November 9, 2023
Out Figure Skater Eric Radford Talks Moving to New Role in the Sport
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Out Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Radford has retired from competition, but he's not done yet; the two-time world champion talked about the role he'll play off the ice at the Pan American Games in Chile in an interview with Olympics.com.
The Canadian skater's upcoming role as a "mentor" for athletes at the Games has roots in one of the trio of Winter Olympics in which he competed, the site noted. It was during the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and Radford "was in the Team Canada lounge with Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, the Olympic freestyle skier who was serving as Canada's athlete service officer (think: mentor and confidante) for the Winter Games, when the two struck up a conversation," Olympics.com said.
Recalling the moment, Radford described it as "talking about the more philosophical, spiritual side of sport.... And how that all fits into our life, how it shaped us as people. It was a very special and memorable moment."
So much so that Radford is looking to "be there for" the participants in the Pan American Games in a way that allows him to "have the opportunity to maybe have a similar moment, and to offer that same type of insight, perspective and advice that Maxime did for me."
"It's one of several positions Radford has taken on after he and Vanessa James partnered up for one more Games, Radford having previously skated with Meagan Duhamel," Olympics.com recalled.
"The pairs team won two world titles and helped Canada to team gold in skating at PyeongChang 2018 before going on to win bronze in the pairs event."
It was at the 2018 Olympics that Radford and Duhamel pulled off some dazzling feats on the ice. Wikipedia mentions that a few days after winning the gold medal at the age of 33 – "one of the oldest Olympic champions in figure skating" – the duo "became the first team to complete a quadruple throw jump at any Winter Olympic competition when she landed their throw quadruple Salchow."
Radford retired from the sport, but came out of retirement in 2021 to partner with Vanessa James. "They represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics and were the bronze medalists at the 2022 World Championships," the site details. "Following this, Radford retired for a second time."
But Radford, now 38, has no plans to come out of retirement a second time; to do so, he told Olympics.com, he would need "a time machine where I could go back in time and be, like, ten years younger."
Still, the out champion keeps plenty busy. "He's not only on the International Skating Union (ISU)'s athlete commission, but also serves as athlete representative on the ISU Council," the site noted. He's also coaching.
Radford said that his new roles give him "a totally different perspective on the behind-the-scenes of our sport," a perspective he indicated he enjoyed: "I've really liked having that bird's eye view and seeing the structure of things and being able to use my athletic experience to offer my perspective on the best way to go about these things."
Olympics.com cited an example: Radford "was integral in last year's decision to bring up the minimum age for ISU events from 15 to 17," the site detailed. "That rule will go into full effect next season, 2024-25."
Radford also keeps busy with a totally different passion: music, "having dabbled as a song composer and musical artist," Olympics.com said.
The out Olympian told the site that he's "trying to enjoy life and maybe put a couple other feelers about other possibilities around what comes next."
Whatever that might be, his Instagram followers will be clued in. Check out some some of Radford's adventurous – and thirsty – posts, below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.