Figure skater Vanessa James skating under the Canadian flag for the first time

For her last Olympic Games, Vanessa James will be skating under the Canadian flag, representing the red and white with partner and fellow Canadian Eric Radford.

Scarborough’s James has competed at the last three Olympics, but all three times her partners were from France, so they competed under the French flag.

Both her and Radford had hung up their skates and retired a few years ago, but a chance meeting during the shooting of the ice dancing reality show, Battle of the Blades, had them reconsidering retirement.

They decided to team up just 10 months ago and managed to snag a spot on the Canadian Olympic team last minute.

“I’ve been to previous Olympics, but this one’s kind of special, it’s very different. Everything has been so fast-paced and it feels like we’ve been running this marathon but at a sprint, and everyone already had a head start. So we know we’ve worked hard, and we know we’ve put our all into this,” James told CityNews.

James said she’s really looking forward to representing the country she was born in for her last Olympics.

“To be honest, it’s kind of like it’s all come full circle, the stars have aligned to be able to represent Canada, the country in which I was born at my last Olympic Games.”

While she enjoyed the brief retirement she had, it’s been fun coming back. “It was two years off for me, it was three years off for Eric. Getting back in shape, getting the elements done, learning new techniques with our partners, solidifying that and it’s quite the roller coaster, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

James is one of seven female Canadian Olympic athletes who have teamed up with Cadillac Fairview as they made their way to Beijing and is excited she has had so many young girls reach out to her over the years about her story.

“I’ve had phone calls and zooms and things like that with young girls that have messaged me with their parents and just saying like, ‘How do you do what you do and the sport that you’re in?’ And it’s really nice to know that I’m giving back in that way that I’m supporting them and letting them know that I’m, I’m just like them, and they can be just like me, or better,” shared James. “I hope that at these games there are girls that are watching me saying ‘She looks like me. I want to do that. I can do it too. I can be better.’ I hope that that’s what happens at these games.”

James and Radford have already skated apart of the Figure Skating team event, finishing fourth for Canada and will compete in the Pairs competition on Feb. 18.