VANCOUVER — When Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette sealed her palms with a kiss and lifted those hands toward heaven, nobody in the arena had to ask why.
But anyone who has ever lost a mother and everybody who still believes in the Olympic spirit had a good cry.
Courage is a word often used in sports, but seldom does bravery carry the impact felt when Rochette spun a love story Thursday night.
The 24-year-old from Quebec won a bronze medal in a salute to her mom, who died at the outset of the biggest week of athletic competition in Rochette’s life.
Rochette will have forever to miss her mother.
For a brief, beautiful four minutes of a free skate at the Winter Games, Rochette celebrated the short time we all have to get up and dance.
“The result did not matter,” Rochette said after being awarded her medal.
Anyone who has found the strength to say goodbye to a friend or relative understands what Rochette meant. Standing up under the weight of grief is victory enough.
Rochette nailed a three-jump combination within the first 25 seconds of her skate, causing a building that had been as quiet as a prayer to erupt in cheers. Soon thereafter, Rochette bobbled the landing to a triple flip, and near the end of her four-minute performance skipped one jump from a combination.
But Rochette’s artistry carried the performance and was surpassed only by the deep sense of calm she gave to the audience. And when she was done, Rochette knew there was one person to thank, which is why she offered kisses to the sky.
“At the end I was so empty I had no energy left. I thank my mom for the strength she gave me,” Rochette said.
“She’s a very strong person,” said Japanese skater Mao Asada, who finished second in a competition easily won by Kim Yu-na of South Korea.
Rochette was happy to win a medal. But the real satisfaction was in seeing a dream shared with her mother come true.
Skating on this big stage “was a lifetime project for me and my mom,” Rochette said, “and we achieved that.”
These Winter Olympics were hyped by the Canadians as their coming-out party, which implicitly meant they were looking to emerge from the shadow of the United States.
With loud chest-thumping before the Games began, the host country vowed to own the podium. Americans rolled arrogant eyes. Canadian fans heckled U.S. hockey player Ryan Kesler as he walked the streets of the same city where he plays for the local NHL franchise when the Olympics aren’t going on.
It was the typical bombast that prompts fans on both sides of any athletic competition to use their outside voices around the office coffee machine. It was a silly rivalry between North American neighbors.
Maybe it took the death of Therese Rochette, who passed away after arriving in Vancouver only 48 hours before her daughter was scheduled to begin competing against the best skaters in the world, to remind us that neighbors are supposed to be there for each other in time of need.
After Rochette put her mourning aside and climbed to third place in the standings during the short program Tuesday night, former U.S. gold medalist skater Scott Hamilton of the United States spoke as somebody who lost his own mother much too early in life.
“My throat was thick and my eyes were full,” Hamilton said.
On the same date as the long program, mothers of athletes were feted at the Canada Olympic House. A moment of silence was held in honor of a mom who could not be present. And a letter from Joannie Rochette was read.
“I never thought life could change so quickly,” Rochette wrote, “but it has.”
But through her grief, Rochette danced. Why? Because she could.
No mother could wish more for a daughter.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
