A Golden Moment

Canada's Joannie Rochette took to the ice last night (Tuesday) to skate only two days after her mother died of an unexpected heart attack. Her mother, Therese Rochette, 55, had traveled from Quebec to see her daughter skate. She suffered a heat attack and died early Sunday morning in a Vancouver Hospital. No one expected Joannie to skate.

Rochette's score of 71.36 has her in third place as the skaters head into tomorrow's long-program final. She could even win the gold but none of that matters. Last night she skated for her mother and did not disappoint. It was pure courage on ice. It's what Olumpic athletes are made of.

Philadelphia reporter Sam Donnellon captured the moment: When she landed her first series of jumps, a hint of a smile crossed her lips. The second set, more of the same, her confidence building as the crowd broke into a rhythmic clap to her music, which she wore painfully on her face. This was more than Canada's story now. The world watching was a raw nerve, too..... Joannie Rochette had channeled her sadness into her art, had channeled her pain through every watching eye and produced something special. It wasn't golden, for gold is of this earth. This was something much more.

Tomorrow she will skate in the free skate part of the program and make a medal run. Her countrymen longing for gold will cheer whether or not she wins because last night she was gold as she honored and remembered her mother.