ANKARA (TÜRKIYE) Sept. 19, 2026 – Canada’s junior figure skaters were back on the international stage this week at the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in Ankara, Türkiye. Ice dancers and two-time Junior Grand Prix medallists Charlie Anderson (London, Ont.) and Cayden Dawson (Oakville, Ont.) kicked off their international competition season with a fourth-place finish.

They scored 55.44 points in the rhythm dance and 84.54 in the free dance for a total of 139.98 points.

“I think what I’m really proud of this week is how we worked together,” Dawson said. “There were some things that didn’t go our way; how we skated, some of the calls and things like that. Not exactly what we were looking for, but we persevered together, which is what the goal is in every competition, and I’m glad we did that.”

Audra Gans (Prévost, Que.) and Danil Pak (Almaty, KAZ) wrapped up their first Junior Grand Prix event with an eighth-place finish. They scored 51.51 points in the rhythm dance and 80.55 points in the free dance for a total of 132.06 points.

“We pretty much accomplished our main goal, which was to just learn as much as possible,” Gans said. “We didn’t come here to win, so we were just trying to really take it in and use it to grow as a team as much as possible, and I think we did that.”

USA’s Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin (163.43) walked away with the gold medal, while France’s Dania Mouaden and Théo Bigot (159.39) claimed silver. USA’s Xinyu Chen and Gordei Chitipakhovian (151.18) rounded out the podium with bronze.

In junior pairs, Marykim Ranzi (Blainville, Que.) and Enryck Legault (Sainte-Sophie, Que.) continued their strong season with personal-best scores in both programs. They scored 49.32 points in the short program and followed up with 82.43 points in the free program, placing sixth overall with a total score of 131.75 points – a performance that exceeded the pair’s expectations, Legault said.

“We had a pretty good week of training before,” he explained. “We had little injuries, so that’s why this week was above expectations,” he added.

The competition also marked the international debut of newly formed pair Kaydee Kallay (Boisbriand, Que.) and Étienne Lacasse (Sainte-Thérèse, Que.). The duo scored 44.94 points in the short program and 81.77 in the free program for a total of 126.71 points, good for eighth place.

“I think we can be proud of what we did,” Lacasse said after the competition. “We did two programs, we were in control of both programs. It was our first experience as a team internationally, so we just had to learn about each other internationally and we did that today.”

“This was my first international ever,” Kallay added. “It’s just a different atmosphere, it’s unmatched. So, just to be part of it is really great.”

Brianna Dion (Ottawa, Ont.) and Jacob Côté (Dartmouth, N.S.) made their second Junior Grand Prix appearance of the season, placing 14th with 112.67 total points.

Individual neutral athletes Taisiia Guseva and Daniil Ovchinnikov captured gold with 196.91 points, while Polina Shesheleva and Egor Karnaukhov took silver with 190.79. Spain’s Anita Mapelli and Noah Quesada Grau earned bronze with 154.07 points.

In junior men’s singles, Grayson Long (Oakville, Ont.) placed ninth overall in what he described as a challenging competition. Long totalled 173.79 points, after posting scores of 58.78 in the short program and 115.01 in the free program.

“I’m just proud that I stepped up and got onto the ice with a good mindset, and I’m just excited for what the future holds,” he said.

Japan’s Daiya Ebihara secured the gold medal with 216.66 points. Ukraine’s Yehor Kurtsev won silver with 201.95 points, and South Korea’s Habin Choi won bronze with 194.89 points.

The ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix series continues Sept. 24 to 26, in Batumi, Georgia.

For the complete results, click here.