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Elvis Stojko, in London for Stars on Ice, hasn’t lost his edge
Elvis and fellow 50-something skater Kurt Browning perform in London Sunday with Stars on Ice
| Source: |
Strathroy Age Dispatch |
| Date: |
May 6, 2022 |
| Author: |
Postmedia News |
Canadian figure skater Elvis Stojko was expansive and engaging as he
discussed a career that is still going strong at 50.
Twenty-five years after winning his third world men’s championship,
Stojko is still a crowd-pleaser, drawing fans to arenas as part of
Stars on Ice, which lands at London’s Budweiser Gardens
Sunday.
“It hits me at home in a good way,” Stojko said when asked about the
fans’ enduring adulation. “It’s funny. The other night, we went
walking in the (FROST Regina Winter) festival. Because you have masks
on, no one sees you, and this little kid was going by and saying,
‘Dad, who’s Elvis Stojko?’ The dad said, ‘Oh, that was the guy I
watched when I was growing up and he’s great.’
“I grabbed my wife’s hand and I was like, ‘It just feels so great that
people still remember.'”
Stojko said the rivalry he shared with Kurt (Browning) was a positive
for skating in Canada.
“To still be able to do it and to still come out and have people still
remember and want to see me skate, it’s such a heartwarming thing and
I love the Canadian fans for that,” Stojko said.
Longtime fans fondly recall the world titles the innovative Stojko won
in 1994, 1995 and 1997, along with the Olympic silver medals in 1994
and 1998.
During a recent tour of the United States, Stojko and his wife —
Gladys Orozco — did 60 shows in seven weeks.
“After the very first show (in Virginia), we had 5,000 people in the
outdoor venue, and my wife cried,” said Stojko, who was born in
Newmarket. “It feels so good to be able to skate in front of live
audiences again and for people to go out and enjoy skating.”
Stojko’s energy level is especially remarkable when you consider that
he turned 50 on March 22.
“I’m lucky,” Stojko said. “I thank my parents for the good genes. It’s
about being healthy and training on a regular basis. There’s a lot of
work that goes into it.”
His stop in Regina was a surprise.
“I had a few weeks off after coming back from Virginia and it was a
last-minute thing.
“I had to get back on the ice and train, and there was off-ice
training. Every day, I’ve got to be on the ice. It’s something that,
at my age, I can’t really let off. I stay at a certain level of
fitness and then, as the shows and tours progress, I crank it
up.”
Stojko marvels at the skills demonstrated by today’s skaters and is
thankful that he can still fly around the ice and continue to actively
enjoy the sport with which he is synonymous.
“It’s about staying smart with your training at the younger years,
which I did,” he said. “I have that longevity. I’m thankful that I had
great coaching, great people around me, to help educate me.
“Every year, it changes. Science changes. Our understanding of our
bodies changes. Nutrition and all those things play a part in
that. I’m just lucky that I made the right choices along the way and I
can still do it at my age, and still do it pretty good for an older
guy . . . and Kurt (Browning) is there with me. He’s a couple of years
older, but he’s still doing it and we’re loving it. If people still
want us to come out, we’ll come out and perform.”
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