Jamie Sale and David Pelletier:
THE TEAM!
In 1998 both Jamie and David were looking for new partners,. Jamie was ahving a great deal of difficulty being successful in singles. Following his own experience at the 1998 Nationals David was feeling very frustrated and even took two months off of skating. He decided that if he didn't find a partner with the qualities he was looking for, he'd just quit. As soon as he asked Richard Gauthierto help in find a partner, Richard was certain that the only possible choice was Jamie. In February, david and Richard went to Edmonton for a try-out and right away knoew this was it. They had tried out together two years earlier and had opted not to pair up. The timing just wasn't right but two years later it all fell into place. Gauthier knew they had what it took to make it but warned David to keep his emotions in check and make daily practices pleasant. Both had built up a lot of frustration from their past experiences and needed to work beyond that. However, the chemistry between them was obvious from the start.
Unfortunately, early on in their pairing Jamie had to have surgery on her foot and the two had to watch in frustration as other teams practised because they still didn't have a program. Jamie and David were honoured to be asked to compete at the 1998 Skate Canada competition. They made wonderful progress in their first few months as a team and were looking forward to competing internationally. At the event there was a buzz surrounding the pair even before their short program.. Everyone agreed that they'd found the perfect match. They skated beautifully in the short program and were ranked second going into the long. They made a few mistakes in the long program but finished thrid overall, winning a medal in their first international event! Following their great showing at Skate Canada, they were asked to compete at the NHK Trophy. In that event the competed against the world champions and finished third.
They were the favorites to witn the 1999 Nationals but Jamie had a problem with the side-by-side triples and they were seond after the short program. They ended up taking a silver medal and a spot ont the world team. However, they didn't get to go to the World Championships in Helsinki because a back problem kept David off the ice for both the Worlds and the Four Continents Championship.
Follwing their first season together, Jamie and David decided to have Lori Nichol choreograph their routines. Nichol knew exactly what aspects of Jamie and David's skating to highlight in order to create magic on the ice. Jamie and david's first event of the 1999-2000 season was Skate American. They placed first after the short program, stepping through the door opened for them by the reigning world champions. he following day they skated their free skate and had only a minor error. The magic of their performace earned them a standing ovation and the gold medal. It had also allowed them to beat the world champions. After Skate America Sale and Pelletier were considered one of the top pairs teams in the world. At the Nations Cup, they began to feel the pressure that comes with being at the top. However, despite that pressute, and the time change, they beat the world silver medallists and came in second behind Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov. Some felt they should have won. Their placement here and at Skate America qualified them for the Grand Prix Final. Jamie and David were also scheduled to compete in the Cup of Russia but David got food poisoning and they had no choice but to withdraw. Their next competition was the Grand Prix Final where they would be competiing against the elite. Having missed the previous year's Worlds this was their most prestigious compeition to date. For the first time at the event, competitors had to have two long programs. Jamie and David decided to do Love Story in the first round. In the second round they used their short program and a single mistake made them slip to fifth so they did ot qualify for the super-final.
Coming of off a great early season, Jamie and David received a lot of attention at the 2000 Nationals in Clalgray. For Jamie it was like skating on home ice because red Deer, her hometown, is just an hour and a half away. The competition was held in the same building as the 1988 Olympics, the first skating event that Jamie went and watched. They were certainly the favorites to win. They skated their short program cleanly and received high marks from the judges. Their free skate to Love Story was pure magic and mesmerized the audience. It was clear before the even finished the program that they had won. Not only did they get a standing ovation from the crowd but five perfect 6.0's from the judges. Never before had a 6.0 been awarded for pairs in a Canadian nationals competition. Their next compeition was the Four COntinents where Love Story earned another 6.0 for presentation.
Great things were expected of Jamie and david at the 2000 Worlds in Nice, France. During their short program, Jamie hit a rut in the ice and had to struggle to complete the element. Despite a big deduction for the spin they were third prior to the long program, in a position for a medal. Sale and Pelletier skated last in the long program on a night when the previous teams all had problems. Unfortunately Jamie had difficult on the first side by side jumps and it threw off ther concentration. She continued to have trouble with the other side by sides and despte marks as high as 5.9's for presentation, they dropped to fourth overall and out of the medals. ALthough they were disapoointed in how their season ended, they were proud of what they accomplished and waht they had learned from the experience. They began to look ahead to the upcoming season.
The 2000-2001 compeitive season was incredible for Jamie and David. They started off with a win at Skate America and followed up with gold a week later at Skate Canada. In those two competitions they beat all three teams that had placed above them at the Worlds. At Trophee Lalique they skated to a silver medal finish. They finished on top of the podium at the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo. At the beginning of the season fans were disappointed to see them shed Love Story but Tristan and Isolde proved it was felt that the pairs competition was alreadt decided. Sale and Pelletier proved them right and even though Kristy and Kris Wirtz had the skate of their lives, took gold and their second national title. In the same arena that will house the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, they won the Four Continents Championships. Jamie and david had won all but one of the competitions they had entered.
Without a doubt Jami and david were the talk of the 2001 Worlds. They were held in Vancouver, Canada so the team was certainly the hometown favorite. They skated their short program to La Vie en Rose and a mistake on the side by side triple left them in third still in perfect position for a medal. Everyone's expectations were high going into the long program. Jamie and david were to skate after Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikaurlidze, the teammost felt they had to beat fot the title. The Russians were brilliant, making only a small mistake. Both theams have great story-telling ability. Jamie and David needed to call upon the magic they'd had throughout the season. The moment the began skating the crowd was captivated. They weaved a mesmerizing tale of love andonce they nailed the side by side tiple jumps that were the key for them, many alrady felt they had won. Their only istake was when Jamie singled out of a planned double axle. As soon as they finished skating the sold ot crowd was on its feetand once Jamie and David's marks were posted, placing them ahead of the Russians, the cheers were deafening. There were still two teams left to skate but most believed it was already decided. Sure enough, the Chinese was last to skate and their marks put them in third place. Jamie sale and David Pelletier had won their first world championships in front of a Canadian audience. That audience quickly began cheering and didn't stop until well after the medal cermony was over. After only three seasons together and two world championships, they had captured gold in one of the best pairs compeitions in worlds history. Adding a little but more magic to the night was the fact that 41 years earlier, when the competition was last held in Vancouver, another Candian team of Wagner and Paul had also won the title. What away for history to repeat itself.
What's next for Jamie Sale and David Pelletier? With the worlds behind them they look forward to the 2002 Olympic Games where great things are expected of them once again.