In life and in sport is a phrase that perfectly sums up the partnership of ice dancers Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon. The image was replayed over and over during the 2006 Olympic Winter Games—Dubreuil slipping from an intricate moving lift and crashing to the ice. Her partner in skating and in life, Patrice Lauzon, carried her off the ice and then from the kiss & cry area. The next day he practiced alone and before leaving the ice stopped to kiss the Olympic rings—a gesture Dubreuil had planned to do at the conclusion of their free dance. Although the hip injury Dubreuil suffered in Torino kept them from completing the Olympic competition, they returned one month later at the World Championships and won the free dance and the silver medal.

For Lauzon, the Olympic disappointment solidified the fact that life came before sport. “It made me realize that Marie and what we have together is much more important than anything else,” he says. The subsequent success at Worlds showed, “Under pressure, with confidence, you can achieve pretty much anything you want.”

Dubreuil describes the free dance at the World Championships in Calgary as the number two highlight in her skating career. “The highest point was to finally find Patrice, my partner (the couple teamed up in 1995). Once we found each other and we had the good vehicle to move forward, that was the highest point. The second highest would definitely be Worlds.”

Following the successful conclusion to the 2005-06 season, the duo considered retirement. Having lived and trained in Lyon, France for four years, they missed their families and were ready to return to Canada. But after Dubreuil took a couple of months to rest and fully heal her injury, they realized they wanted to continue to compete. Also, they were eager to continue their collaboration with choreographer David Wilson.

“For us, David is one of the best choreographers of our time,” says Dubreuil. “He really respects our personalities, because we both have very strong personalities. We’re able to work together with him and
he’s not imposing a style or his style. He’s very open and very artistic and helps us develop our own personalities and our own style.”

Although they are taking it one year at a time, it is entirely possible this duo will continue to compete until the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. “I always used to put dates and limits on myself,” says Dubreuil. “Sometimes life takes you ways that you never thought it would. I did a big detour to get where I wanted to go. Right now, at 32, I feel more balanced, healthier and happier than ever. For me, it’s getting easier to train and compete. I enjoy myself much more now than I used to when I had no life experience. Now I know not to put limits. We want to feel very complete with our career before we move onto to something else. It’s a big chance to have Olympics in our home country in 2010. If we’re on top of our game and competitive, I say why not.”

After touring with Stars on Ice in Canada in 2007, Dubreuil and Lauzon decided not to compete this coming season. Instead they will thrill US audiences with their grace and elegance in four televised shows; Kurt Browning’s Gotta Skate, Skate for the Heart, Holiday Celebration on Ice and Holiday Festival on Ice.

Marie-France and Patrice, or Marie and Patch to their friends, look forward to skating across the US with Smucker's Stars on Ice. Dubreuil "We have not been to many places in the US so we are excited to see as much of America as possible."

When Marie and Patch are not skating, they enjoy walking around their new neighborhood of "Old Montreal" with their Bernese Mountain Dog Yoko.