Pairs competitors Meagan Duhamel, from Boucherville, Que., and Eric Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., perform their routine during a practice session at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships Thursday, January 22, 2015 in Kingston, Ontario.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
The hurtful words used to slice deep, but Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford are learning to laugh them off and let their skating answer for them.
And the fact they're winning says plenty.
Canada's top figure-skating pair has had its share of critics since teaming up four years ago. There's too big a size difference – she's 4 foot 8, he's 6-2. Their styles are too different – she skates with the power and force of an athlete, he carries himself with the grace and artistry of a dancer.
"There was one comment when Dylan [Moscovitch] and Kirsten [Moore-Towers] broke up [last summer], it was 'Ah, I just wish it was Meagan and Eric that broke up.'"
Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., are writing their own success story with a season that has thus far seen them win both their Grand Prix events and then the Grand Prix Final in December in Barcelona. They're in the hunt for their fourth consecutive national title at the Canadian championships this week.
They possess one element – side-by-side triple Lutzes – that no other team in the world has. And their quad throw Salchow, added this season, is only attempted in competition by one other team.
Partnering in figure skating is a tricky business at the best of times. Houston native Kaitlyn Weaver became a Canadian citizen in order to compete with Andrew Poje. The ice dancers are also enjoying a wildly successful season, with two Grand Prix victories and gold from the Grand Prix Final.
Weaver drove to Waterloo, Ont., in 2006 for a tryout with Poje and wound up staying. They were a perfect fit, something as rare and lucky, she said, as finding one's "soul mate."
"I remember the tryout, and I remember thinking to myself, 'Okay, this is the real deal. This could be something really good.'
"I feel like I was so young, I was 17 … but I just remembered thinking, 'This could be the opportunity I've been waiting for.'
"Why are you laughing?" Weaver said, turning to Poje.
"My first thought was, 'Wow, this girl's quiet,'" Poje said.
This week's championships decides the team that will represent Canada at the world championships in Shanghai.
Canada can send three teams in both pairs and ice dance, and two skaters each in men's and women's singles.
While Duhamel and Radford and Weaver and Poje are the class of their respective fields, Skate Canada high performance director Mike Slipchuk expects a dogfight for the remaining spots.
After Moore-Towers, from St. Catharines, Ont., and Toronto's Moscovitch split a few months ago, he teamed up with Russian Lubov Ilyushechkina, while she joined forces with Michael Marinaro of Waterloo, Ont.
Ilyushechkina is eligible to compete for Canada at the world championships, but needs Canadian citizenship to compete at the Olympics.