Gilles and Porier fifth in close battle for ice dance medals at Grand Prix Final
TORINO, Italy – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto took fifth spot in ice dancing, finishing less than five points from a medal berth to conclude the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition.
Defending Grand Prix Final champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France won the gold medal with 219.85 points. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. were second at 210.68 and their compatriots Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were third at 207.93.
Gilles and Poirier, who collected a gold and silver on the circuit this season, posted the fourth best free dance to move from sixth after the rhythm dance to fifth overall with 203.50.
‘’We both know we’ve got a strong free dance and everyone enjoys watching it,’’ said Gilles. ‘’We owed it to ourselves not to let a score define who we are at a competition. We need to make sure we are doing our job and our best in every program.
‘’We showed maturity and confidence today.’’
Canada’s other entry Kirsten Moore-Towers of St.Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., were fifth in pairs on Saturday.