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Gatineau skater 'back on track'
The 18-year-old from Gatineau is back with her first coach, and headed back to where she really wants to be -- the Canadian figure skating championships.
And wouldn't you know it, the nationals are back at the Ottawa Civic Centre again. The same building, it should be noted, where Marcoux won a novice ladies silver medal while with the Minto Skating Club in 1996 -- her only previous appearance at Canadian figure skating's biggest show.
"I guess I like Ottawa ... it feels great (to be back)," the soft-spoken Marcoux said with a laugh yesterday, as she talked about her road back to nationals.
A road that, not always by her choice, wasn't anywhere near as smooth this time.
Marcoux earned her nationals ticket with a pair of standout skates in the junior ladies event at the Atlantic Divisionals in Corner Brook, Nfld., on the weekend. Her short program was clean, and worth second place in the judges' eyes. She followed with a free skate that, while not entirely mistake-free, included a triple toe loop-triple Salchow combination.
Her final standing: a bronze medal. The effort in getting there, though, was pure gold.
Marcoux badly sprained the ankle on her left (takeoff) foot at the end of June, and it was in a cast for two weeks.
"I went back on the ice in the middle of August, but I couldn't do jumps or spins," she said. "It was almost the end of September until I could get back to jumping. I had to work hard."
The jump to nationals is tougher in Quebec than anywhere else to begin with -- there's an extra sub-sectional step to take in a province deep in figure skating talent.
But if anything, the injury helped remind Marcoux not to look too far down the road. That and the memory of last season, when her year ended with a 10th-place finish at sectionals.
"In my head, my objective was to get back to Canadians," said Marcoux. "But I had to tell myself to take it one small step at a time."
Marcoux knew it was going to be this difficult when she headed home to her original club, Sans Frontiere in Gatineau, and her first coach, Lise Nadon, after the 1996-97 season. But the former Minto Skating Club competitor welcomed the test, and believes it's toughened her for a second try at nationals.
Now, she can think about a top-five finish when she returns to the Canadian championships at the end of January, which would put her on the junior national team. "I'm back on track," she said.
The road, however, is over for three other local skaters. Gloucester's Stefanie Partridge and Renee Richard were 16th and 20th, respectively at divisionals. Nancy Lance of Minto withdrew with an injury after placing 17th in the short program.
GYM DANDIES: The Ottawa Gymnastics Centre will have a strong presence on the men's team selected to represent Ontario at the Canada Winter Games, Feb. 20-March 6 in Corner Brook. Three of the seven team members -- Gatineau's Martin Monderie, and Jonah Swartz and Ken Cox of Ottawa -- are from OGC. The club's head coach, Matthew Sparks, will also be wearing Ontario colours in Corner Brook ... At the Elite Canada women's competition held on the weekend in Toronto, Kristen Coleman of OGC placed fifth all-around in the Junior High Performance category. Clubmate Heather Purnell was ninth and Cara Pomeroy placed 14th. Coleman's effort included a bronze medal in floor exercise ... Purnell and Melanie Banville have been picked to be part of a six-member Novice National team to compete at Gymnix in Montreal in March. The same month, Pomeroy is off to Windsor, England, for a meet.
LIONS ROAR: For the second time in three years, the Ottawa Lions won the junior women's team title at the Canadian cross-country championships. The Lions were led by Susie Egar, who finished ninth in her first nationals, held recently in Vancouver. Other Lions in the top 25: Katie Jeffrey, 14th; Julia Kirby, 21st, and Robin McRobbie, 25th. Meanwhile, the Lions' senior men had to settle for the silver team medal. Sean Kaley earned the individual silver medal. Other top Lion finishes: Chris Weber, third; Chris McGregor, seventh, and Scott MacDonald, 15th.