Sault doctor wins bronze medal in figure skating

A pediatrician in Sault Ste. Marie is demonstrating that it's never too late to learn something new.

Doctor Jonathan Keuhl recently won the bronze medal at the International Adult Figure Skating Championship in Germany, a mere five years after taking up the sport at the age of 40.

As we get older, career, family obligations and generally having less free time are just a few of the challenges that come with taking up a new hobby or sport.

Keuhl is faced with the unique challenge of keeping up a competitive figure skating training schedule and the demands of his medical practice and this season has been particularly busy.

"January, I had a competition here in Sault Ste. Marie, competition at the end of January in Windsor, and then had our adult provincials in Kanata at the beginning of March," he said.

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

Keuhl has been interested in figure skating since he was a child. After turning 40, he decided if he was to give it a shot, it was now or never.

He said he encourages other adults who are thinking of taking up the sport to call their local figure skating club and ask about adult skating programs.

Though, Keuhl said, he sometimes skates outside of his age group.

"I join the kids, who I'm three times older than probably the oldest one," Keuhl said with a laugh.

"But, I think I've proven myself out there with them part of the time."

Keuhl is getting set for a week-long training camp in southern Ontario this month. After that, he'll be looking toward his next competition, which is happening in October in Nashville.