National team veteran Elladj Balde retires from figure skating

Elladj Balde, of Montreal, Que., performs his short program during the senior men's competition at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday January 12, 2018. (Jonathan Hayward/CP)

OTTAWA – Canadian figure skater Elladj Balde has announced that he is retiring from competitive skating.

The 27-year-old from Montreal has been an active member of the Canadian figure skating team since 2007 and has competed internationally for Canada 27 times as a junior and senior competitor.

Balde won the Canadian men’s junior title in 2008 and would go on to compete at nine senior Canadian championships, making the national team five times. In 2015, he won his first gold medal on the international scene at the Nebelhorn Trophy.

He finished fourth at the 2018 Canadian championships behind Patrick Chan, Keegan Messing and Man Nguyen.

"I can’t express the amount of gratitude I have for all of my peers and fans who have given me such endless support throughout the years," Balde said in a statement. "Finishing my career, the way I did at Canadian Nationals was one of the most fulfilling moments of my life and I am so thrilled to forge ahead with the exciting opportunities that lie in my professional career."

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