PRAGUE (CZECHIA) March 27, 2026 – Day three of competition at the 2026 ISU Figure Skating World Championships resumed on Friday, with Canada’s top ice dancers hitting the ice at O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia for the rhythm dance.

Fresh off their bronze medal win at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, Piper Gilles (Toronto, Ont.) and Paul Poirier (Unionville, Ont.) put out a season’s best performance, earning 86.45 points.

“It was a really fun performance,” said Poirier. “We really enjoyed it. I think it was nice to have that little bit less pressure compared to the Olympic Games, and so we were really able to just enjoy the performance and be present in it, and the crowd was really awesome, so we had a great time.”

The pair currently sits second in the standings ahead of Saturday’s free dance segment. After medalling at the Olympics with their moving “Vincent” routine, Gilles and Poirier are bringing back an old favourite and will skate their iconic Wuthering Heights free dance, in hopes of bringing home yet another medal to cap off their season.

France’s Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron currently sit in first place with 92.74 points, while Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (85.09) hold third place.

National silver medallists Marjorie Lajoie (Boucherville, Que.) and Zachary Lagha (Saint-Hubert, Que.) scored 80.81 points for their rhythm dance, landing them in 8th place and qualifying them for the free dance as well.

“We’re pretty happy with the performance that we did today,” said Lajoie. “All the practices were good, training was amazing too, and I think we were able to deliver a good performance.”

Marie-Jade Lauriault (Ste-Anne-Des-Plaines, Que.) and Romain Le Gac (Laval, Que.) are in 20th place after scoring 69.70 points. They also qualify alongside their teammates for the rhythm dance on Saturday.

In women’s singles, Madeline Schizas (Oakville, Ont.) placed 15th in the free program with 116.94 points and a total score of 178.29, finishing 15th overall.

“Today was a little disappointing,” Schizas admitted after her skate. “But I’m happy with being done with my season. I really pushed through the whole season, and I think you can see that we’re all a little bit ready for a break right now, so I’m happy with how I managed the last three weeks to skate pretty well today.”

The women’s singles podium saw Kaori Sakamoto (Japan) win her fourth world title with 238.28 points, ahead of teammate Mone Chiba with 228.47 points, and Belgium’s Nina Pinzarrone, who secured bronze with 215.20 points.

Tomorrow will mark the final day of competition at these World Championships. Stephen Gogolev (Toronto, Ont.) will compete in the men’s singles free program, with all three Canadian ice dance teams set to follow in the free dance later that evening.

For complete results, please click here.