Figure skating champions from 25 years ago

Kindersley residents will recognize these two figure skating champions from 25 years ago. Here is an excerpt from the March 4, 1998 edition of The Clarion describing their accomplishments.

Skating through pain, Sam Tessier limped home from the 1998 Saskatchewan Winter Games with a gold medal for Zone 7 in pre-novice figure skating. And, fellow club member Krista Maedel was carrying in her pocket a silver medal for her performance at her first Winter Games.

PHOTO: SAM TESSIER - gold medalist at the 1998 Winter Games. KRISTA MAEDEL - silver medalist at the 1998 Winter Games

“It was great, a lot of fun,” Tessier, 14, said of the Winter Games experience.

Tessier was second going into the long program of the pre-novice men’s figure skating event in the first half of the Saskatchewan Winter Games, trailing Cole Fisher of Saskatoon.

Sitting in second place facing the long program, Tessier said he was surprised he could skate with a knee injury suffered a couple of weeks prior to the Winter Games and aggravated by the training preparation.

“It was totally adrenaline,” Tessier said of getting through the pain in his long program. “Right at the end, on the last spin, I could really feel it.”

Tessier said the Winter Games proved to himself he has improved this skating season. “I’ve improved over the year,” he said. “I’m a little more consistent, stronger both mentally and physically, and a little more confident.”

“I skated good for myself, but not the best, though,” Krista Maedel said of her Winter Games silver medal performance finishing second in both the short and long programs. “I trained hard for the Winter Games and went to Saskatoon most Saturdays and some Sundays.”