Girdwood’s Keegan Messing wins second straight Canadian national figure skating title

Already a two-time Olympian, Girdwood-born figure skater Keegan Messing will close his career as a two time national champion as well.

Messing, who has already announced he is retiring following this season, won his second Canadian figure skating championship on Saturday.

Messing’s overall score of 257.78 earned him a gold medal, his second straight national title.

Messing, who is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, represented Canada in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics.

An emotional Messing joked that his final performance was “terrifying” but said winding down his career on the Canadian national stage was fitting.

“Coming out here for my final nationals was amazing,” he said on the CBC broadcast. “I couldn’t have asked for a better crowd, better volunteers, better hosts. Everything came together and now I’m two-time national champion.”

Messing celebrated with a back-flip over friend and former Team Canada teammate Nam Nguyen after winning gold Saturday.

Messing finished 12th in the 2018 Olympics in South Korea and nearly missed the 2022 Olympics in China after a positive COVID test. But after four consecutive negative tests, Messing was able to head to Beijing and finished 11th in the men’s singles.

[Anchorage figure skater Keegan Messing en route to the Winter Olympics after negative COVID-19 tests]

The 30-year-old told olympics.com last week he wasn’t ready to retire after Beijing and made the decision to compete in the 2022-23 season.

“Thank you so much everyone for being with me for the entire ride,” he said Saturday on the CBC broadcast. “It’s meant more to me than anything. I’ve always tried to skate for you and thank you for enjoying the ride.”