Mr. Speaker, last Friday evening in Washington, D.C., Canada's ice dancing champions Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz capped an impressive amateur skating career by winning the gold medal in ice dancing at the World Figure Skating Championships. This is Canada's first ever gold medal in the 51 years since ice dancing has been competed at world championships, making this achievement all the more impressive.
Chatham, Ontario, native Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz of Vancouver have been skating together since 1991 and have won 10 Canadian championships. They have also won 6 medals at world championships, including this year's gold medal performance. Throughout their amateur career these athletes have epitomized the beauty and elegance of their sport with poise and grace, both on and off the ice, and have proven themselves outstanding role models.
I wish to invite all Canadians to join me in congratulating Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz on this outstanding achievement and wish them all the best in their upcoming professional career.