Eric Radford

Eric Radford
Duhamel and Radford in 2011
Personal information
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1985-01-27) January 27, 1985 Winnipeg, Manitoba
Home town	Balmertown, Ontario
Residence	Montreal, Quebec
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Partner	Meagan Duhamel
Former partner	Anne-Marie Giroux Rachel Kirkland Sarah Burke
Coach	Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, Sylvie Fullum
Former coach	Brian Orser
Choreographer	Julie Marcotte
Skating club	CPA St. Leonard
Began skating	1993
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	231.99 2016 Worlds
Short program	78.18 2016 Worlds
Free skate	153.81 2016 Worlds
Medal record Representing  Canada Figure skating: Pairs Olympic Games 2014 Sochi Team World Championships 2015 Shanghai Pairs 2016 Boston Pairs 2013 London Pairs 2014 Saitama Pairs Four Continents Championships 2013 Osaka Pairs 2015 Seoul Pairs 2011 Taipei Pairs Grand Prix Final 2014–15 Barcelona Pairs 2015–16 Barcelona Pairs World Team Trophy 2013 Tokyo Team 2012 Tokyo Team

Eric Radford (born January 27, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With partner Meagan Duhamel, he is a two-time world champion (2015, 2016), an Olympic silver medalist in the team event, a two-time Four Continents champion (2013, 2015), the 2014–15 Grand Prix Final champion, and a five-time Canadian national champion (2012–16).

Personal life

Radford was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Balmertown, Ontario.^[1][2] He moved to Kenora at age 14, to Winnipeg and Montreal at 15, and to Toronto at 16.^[3] He studied music at York University^[4] and holds a Grade 9 Royal Conservatory of Music certificate.^[1] He plays piano and writes and composes music,^[5] and registered as a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada in 2014.^[6] During the summer of 2016, Radford composed the 2016–17 free skate music for fellow Canadian skater and three-time world champion Patrick Chan.^[7]

In December 2014, Radford publicly came out as gay in an interview with the LGBT publication Outsports.^[8] In doing so, he became the first competitive figure skater ever to come out at the height of his career while still a contender for championship titles, rather than waiting until he was near or past retirement;^[8] at the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships, Radford and Duhamel's gold medal win in pairs skating made him the first openly gay figure skater ever to win a medal at that competition.^[9] He is an ambassador for the Canadian Olympic Committee's #OneTeam program to combat homophobia in sports.^[8]

Radford coaches skating in addition to competing.^[10]

Early career

Radford began skating when he was eight years old.^[11] He competed with Sarah Burke on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in 2003 in the Czech Republic and 2004 in Hungary, placing 6th and 5th respectively. He also competed in single skating. At the 2005 Canadian Championships, he became trapped in an elevator just before he was scheduled to skate in the men's qualifying round but eventually escaped and was able to compete.^[12]

Radford teamed up with Rachel Kirkland in 2005.^[13] They were coached by Brian Orser in Toronto and part-time by Ingo Steuer in Chemnitz, Germany. They competed at the 2007 Canadian Championships where they finished 5th. After finishing 7th at the 2009 Canadian Championships, they ended their partnership.

Radford moved back to Montreal in 2009.^[3] He teamed up with Anne-Marie Giroux and finished 8th at the 2010 Canadian Championships.

Partnership with Duhamel

2010–11 season

At a coach's suggestion, Radford had a tryout with Meagan Duhamel, and they decided to compete together.^[14][15] They won a silver medal at the 2011 Canadian Championships and were assigned to the Four Continents and World Championships. At Four Continents, the pair won a silver medal. During the short program at the 2011 World Championships, Radford's nose was broken when Duhamel's elbow hit him on the descent from a twist, their first element – she opened up too early.^[16][17] Seeing the blood, Duhamel suggested they stop, but he decided to continue. They finished the program without a pause.^[16] Duhamel had not done a triple twist since 2005, and the new pair only began performing it before the Canadian Championships.^[18]

2011–12 season

In the 2011–12 season, Duhamel/Radford won bronze medals at their Grand Prix events, the 2011 Skate Canada and 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard. They won their first national title and finished 5th at the 2012 World Championships.

2012–13 season

The next season, Duhamel/Radford won silver at their Grand Prix events, the 2012 Skate Canada International and 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. They then won their second national title^[19] and their first Four Continents title.^{[20] [21]} Duhamel/Radford stepped onto the World podium for the first time at the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario where they won the bronze medal.

2013–14 season

In the 2013-2014 season, Duhamel/Radford skated their short program to music composed by Radford as a tribute to his late coach Paul Wirtz.^[22] After finishing seventh at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi,^[4] they returned to the podium at the 2014 World Championships, where they scored personal bests in both the short program and the free skate on their way to a second bronze medal.^[23]

2014–15 season

Duhamel/Radford practiced a quad throw Salchow during the summer of 2014.^[24] At the inaugural 2014 Autumn Classic International held in Barrie, Ontario, they successfully executed the quad throw Salchow and won the event.^[25] They were chosen to compete at the 2014 Skate Canada International and 2014 NHK Trophy in the 2014–15 Grand Prix season.^[26] They won both events and eventually won their first Grand Prix Final title.^[27] At the Grand Prix Final, they improved their personal best scores in the free skating and combined total.^[28] They continued their first place streak by winning their fourth Canadian title and their second Four Continents title.^[29] In March 2015, they won gold in pairs at the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships, capping a perfect season in which they won gold at every international event where they competed.^[30]

2015–16 season

Duhamel/Radford began the 2015–16 season by winning the 2015 Skate Canada Autumn Classic.^[31] Turning to the Grand Prix series, they won gold medals at the 2015 Skate Canada International and 2015 NHK Trophy. In December, they took silver behind Stolbova/Klimov at the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona.

In January 2016, Duhamel/Radford won their fifth consecutive national title at the Canadian Championships. They withdrew from the 2016 Four Continents Championships in Taipei due to Duhamel's illness. In April, they competed at the 2016 World Championships in Boston, placing second in the short and first in the free. They were awarded the gold medal ahead of Sui/Han and Savchenko/Massot, who took silver and bronze respectively.

Programs

With Duhamel

With Kirkland

With Burke

Competitive highlights

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

With Duhamel

With Giroux

With Kirkland

With Burke

Single skating

Detailed results

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.

(with Duhamel)

References

External links

Media related to Eric Radford at Wikimedia Commons

• Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford at the International Skating Union