Vanessa James, Eric Radford still eligible for Olympic team despite withdrawal at nationals

Lori Ewing · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jan 08, 2022 3:05 PM EST | Last Updated: January 8, 2022

Vanessa James and Eric Radford are inactive eligible to beryllium vie for Canada astatine the Beijing Olympics contempt withdrawing from the nationalist championships connected Saturday.

James and Radford contracted COVID-19 implicit the Christmas holidays and lone returned to the crystal to bid earlier this week aft spending 10 days successful quarantine. They were 4th aft the abbreviated programme connected Friday earlier announcing their withdrawal up of Saturday's escaped program.

"We are feeling the repercussions, a small spot much fatigue than we would usually consciousness earlier a competition," James said Friday.

Radford said trying to enactment acceptable disconnected the crystal was challenging.

"My symptoms were similar a atrocious cold," helium said. "It's conscionable being disconnected the crystal astatine a clip wherever you would usually beryllium successful precocious grooming mode, getting those run-throughs successful the week earlier competition. So physically, I deliberation we consciousness good. I deliberation it's conscionable a small spot of mentally ... I'd usage the words it's a small unstable."

Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., is simply a two-time satellite champion with erstwhile spouse Meagan Duhamel. He came retired of status astatine property 36 to vie with James, a Toronto autochthonal who'd antecedently skated for France.

Team volition beryllium named Sunday

The Canadian championships are conscionable portion of the criteria that find the Beijing Olympic team. Other criteria see placement and scores from past year's satellite championships, and champion planetary scores this season. Canada volition sanction its Olympic squad Sunday.

Radford had compared the planetary pandemic to "an invisible minefield" for athletes during what's already a stressful time.

He added that helium and James were possibly among the fortunate ones, arsenic they present don't person the added interest of investigating positive. A affirmative trial from this constituent connected could support an jock from travelling to Beijing.

Canadian men's singles skater Stephen Gogolev withdrew from the contention connected Friday.

Gogolev trains successful the U.S. and was selected for a PCR trial astatine the airdrome upon accomplishment successful Ottawa, wherever helium tested positive. He won metallic astatine the nationalist championships successful 2019 erstwhile helium was conscionable 14.