Maxime Deschamps

Maxime Deschamps
Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps at the 2023 Four Continents Championships
Born	(1991-12-20) December 20, 1991 (age 32) Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada
Hometown	Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Canada
Partner	Deanna Stellato-Dudek
Coach	Josée Picard Stéphanie Fiorito
Skating club	CPAR Vaudreuil
Began skating	1997
Medal record Representing  Canada Pairs' figure skating Four Continents Championships 2023 Colorado Springs Pairs Grand Prix Final 2023–24 Beijing Pairs

Maxime Deschamps (born December 20, 1991) is a Canadian pair skater. With his skating partner, Deanna Stellato-Dudek, he is the 2023 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2023–24 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a three-time ISU Grand Prix gold medalist, a two-time ISU Challenger Series gold medalist, and two-time Canadian national champion (2023–2024).

With Vanessa Grenier and Sydney Kolodziej, he competed at two Four Continents Championships (2016, 2018) and four Grand Prix events.

Personal life

Deschamps suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. With respect to its impact on his competitive career, he has said "when I come into competitions, concentration is really easy for me. It's mostly at home where it's challenging on a daily basis."^[1]

Career

Early years

Deschamps began learning to skate in 1997.^[2] He placed 6th in novice pairs with Alysson Dugas at the 2010 Canadian Championships, 10th in junior pairs with Catherine Baldé at the 2011 Canadian Championships, and 7th in junior pairs with Naomie Boudreau at the 2013 Canadian Championships.

Partnership with Grenier

In 2013, Deschamps teamed up with Vanessa Grenier. The two became the 2014 Canadian junior champions.^[3] Making their Grand Prix debut, they placed 6th at the 2014 Skate America.^[4] The pair finished 7th at the 2015 Skate Canada International and 8th at the 2016 Four Continents Championships. They were coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte in Montreal, Quebec.^[2] Grenier and Deschamps split up in May 2016.^[5]

Partnership with Kolodziej

In 2016, Deschamps teamed up with Sydney Kolodziej from the United States. The pair finished 6th at the 2017 Canadian Championships, ranking 6th in the short program and 4th in the free skate.

Coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum in Saint-Leonard, Quebec, Kolodziej/Deschamps made their international debut as a pair in September at the 2017 CS U.S. Classic, where they placed 7th. Skate Canada also selected the pair to compete at a Grand Prix event, the 2017 Skate Canada International. They finished 8th at their Grand Prix assignment and 7th at the 2018 Canadian Championships. They were named in Canada's team to the 2018 Four Continents Championships in Taipei and finished 9th after placing 8th in the short program and 9th in the free skate.

Partnership with Stellato

Deschamps announced a new partnership with American skater Deanna Stellato in 2019. After securing her release from the USFS, they debuted internationally at the 2021 CS Autumn Classic International, placing fourth.^[6] They won the bronze medal at the 2022 Canadian Championships.^[7] Stellato/Deschamps went on to finish fourth at the 2022 Four Continents Championships.^[8]

2022–23 season

Stellato/Deschamps began the 2022–23 season with a gold medal at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11] Stellato/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 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."^[12] However, the team struggled in the free skate, placing fifth in that segment and dropping behind the Italians for fourth overall.^[13] She called this a disappointment but said it was understandable in light of their training difficulties.^[14]

Stellato 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.^[15] Despite these difficulties, the pair resolved to compete at the 2023 Canadian Championships, with Stellato 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."^[16] They won the gold medal by a margin of 11.92 points over silver medallists McIntosh/Mimar.^[17]

Following the national championships, Stellato 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.^[18][19] 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.^[20] This was the first ISU championship medal of Deschamps' career.^[21]

Stellato/Deschamps placed fourth in the short program at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, only 0.43 points behind Conti/Macii in third.^[22] Both erred on their triple Salchow attempt in the free skate, and they finished sixth in that segment, but remained in fourth overall.^[23][24] Stellato/Deschamps then joined Team Canada for the 2023 World Team Trophy, where they came third in the short program, narrowly beating Conti/Macii.^[25] They were fourth in the free skate, while Team Canada finished sixth overall.^[26]

2023–24 season

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.^[27]

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.^[28] 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!"^[29] 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. They said the event was a test for them given the travel to China.^[30] 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."^[31]

Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps entered the 2023–24 Grand Prix Final as one of the perceived gold medal contenders. After minor mistakes on their jumpa 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."^[32]

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.^[33]

Programs

With Stellato-Dudek

With Kolodziej

With Grenier

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Pairs with Stellato-Dudek

With Kolodziej

With Grenier

Early partnerships

Detailed results

With Stellato-Dudek

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

References

External links

• Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps at the International Skating Union
• Sydney Kolodziej / Maxime Deschamps at the International Skating Union
• Vanessa Grenier / Maxime Deschamps at the International Skating Union