21.02.10
A few hours after wisdom of her mother's sudden death, Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette was back on the ice Sunday.
Dressed in sooty tights and a black Canadian team hoodie, Rochette appeared in the runway as the turn up of the skaters in her practice session took the ice. She wiped her eyes and took a booming breath before stepping on the ice, then gave a little wave to the few spectators in the edifice at the time.
Therese Rochette , 55, had a massive heart malign Saturday after arriving in Vancouver and was pronounced dead at a polyclinic in the city, said David Baden , Rochette's spokeswoman.
''She's so close to her mother, I think she doesn't even entertain not skating,'' Baden said. ''She's a demanding fighter. It's got to be hard to switch gears and say no to [the Olympics]. This is what she has been training for all these years. She'll be irritating to fulfill the goal they had together.''
Rochette was blinking hard her first few laps around the ice, then seemed to dispose of into the comfort of her practice routine. She showed no lapses in concentration, jumped well and did a slight run-through of her tango short program. She was applauded by the few people in the rink after her preparation.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times