Skaters set their sights on Sochi in 2014

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This article was published 30/04/2013 (4856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AT least half the cast of Stars on Ice will turn their attention to landing on the 2014 Olympic Winter Games podium in Sochi, Russia, when their tour ends mid-May.

As reigning three-time world champ, Patrick Chan is a favourite for gold, as are Canada’s 2010 Olympic ice dance gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. World pairs bronze medallists Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and U.S. national champion Ashley Wagner also have podium potential, as does Canadian Joannie Rochette, should she decide to return to competition.

Rochette won hearts and a bronze medal in 2010 as she grieved her mother’s sudden death in Vancouver on the eve of the competition. Rochette has not competed since, but has said she would like to have “an Olympic experience that is more light on the heart.”

She also relishes the idea of competing in the new team event in which Canada is a front-runner for gold.

Rochette is in great shape, has honed her performance ability while touring and still has command of all the triple jumps. What she has wrestled with is recommitting to the rigorous, all-consuming training regimen of an Olympic athlete.

Rochette said she will announce her intentions after the Stars on Ice tour.