By The Canadian Press on May 25, 2023.
MONTREAL – Canadian figure skating greats Patrick Chan and Joannie Rochette have been named event ambassadors for the 2024 figure skating world championships in Montreal, Skate Canada announced on Thursday. Chan is Canada’s most decorated men’s figure skater, with 10 national titles, three world championship gold medals and three Olympic podiums. The 32-year-old from Toronto retired from competition in 2018. Rochette, of nearby La Visitation-de-l’ÃŽle-Dupas, Que., is a six-time women’s national champion, a world championships silver medallist and an Olympic bronze medallist. The 37-year-old won bronze just days after her mother’s death at the Vancouver 2010 Games and was named Canada’s flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies. The world championships are scheduled for March 18-24 at the Bell Centre. It’s Montreal’s first time hosting the world championships since 1932, and it’s the first event in Canada since London, Ont., hosted in 2013. The 2020 event was scheduled for Montreal but was cancelled on March 11, just five days before it was scheduled to start. It was one of the first global sports events to be wiped off the calendar by the pandemic. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2023. 8