FILE–Alexandra Paul (L) and Mitchell Islam of Canada compete in the ice dance free dance during the 2015 ISU World Figure Skating Championships at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on March 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO / GOH CHAI HIN
Canadian figure skater Alexandra Paul, a 2014 Olympic ice dancer and former national junior champion, has died at age 31, Skate Canada announced.
Police said Paul died in a car crash last Tuesday when a truck struck vehicles stopped at a construction zone in rural Melancthon Township in Southern Ontario.
Her baby son, Charles, was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries suffered in the incident.
Paul and her long-time ice dance partner, Mitchell Islam, were married in 2021 and she gave birth to their first child last year.
“It is with a heavy heart that Skate Canada announces the sudden passing of a cherished member of our skating community, Alexandra Paul,” Skate Canada said in a statement.
It is with a heavy heart that Skate Canada announces the sudden passing of a cherished member of our skating community, Alexandra Paul.
Our thoughts are with Alexandra's family, friends, and everyone who was fortunate enough to know her 🙏 https://t.co/odyqnPVCSW
— Skate Canada / Patinage Canada (@SkateCanada) August 26, 2023
Paul and Islam won the 2010 Canadian national junior ice dance crown and were second at the 2010 junior worlds.
They had three third-place finishes at the Canadian national championships and placed 18th at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Paul and Islam were 10th at the 2014 worlds and 13th the following year.
The couple retired from competition in 2016.