Several Canadian teams skated to gold at Skate Canada International, lighting up Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre with dynamic figure skating competition.
Athletes from 14 countries took to the ice from Oct. 25-27, hoping to skate their way to a spot in the International Skating Union’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in France later this year. The Canadian leg of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating is the second of six qualifying events.
Medal-winning performances in pairs and ice dance earned Canada three podium finishes, but the Japanese and Americans dominated the men’s and women’s singles categories.
Dalhousie/King’s Figure Skating Club co-president Jaime Barrett said the event’s return to Halifax provided an opportunity to appreciate the sport as a fan, not just a skater.
“As a student, it’s hard to keep up with international skating,” said Barrett. “It was great to have an event so close to home with such high-level skating.”
Canadians bring home two medals in ice dance
Canadian ice dance sweethearts Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier led the way for Canada, claiming gold and finishing almost 15 points ahead of fellow Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, who secured the silver. French ice dancers Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud took the bronze.
Gilles and Poirier delivered two strong performances on their way to securing gold, including a Barbie-themed rhythm dance.
Silver medalists Lajoie and Lagha delivered a strong free dance on Sunday, recovering from an uncharacteristic fall in the rhythm dance the day before.
“When it happened I was really pissed, but then after I regained focus again. What else can you do?” said Lagha.
Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps hang on to gold
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps brought home another gold medal for Canada in the pairs discipline. The pair struggled in the free program, but managed to hang on to first place after a strong showing in the short program the day prior.
“We came here prepared. The performance was not indicative of how our training has been going,” said Stellato-Dudek. “We have to figure out why it happened at that moment.”
Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev of Uzbekistan finished second to the Canadians, while Australians Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore claimed the bronze.
Japanese sweep the podium in women’s singles, Schizas in the top five
Reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto led the Japanese podium sweep in the women’s individual event.
Sakamoto set the bar high on Friday night, delivering a strong short program and claiming the top spot heading into Saturday’s free skate. Following a disappointing short program that left her in ninth place, Japanese skater Rino Matsuike stole the show on Saturday, delivering a beautiful free skate arranged by Canadian choreographer Lori Nichol. Matsuike placed first in the free skate segment, but Sakamoto’s 22-point lead over Matsuike in the short program was enough for her to hold onto first place, despite Sakamoto’s two falls in the free skate.
21-year-old Madeline Schizas led the Canadian women, finishing the weekend in fifth place. Despite missing the podium, Schizas said she was happy to deliver two strong skates.
“I’ve had some good skates in practice, but I’ve had such a hard time translating it to competition,” said Schizas. “I came in with a fiery attitude this weekend, and it really helped me to perform my best.”
The women’s event also saw the return of the United States’ Alysa Liu to the International Skating Union’s grand prix circuit. Liu announced her return to competitive figure skating in March 2024, after retiring at the end of the 2021-22 season. Liu finished in sixth place but said she was happy with her programs, considering it is still early in the season.
“I’ll definitely take this, for sure,” said Liu. “I obviously just need more time for training, but I’m trusting the process, and I know it will be fine.”
Canadians struggle in men’s as “Quad god” Ilia Malinin strikes gold again
The Canadian men failed to crack the top half of the standings this weekend, pointing to Canada’s continued struggles in the men’s event.
Canada’s top-ranked entrant, Roman Sadovsky, withdrew from Sunday’s free program for medical reasons after finishing last in the short program.
Coming off a win at Skate America the weekend prior, American skater Ilia Malinin cruised to the top of the podium finishing over 40 points ahead of the silver medalist, Japanese skater Shun Sato. Bronze medalist Junhwan Cha of Korea rounded out the men’s podium.
“Last weekend was the first big competition of the season, so it brought a little more pressure on me,” said Malinin. “Today was a lot easier when I stepped on the ice. I was really under my feet, and I was able to control everything in that program.”
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