Champion figure skater Elizabeth Putnam may have just skated the most beautiful performance of her life.
But it wasn’t in a world championship or at her home rink.
It was on a frozen lake, surrounded by mountains, in middle of nowhere.
Lucky for us, Vancouver-based filmmaker Bradley Friessen was soaring above in a helicopter, recording the entire breathtaking performance.
In the video, you watch as Putnam gracefully pivots across Widgeon Lake, near Coquitlam, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver. She spins and spirals, even throwing in axels and double-loop jumps.
“I’ve had the pleasure of performing in Central Park and different unique places around the world, but that was, by far, one of the most special experiences I’ve ever had, because it was just untouched,” Putnam said in an interview with Global News.
Putnam was a national champion pair skater with Sean Wirtz. Together, they won the bronze medal at the 2006 Four Continents, an international figure skating competition.
Although it looks effortless, a lot of planning went into creating the three-minute video, which was filmed last February. Friessen and Putnam had to wait hours for the fog to break so they could safely fly up over the mountains. And then once on the lake, they only had a couple of hours to film during perfect lighting.
The end result is a performance that Putnam will never forget.
“It was really, really liberating. It was just so free and so quiet. In the competitive environment, there are so many eyes on you…this was so peaceful and so unique because of the space and the serenity of it all.”
