Taylor LeClaire competing in national figure skating finals

Taylor LeClaire is beating the odds, coming back after some major physical injuries, to compete in the Skate Canada Figure Skating Competitions where she won bronze last year in the pairs competition with Christopher Mostert.

This season the 16-year-old junior figure skater, who hails from Tofield, was named the 2014 Skate Canada Junior Women’s Champion for Alberta/N.W.T./Nunavit at Sectionals in November in Edmonton.

That advanced her to the National Qualifying competition in Regina in early December, the Skate Canada Challenge, where the top four skaters from each section across Canada compete for the top 18 qualifying positions.

Taylor placed 11th out of 50 junior skaters competing in Junior Women’s from across Canada, qualifying for the championships in Ottawa despite setbacks that might have laid another skater low.

Over the past three months she has suffered from pneumonia, dislocated ribs and a heel injury, only to persist and overcome these obstacles.

For more see the Jan. 7/14 issue of the Tofield Mercury