This was published 14 years ago
Grieving Rochette in third position, Australian exceeds expectations
Grieving Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette broke down in tears after finishing her Olympic Games short program in third position, just two days after her mother's death.
The 24-year-old is poised for a podium finish after placing third in the short program behind South Korean Kim Yu-Na and Japan's Mao Asada.
Performing under duress ... Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette.Credit: AP and AFP
Australian teenager Cheltzie Lee exceeded expectations on her Olympic debut, finishing 18th of 30 skaters with a score of 52.16 points.
The top 24 advance to the final.
Australian teenager Cheltzie LeeCredit: AP
Therese Rochette died on Sunday morning, suffering a heart attack shortly after arriving in Vancouver to support her daughter's bid for Olympic gold.
Rochette said that "words cannot describe" how she was feeling.
"It was hard to handle, but I appreciate the support. It was very nice to have the warm welcome," she said.
Wearing a black costume, the world silver medallist skated cleanly to her tango short program "La Cumparsita" to the cheers of the spectators who rose to their feet at the end of her two-and-half minute routine.
She hit all her elements as she opened with a triple lutz/double toeloop combination and also nailed her triple flip and double axel.
The skater from Quebec said "Mamam" as she tearfully finished her routine which earned her a season's best 71.36 points and the accolades of the 11,000-plus crowd.
She blew kisses to her fans and thanked them in the 'Kiss and Cry' area.
"It was hard to be precise. Ten years from now, I'd like to come back and do this again," she said.
Favourite Kim is sitting first with 78.50 points and Asada is on 73.78.
Rochette is bidding to become the first Canadian women's figure skater to stand on the Olympic podium since Elizabeth Manley took silver at the 1988 Calgary Games.
AFP/AAP