World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps Retain National Pairs Title

LAVAL, QC (January 18, 2025) – For a third consecutive year, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps took home the senior pairs gold medal, Saturday, at the Canadian National Skating Championships. Roman Sadovsky also made his mark at Place Bell in Laval, and was crowned Canadian senior men’s champion.

In first place after the short program, Sadovsky was able to defend his coveted ranking after Saturday’s free skate. Sadovsky was preceded by Anthony Paradis of Quebec, who had just put in an excellent performance to earn 148.29 points. Yet, the future gold medallist remained composed, and in the end, his score of 158.91 enabled him to finish in the lead with a total of 240.35 points. Those precious points confirmed Sadovsky’s title as Canadian Senior Champion – the second of his career, after a win in 2020.

“It was so loud, I could hardly hear my score!” laughed Ontario native Sadovsky. “Overall, I just wanted to stay focused, remember to breathe, and not let a single mistake stop me.”

Anthony Paradis (225.56 points) ended up on the second step of the podium ahead of British Columbia’s David Li (197.99 points) who claimed the bronze medal.

National champions were also crowned in the senior pairs event on the fourth day of competition at Place Bell. Two-time Canadian champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (Quebec) successfully defended their title with a free skate score of 130.75. Yet the skate to the top of podium wasn’t without a few hiccups.

Deschamps explained: “There were a few mistakes. I’d been sick recently, but in training, I’d been doing really well, there were no problems. So, tonight doesn’t totally reflect what we’ve been practicing. We’re going to go back home and work even harder. We’ll get back to our usual selves for next time.”

The reigning world champions ended their day with a total score of 207.06, earning them the gold medal. Ontario’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud laid down the best free program of the day, earning 134.53 points for a total of 204.96 and the silver medal. Skating to bronze were Quebec’s Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier (187.29).

Earlier today, sold out crowds at Place Bell were treated to the senior women’s short program.

Ontario’s Madeline Schizas put in the best performance of the day, earning a score of 70.00. The Canadian Champion in 2022 and 2023, Schizas also won the silver medal in this same event last year. This year, she has her sights set on the top step of the podium.

“There’s always a great atmosphere here. A lot of my family live in Montreal, and so many of them are here to cheer me on,” shared Schizas.

Ontario’s Katherine Medland Spence sits in second place with 61.99 points, while Quebec’s Sara-Maude Dupuis is close behind with 59.81 points. Both athletes are seeking their first medals at the Canadian Championships.

In the senior ice dance competition, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (Ontario) took on the challenge of defending their national title. Judges awarded the duo – who were the silver medallists at the 2024 World Championships – a score of 91.84 for their rhythm dance.

“We know how to prepare ourselves mentally to perform at our best and let the program go instead of having to force it,” said Poirier. “We were very happy to have the opportunity to skate a strong program today.”

Gilles commented, “We’re always a little nervous, because we want to put in a good performance. We love skating together and we manage to have fun on the ice.”

Quebec duo Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha are sitting in second place after the rhythm dance with a score of 86.42. Fellow Quebec team, Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer, round out the top-3 with a score of 78.53. The free dance event concludes the Canadian Championships on Sunday in Laval.

Full results from the competition are available here.