TAIPEI CITY – Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Greenfield Park, Que., are in the medal hunt standing fifth after Thursday’s short dance at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

‘’It went super well, we were really well focused on the ice,’’ said Lajoie, 13^th with her partner at last year’s world juniors. ‘’To be fifth right now is better than we expected but it’s not going to affect how we prepare for the free skate. We are going keep the same plan and not worry about results.’’

Alla Loboda and Pavel Drozd of Russia are first at 67.59, Rachel Parsons and Michael Parsons of the U.S. second at 67.29 and Anastasia Skoptcova and Kirill Aleshin of Russia third at 63.38. Lajoie and Lagha notched 60.79.

Ashlynn Stairs of Calgary and Lee Royer of St. Albert, Alta., are 12^th.

‘’We put out our best and that’s what we wanted to do,’’ said Stairs. ‘’Everything was clean and done to the best ability that we could. It gives us a lot of confidence that we can do the same in the free skate.’’

In men’s competition, Vincent Zhou of the U.S. prevented a Russian medal sweep taking the gold with 258.11. Dmitri Aliev was second at 247.31, Alexander Samarin third at 245.53 and Alexander Petrov fourth at 243.47.

Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., was 12^th, Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., 13^th and Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., 17^th.

‘’I’m proud of what I’ve done at my first junior worlds,’’ said Orzel, a two-time silver medallist this season at international junior events. ‘’I did everything I planned and delivered my best skate of the season. I was a bit star truck this week with the great skaters here and the whole experience was very inspiring.

‘’I’ve learnt I can deal with the biggest worlds stage pressure and can adapt to situations even though it’s not perfect.’’

Competition continues Friday with the pairs free skate and women’s short program.

Full results: ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2017

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada has eight entries, for a total of 12 skaters competing at the 2017 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships taking place from March 15-19 in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei. Canada will have two entries per discipline in pairs and ice dance, one entry in ladies and three entries in men’s. Competition begins Wednesday, March 15, with the men and pairs short programs.

Defending world junior silver medallist Nicolas Nadeau, 19, Boisbriand, Que., is the first of three Canadian men. This season, he placed 11^th at the Golden Spin of Zagreb, fourth in senior at the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and won the junior level at the Bavarian Open. Nadeau trains in Rosemère, Que., and is coached by Yvan Desjardins.

Roman Sadovsky, 17, Vaughan, Ont., is the second Canadian entry in men’s. This will be his third time competing at this event, having placed 13^th in 2014 and 14^th in 2015. This season, he placed fifth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Japan and won the silver medal at the Junior Grand Prix in Estonia. At the senior level, he placed seventh at the Golden Spin of Zagreb and ninth at the 2017 Canadian championships. Sadovsky is coached by Tracey Wainman in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Canadian junior silver medallist Conrad Orzel, 16, Woodbridge, Ont., will round out the Canadian men entries. This season, Orzel placed 10^th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in France and won the silver medal at the Junior Grand Prix in Germany. He also won the junior silver medal at the 2017 Bavarian Open. Orzel is coached by Eva Najarro and trains in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Sarah Tamura, 16, Burnaby, B.C., is the Canadian entry in ladies. Last year, she placed 13^th at this event. This season, Tamura placed eighth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovenia and sixth in Germany. She also won the junior competition at the Bavarian Open and placed fifth in the senior level at the 2017 Canadian championships. Tamura is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Canadian junior champions Evelyn Walsh, 15, London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 20, Strathroy, Ont., are one of two Canadian pairs competing at this event. Earlier this season, Walsh and Michaud placed 11^th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Estonia and fifth in Germany. They also won the junior competition at the Bavarian Open. Walsh and Michaud are coached by Alison Purkiss and Margaret Purdy, and train in London, Ont.

Canadian junior silver medallists Lori-Anne Matte, 17, Lévis, Que., and Thierry Ferland, 19, Lévis, Que., are the other Canadian junior pair entry at the event. Earlier this season, they placed sixth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in the Czech Republic and fourth in Russia. Matte and Ferland also won the silver medal in the junior competition at the Bavarian Open. They are coached by Martine Simard in Lévis, Que.

Canadian junior champions Marjorie Lajoie, 16, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 17, Greenfield Park, Que., are the first of two Canadian ice dance entries. Last year, they placed 13^th at this event. This season, they finished fourth at both of their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments (Japan and Germany), and won the silver medal at the Bavarian Open in the junior category. Lajoie and Lagha train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer and Pascal Denis.

Canadian junior silver medallists Ashlynne Stairs, 16, Calgary, Alta. and Lee Royer, 18, St. Albert, Alta., will also be representing Canada in the ice dance discipline. This season, they finished seventh and fifth respectively at their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments in France and Slovenia, and won the bronze medal at the Bavarian Open in the junior category. Stairs and Royer are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe in Burnaby, B.C.

Bev Viger of Abbotsford, B.C., and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Cole Beavis of Saskatoon, Sask., and physiotherapist Sylvia Ciurysek of Berwyn, Alta., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., will be the sole Canadian official at the event.

Skate Canada NextGen Director André Bourgeois will also be traveling with the team.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2017 ISU WORLD JUNIOR FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS