HALIFAX – Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are in the lead after Saturday’s rhythm dance at the Skate Canada figure skating event.
Gilles, from Toronto, and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., scored 86.44 points for their Beach Boys-themed routine with Barbie and Ken costumes.
Fellow Canadians Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., finished second with 77.34 points, followed by Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France with 76.76. Alicia Fabbri of Laval, Que., and Calgary’s Paul Ayer are ninth with 70.10 points.
Reigning world champion Ilia Malinin of the United States leads the men’s short program with 106.22, well ahead of Japanese skaters Shun Sato (96.52) and Sota Yamamoto (92.16).
Toronto’s Stephen Gogolev finished fifth with 82.70 after a solid skate. Aleksa Rakic, from Burnaby, B.C., placed ninth and Roman Sadovsky, from Vaughan, Ont., was last in the 12-skater field.
The free dance and men’s long program are scheduled for Sunday.
Later Saturday, Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps were scheduled to compete in the pairs free skate after topping Friday’s short program with a score of 73.23.
Madeline Schizas, from Oakville, Ont., was set to skate in the women’s free program after placing fifth in the short.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2024.
