Boston, United States (March 26, 2025) – World champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps began defending their pairs title with a seventh place finish in the short program on Wednesday at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships taking place in Boston, United States.

Stellato-Dudek (Chicago, USA) and Deschamps (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec) earned a score of 67.32 for their short program, which had its ups and downs.

“We felt good, but we made a few mistakes,” Stellato-Dudek commented after the session. “We had some good moments and some more difficult ones, as if something was off. Still, it’s an experience from which we must learn.”

Two other Canadian pair teams are in action at these World Championships and have qualified for the free program. Lia Pereira (Milton, Ontario) and Trennt Michaud (Trenton, Ontario) are in tenth place with 63.28 points, while Kelly Ann Laurin (Saint-Jérôme, Quebec) and Loucas Éthier (Saint-Alphonse, Quebec) sit in twelfth with a score of 62.30.

Before the pairs competition, Madeline Schizas (Oakville, Ontario) was the first Canadian to take the ice at TD Garden on Wednesday. Competing in her fifth World Championships, she gave a spectacular performance in the women’s short program to earn a score of 69.18, a personal best for her this season.

With a sixth place finish, Schizas has secured her spot in Friday’s free program.

“I felt confident, I felt a little nervous because I had a funny fall in training on Tuesday, but I knew I just had to focus and that I would be able to do my program,” said Schizas, the reigning Canadian champion.

The 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships will continue on Thursday with the men’s short program, including that of Roman Sadovsky (Vaughan, Ontario), in addition to the pairs free program. Full results are available here.