to this,” said Stellato-Dudek after the free skate. “We had to make some strategic decisions going into the free program. But the way that we held that together after not doing a run-through for two weeks is pretty amazing. I joke with Maxim that he literally and figuratively always carries me through when I’m having a hard time, and he did not disappoint tonight.” ^[63]

In July, Deschamps announced he was retiring from competitive skating. ^[64]