Paul Duchesnay

Paul Duchesnay (born 31 July 1961) is a retired ice dancer who represented France for most of his career. With his sister Isabelle Duchesnay, he is the 1991 World champion and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. The Duchesnays started skating at an early age in Canada in pairs. Their first major success came at the 1982 Canadian Nationals, where they placed second in the junior competition. After a serious accident where Isabelle hit her head, they switched to ice dancing. Over time, the Duchesnays’ skating became more innovative and revolutionary with help from 1984 Olympic champion Christopher Dean. After Skate Canada criticized their skating, they decided to leave the Canadian team. Writer Ellyn Kestnbaum states, about Dean's choreography of the Duchesnays' programs: "Once Dean began to choreograph their programs in 1988, they introduced a whole new range of meanings to the issue of a man and woman skating together on the ice". In 1985, they began skating for their mother's homeland, France. They were coached by Martin Skotnicky, based out of Oberstdorf, Germany. They also switched teams because they felt they were not progressing as quickly as they thought they should in Canada. The Duchesnays’ 1988 Winter Olympics programs were considered unusual. Their free dance, a jungle-inspired dance set to drums, was not well received by judges and they finished eighth overall. Kestnbaum states that although the Duchesnays were not expected to win a gold medal at the Olympics so ea…