Dubreuil and Lauzon Retire

Per the Canadian Press, Canadian ice dancers Patrice Lauzon and Marie-France Dubreuil announced their retirement this week after a 13-year-career. The pair have twice captured silver medals at the world championships and are five-time Canadian national champions.

They began considering retirement in 2006, a season that included a silver medal at the world championships and successes at the Canadian championships and Four Continents, but also featured an unlucky streak of injuries.

A terrible fall in the original dance forced their withdrawal at the Turin Olympics that year and left Dubreuil with an injured right hip and lower back, and she later hurt her right knee and ankle.

The rough season gave them pause to consider quitting.

But with the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and the chance to compete at home hovering on the horizon, they soldiered on.

"After the Turin games, we probably would've let it go right away," Lauzon said. "But having the Games in Canada is very attractive, it's quite amazing to do the Games in your own country."

But they wound up having a difficult season.

"It was very hard for us to train, and we barely made it to the end of the season ... mentally it was very, very tough," Lauzon said.

It's always sad when injuries cut careers short, especially when the pair has enjoyed so much success in recent years. There's no reason to think they'll stop skating, however. They have recently completed touring with "Stars on Ice," and they're also doing some coaching and choreography. Oh, and they're getting married in August, so congratulations to them!