Deanna Stellato-Dudek took her Oath of Citizenship on the morning of December 11th 2024, and is officially a Canadian citizen.
Following the ceremony, Stellato-Dudek met with media to talk about her journey. “So much stress [is] lifted, so much hard work rewarded, and now I feel like Max and I are free to realise our Olympic dream.”
Stellato-Dudek detailed, “There were often times at Nationals, I skated when I wasn’t feeling very well, and I did that because I knew we could become National Champions — and I needed that to become a citizen, so it was always in the back of my mind to try and pad my résumé to be as attractive as possible to the Government of Canada, so I’m very happy today.”
Her skating partner, Maxime Deschamps, echoed the sentiment, “It’s a big relief for sure. It was a big hurdle on our way to the Olympics and now it’s out of the way, we can concentrate on training, skating, and competing.”
The 2000 World Junior silver medalist moved to Canada after her partnership with Deschamps began and gradually felt herself becoming Canadian over the years. “I’ve been living here, I’ve been paying taxes, studying how the judicial and voter system works here because it’s very different to where I come from. Of course with my efforts to try and learn French and become a Quebecer too, I feel like [the status] does mean more than just for skating, I’ve felt Canadian for a while.”
With an almost 2000 day Duolingo streak, Stellato-Dudek also answered some questions in French. “I try to speak it whenever I can but people always reply in English, so I’m not fooling anyone!”
Originally from Chicago, Stellato-Dudek represented her native country on the junior circuit, earning the silver medal in the women’s event at the 2000 World Junior Championships before retiring due to injury. Sixteen years later, she returned to competitive skating with former partner Nathan Bartholomay. The duo competed together for three seasons, medalling at every U.S. Nationals competition they entered and at three Challenger Series events.
Following their split in 2019, Stellato-Dudek had a successful tryout with Deschamps, after which they decided to represent Canada.
The team was unable to compete internationally until 2021, when Stellato-Dudek secured her release from U.S. Figure Skating. Since then, they have continued to thrive, reaching new heights during the 2023-24 season, which culminated in winning the 2024 World Championship title on home ice in Quebec.
Following their recent withdrawal from the 2024 Grand Prix Final due to illness, the team’s next competition will be the 2025 Canadian National Championships in January, marking the start of the second half of their season.
“I continue to be grateful to compete under the Canadian flag and anthem and can’t wait for my first international event as an official Canadian citizen with my partner Maxime.”
