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Prescott’s Alaine Chartrand, the 2016 national champion, rallied from ninth place after Friday’s short program, but came up about five points shy of Larkman.

Daleman, from Newmarket, Ont., said she couldn’t be more proud of her performance in Vancouver after such a difficult year, which included going public about bullying during her days at school.

“I said yesterday, that’s the way to end 19, and what I said today was this is the way to start 20. It was the best birthday present I could ever ask for,” she said, a beaming smile on her face and a five-ring pendant hanging from a necklace.

As Daleman talked to reporters, Osmond walked by in the background and shouted congratulations. Daleman offered her the same and then said that, coming into nationals, knowing she would go up against Osmond helped motivate her.

“You’re competing against number two in the world,” said Daleman, who won bronze behind Osmond at the worlds last year. “This means the absolute world to me going into an Olympic year.”

Daleman said she still felt sick overnight and had trouble sleeping, but, after an early-morning call for hair and makeup, she was excited by the packed house at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at the UBC campus.

“You could feel the energy, you could feel the support,” she said.

Daleman said she had felt that support all week after opening up about the bullying in her past.