Seoul, South Korea (February 21, 2025) – Team Canada secured two spots on the podium on Friday following the pairs event at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Seoul, South Korea. 

After placing fourth in yesterday’s short program, Deanna Stellato-Dudek (Chicago, USA) and Maxime Deschamps (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC) bounced back to win the silver medal. The reigning world champions delivered their best free program of the season, adding 141.26 points to their existing score and bringing their total to 210.92 to finish on the podium for the third consecutive time. They were bested only by Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, whose final score was 217.32.

“Our short program didn’t go so well, which actually was the best thing that could have happened to us, because it allowed us to skate more freely and just enjoy ourselves. That’s something we hadn’t really done yet this season,” said Deschamps.

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps were joined on the podium by Ontarians Lia Pereira (Milton) and Trennt Michaud (Brantford), who finished third in today’s free program, just as they had in yesterday’s short program. Their score of 128.61 today brought their total to 198.40—their best of the season—which was good enough for bronze.

“We’re really happy! We ran into a few challenges on the way here, including an illness and some lost luggage, but our short program yesterday felt good. That being said, you still never know how your long program will go! We’re really proud to have executed our elements well today,” said Pereira.

Kelly Ann Laurin (Saint-Jérôme, QC) and Loucas Éthier (Saint-Alphonse, QC) came out of today’s free program in ninth place, with 107.33 points. They finished ninth overall with a final score of 170.23.

Next on the schedule was the women’s short program, where three Canadians were on the roster. Sara-Maude Dupuis (Montréal, QC), who is skating at her third ISU Four Continents Championships, obtained the country’s top score in the event, placing ninth with 62.35 points. Canadian champion Madeline Schizas (Oakville, ON) followed close behind in eleventh place with 59.70 points, while Katherine Medland Spence (Ottawa, ON) finished 14th with a score of 53.02.

Chaeyeon Kim of South Korea (74.02), Mone Chiba of Japan (71.20), and Sarah Everhardt of the USA (67.36) currently hold the provisional top three spots in the women’s event.

Competition continues on Saturday with the free dance and the men’s free program. The complete results can be found here.