Tag Archive for: Dylan Moscovitch

Olympic Medallist Dylan Moscovitch Retiring from Competitive Skating

OTTAWA, ON: Olympic figure skater Dylan Moscovitch, 33, Toronto, Ont., announced today that he has retired from competitive figure skating. Moscovitch has been a staple in Canadian pair figure skating for over a decade. His competitive highlights include competing at six world championships, winning a national title and winning a silver medal in the team event at the 2014 Olympic Games.

“Skating was my first love and forever my passion. Representing Canada on both the world and Olympic stage has been an honour and a privilege. It has given me invaluable opportunities and experiences over the years, ones which have played a pivotal role in shaping me into the man that I am today. I look forward to taking the lessons learned and skills acquired into the chapters and adventures to come. I can’t thank my family, friends and fans enough for the endless support they’ve given me throughout the years, as well as the support received from COS, WOS, Skate Ontario, Skate Canada, Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and both the provincial and federal governments,” expressed Moscovitch.

Moscovitch continued, “I’d also like to thank all of my coaches, trainers, choreographers, training mates and clubs from all over Ontario for guiding me and supporting my dream. I’d like to thank my partners Kyra, Kirsten and Luba for the priceless memories and experiences throughout my career and I wish Kirsten and Luba the best of luck in their respective careers in the years to come. I’d especially like to thank Kris and Kristy Wirtz and the late Paul Wirtz for the 10-plus years working together and for starting my career in pairs figure skating. As well, a huge thank you to Lee Barkell, Tracy Wilson, Bryce Davison, and everyone at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club for renewing my love for skating and taking my level of growth as both an athlete and a person beyond what I could have ever hoped. Most importantly, I will cherish the incredible people I’ve met and the lifelong friendships I’ve made throughout my career in this amazing sport. Thank you to all for sharing this journey with me.”

Moscovitch began his pair skating career with his sister, Kyra. They won the Canadian junior pair title in 2006 and would go on to skate together until 2008. In 2009 he teamed up with Kirsten Moore-Towers and went on to win the Canadian title in 2011. They would accumulate 11 international medals over their time together and earn three trips to the ISU Grand Prix Final. They capped off their partnership with an Olympic silver medal in the team event at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. He ended his pair skating career with Lubov Ilyushechkina. Their partnership began in the spring of 2014. In their four seasons together, they won three national medals and five international medals, including a bronze at the 2016 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

“Dylan has represented Canada with pride and has brought tremendous leadership to our national team on and off the ice. His presence will be missed,” said Mike Slipchuk, High Performance Director, Skate Canada. “Skate Canada thanks Dylan for all his contributions to pair skating in Canada and wish him the best of luck with his future aspirations.”

Looking to the future, Moscovitch plans to stay involved with skating through coaching, seminars and mentoring. Moscovitch will also continue with his motivational speaking work, in which he has become highly sought-after on the corporate speaking circuit over the past few years. In addition, he has signed with B&M Models and is planning on perusing an acting and commentary career.

His skating partner, Ilyushechkina will be evaluating her opportunities in the coming months.

New Canadian Pair team to debut in Poland

OTTAWA, ON:  A newly formed pair team will represent Canada at the Warsaw Cup this week.  Lubov Iliushechkina, 23, Moscow, Russia and Dylan Moscovitch, 30, Toronto, Ontario will make their international debut at the Torwar Ice Rink in Warsaw, Poland. The competition, which runs November 20-23, is part of the International Skating Union’s (ISU) Challenger Series.

After success with other partners, Iliushechkina & Moscovitch teamed up in the spring of 2014. She had competed for her native Russia, and received her clearance certificate from the ISU this fall, allowing her to skate for Canada alongside Moscovitch. The duo will represent the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, where they train. They are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson.

Iliushechkina & Moscovitch are the only Canadian entry at the Warsaw Cup. This will be their first international event, although the two did compete at Skate Canada Central Ontario’s Octoberfest earlier this fall in Barrie, Ont.

Canadian Pair Team of Moore-Towers and Moscovitch end skating partnership

OTTAWA, ON:  After reaching the pinnacle of their career with an Olympic silver medal, the pair team of Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch has decided to go in different directions.  Moore-Towers, 21, of St. Catharines, Ont. and Moscovitch, 29, of Toronto, Ont. teamed up in 2009, and competed at their first Canadian championship together in 2010, earning a 5th place finish.

They went on to become Canadian champions in 2011, and have won the national silver medal the last two years.  On the international stage, they won multiple medals on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit, and qualified for the ISU Grand Prix Final three times.  In 2013 and 2014 they finished just off the medal podium at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships, with fourth-place finishes both years. This past February, they were on the silver-medal winning team in the inaugural figure skating team event at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.  They also turned in tremendous performances in their individual event, finishing the highest of the three Canadian teams with a fifth-place finish. The pair has trained under coaches Kristy Wirtz and Kris Wirtz at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club for the last five years.

“I’m so proud of what Dylan and I achieved in our five years together, and I do want to thank him for everything we accomplished. We are just at different points in our lives right now,” said Kirsten Moore-Towers.  “I feel that there is an opportunity for me to keep skating for at least one, maybe two, more Olympic cycles, so I want to pursue those options. My plan is to look for the partner who will share in that dream.”

“It was such an honour to represent Canada on the world and Olympic stage. Being a part of the silver-medal winning team in Sochi is the most memorable moment of my career to this point. And I’m glad that Kirsten and I accomplished that together. I wish her the best of luck going forward,” said Dylan Moscovitch. “My future includes embracing new opportunities within the sport that I love, finding a new partner and competing in the 2014-2015 season, and expanding my horizons for life after skating.

He added, “I also want to thank Kris and Kristy Wirtz for their continued support, expertise and love for over a decade.”

Outstanding performances from Canadian pair teams at first Olympic Games

It took Olympic moments to get onto the podium in the Sochi pairs event. Mistakes could be crushing.

Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch had an Olympic moment, skating with speed and flair, putting themselves into first place for a time. But Moscovitch had doubled a triple salchow – without Moore-Towers even seeing it. She celebrated at the end, jumping up and down on the ice with glee. Then she found out.

“We feel we were pretty great,” she said afterward. “I was very happy with the performance. We were knocking things off one by one.”

Their small glitch did not interrupt the program. “I still think it was great,” she said. “I’m just so excited”

They both skated with comfort and ease and sailed into fifth place in a tightly fought contest, although it was their first appearance at an Olympic Games. They defeated Canadian champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford by 2.57 points after their friends made mistakes, just a few too many to swim upstream.

Moore-Towers and Moscovitch finished ahead of the Canadian champs in the free skate with 131.18 points and in the overall total score of 202.10.

Duhamel and Radford chalked up a season’s best mark of 127.32 in the long program and finished seventh overall with 199.53.

Of course, nobody could touch Russians Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, even on a day when they didn’t skate their best. Despite a handful of tiny miscues, the Russians won the free skate with 152.69 points and a final score of 236.86. Trankov threw his fist in the air when he finished, sunk to his knees, then kissed the ice during a standing ovation.

Their compatriots, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov – junior skaters a couple of years ago – delivered the best performance of their lives under pressure and earned the silver medal, with 218.68 points, 18.18 points behind the gold medalists. It was a personal best for them. “That’s the way you have to do your job if you want to achieve success,” Stolbova said. It’s the first time since the 1998 Nagano Olympics that Russians have stood one-two on the podium, a far cry from the 2010 Olympics four years ago, when none did.

It was a heartbreaking day for four-time world pair champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany, who had stayed around for four years to improve on the bronze medal they had in Vancouver. Actually, they spent four years in search of gold. This time, they won bronze again, and Szolkowy had to comfort a tearful Savchenko on the medal podium.

The gold slipped out of their hands early in the program when Szolkowy fell on a triple toe loop combination. Points flew out of their grasp. They tried to pull out all the stops by including a throw triple Axel at the end, but Savchenko fell on it. They finished with 215.78 points.

Pang Qing and Tong Jian of China were fourth with 209.88 points in their final Olympic performance, after having troubles in the jumps early.

Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers were 14th, with troubles on their double Axels, and a fall on a throw triple loop. They took bows upon bows upon bows, with Lawrence admitting she just didn’t want to get off the ice. “That was fun,” she said.

“I fell on the throw loop, but I got up really fast,” she said. “Honestly, I was enjoying myself the whole time. I was in the moment and enjoying the music. I was living out the dream I’ve had since I was a little girl.”

“Coming in, I was so excited to skate. Every time I’m out on the ice, I don’t ever want to get off. That’s why I kept curtseying. I wish I could stay out there and curtsey to every single person. It’s really been the experience of a lifetime.”

Trankov admitted that he and his partner dealt with huge pressure. “Today was a big day for all of Russia,” he said. “It was the hardest job of our lives.”

Volosozhar, usually cool at all times, appeared overwhelmed after the final pose. “To be honest, I was crying because I felt so many emotions, nerves, concentration,” she said. “I’m still nervous and shaking, but I’m also so happy. We did really well today.”

They had taken a nine-point lead into the free program and they started off spectacularly, with a huge triple twist. Their triple toe loop combination jump lost a tiny bit of unison, as did a side by side spin. Volosozhar put a hand down on a throw triple loop.

Duhamel and Radford, third at the world championships last year, had such high hopes and left the rink feeling disappointed. Duhamel fell on a triple Salchow, and then touched her hands to the ice on a throw triple Lutz. Their final spin lost unison. They had started strongly with a triple twist, and a triple Lutz jump that just sailed.

“I don’t know what happened,” Duhamel said. “We felt really good. We were in the zone. The first half of the program was great. I don’t know what went wrong. I surprised myself on the Salchow. It wasn’t our best.”

Radford said they felt very strong and well trained when they went out onto the ice. “Somehow, things just didn’t work out,” he said.

But, he added, they were very happy with their Olympics. It had taken them both years to get to their first Games. She is 28, he 29.

Beverley Smith