MONTREAL — Canadian ice dancers Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon announced their retirement from competitive figure skating on Tuesday.
Silver medallist Patrice Lauzon, left, and his partner Marie-France Dubreuil pose for a photo after the awards ceremony for the ice dancing free dance program at the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo March 23, 2007. The duo announced their retirement today.
They are best remembered for their romantic routines that helped them win two silver medals at the world figure skating championships in 2006 and ’07.
“While it is always a difficult decision for skaters to turn the page on their competitive careers, Patrice and I are proud that we can do so confidently and with no regrets,” Dubreuil said in a release. “We have so much to look forward to together, both on the ice and off, and we are anxious to move on to all that the future has in store for us.”
Dubreuil and Lauzon, who will marry in August in Montreal, are planning to join the professional skating circuit.
They competed together for 13 years, winning the Canadian national championship five times, but did not skate competitively this past season.
“We have very much enjoyed the opportunity to perform in professional shows around the world, and we realized together that that is where our hearts are at this stage in our career,” Dubreuil said. “We will always have very fond memories of competing for Canada, and we look forward to the opportunities to perform in front of our fans again soon.”
Added Lauzon: “We’re very happy that this is certainly not the end, but the beginning of an exciting new chapter in our career.”
-- THE CANADIAN PRESS
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