Tag Archive for: Gabrielle Daleman

Nine Canadians Make the Trip Across the Pond for the MK John Wilson Trophy

OTTAWA, ON (November 8, 2022) – After a successful start to the season that saw Canadians win six medals, the ISU Grand Prix now heads to Sheffield, Great Britain from November 11-13, 2022 for the MK John Wilson Trophy. Team Canada will be comprised of nine skaters, including one entry in women, two entries in men and three entries in ice dance. 

2018 Olympian and 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships bronze medallist Gabrielle Daleman will be the sole Canadian entry in the women’s discipline. Daleman kicked off her season a few weeks ago at Skate Canada International, where she placed second in the short program and finished 10th overall.  

Beijing 2022 Olympian Roman Sadovsky will be competing in his second Grand Prix of the season after putting in a solid performance at Skate America that earned him a 5th place finish. He will be joined by 2022 Skate Canada Challenge bronze medallist Corey Circelli, who will be making his senior Grand Prix debut. 

Olympians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha will be headlining the Canadian entries in ice dance. Lajoie and Lagha are no strangers to the podium, having won gold at the 2022 Budapest Trophy and the 2022 Ondrej Nepela Memorial, as well as a bronze medal on home ice at Skate Canada International. First-year National Team members Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer will be competing at their first ISU Grand Prix after finishing 4th at the 2022 Budapest Trophy. Rounding out the team will be Haley Sales and Nikolas Wamsteeker, who placed 5th at the 2022 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic earlier this season.   

Pairs team Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland were assigned to the event but have pulled out due to injury.   

The competition starts on Friday, November 11 with the men and pair short programs. Saturday will see the rhythm dance and women’s short program, as well as the first medals awarded following the men and pair free programs. The event concludes on Sunday with the women’s free program and ice dance free dance.   

Team Canada
Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Women 
Gabrielle Daleman | 24 | Newmarket, Ont. | Lee Barkell | Toronto, Ont. 

Men  
Corey Circelli | 20 | Toronto, Ont. | Brian Orser | Toronto, Ont.
Roman Sadovsky | 23 | Vaughan, Ont. | Tracey Wainman & Grzegorz Filipowski | Richmond Hill, Ont. 

Ice dance 
Alicia Fabbri | 19 | Terrebonne, Que. & Paul Ayer | 24 | Brossard, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon | Montreal, Que.  
Marjorie Lajoie | 22 | Boucherville, Que. & Zachary Lagha | 23 | Saint-Hubert, Que. | Romain Haguenauer | Montréal, Que.
Haley Sales | 25 | Kelowna, B.C. & Nikolas Wamsteeker | 26 | Langley, B.C. | Scott Moir | London, Ont. 

Team Leaders – Marie Bowness & Mike Slipchuk
Medical Team – Emma Lis & Lee Schofield
Officials – Glenn Fortin & Patty Klein  

For more information about the event and full schedules, click here. 

The Skating World Converges in Mississauga for Skate Canada International

OTTAWA, ON (October 24, 2022) – After a successful weekend at Skate America that saw Canadians win three medals, the ISU Grand Prix series stops in Mississauga, Ontario this week for the 48th edition of Skate Canada International. From October 28-30, some of the best skaters from around the globe will compete for a spot on the podium at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, including Shoma Uno, Young You, Lilah Fear, Lewis Gibson, Riku Miura, Ryuichi Kihara, plus fifteen of Canada’s top talents. 

The men’s team, which will count three entries, will be headlined by veteran and two-time Olympian Keegan Messing. Messing is the current Canadian champion and has gotten off to a stunning start this season, winning gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy. He will be joined by Conrad Orzel, who recently placed 11th at the Finlandia Trophy, as well as Stephen Gogolev, who finished 9th at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic.  

Olympians Madeline Schizas and Gabrielle Daleman will represent Canada in the women’s field. Schizas, the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships women’s gold medallist, kicked off the competition season with a 5th place at the Nebelhorn Trophy. Teammate Gabrielle Daleman will be competing at her first international event after an excellent domestic season that saw her win gold at the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge and bronze at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. 

In the pair discipline, Canada will be sending two young but solid teams, with Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar setting their sights on the top step of the podium. The pair, who finished third at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships last season, had a breakthrough start to their first senior season, winning bronze at the 2022 Finlandia Trophy earlier this month. Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier will also be competing in the event after winning bronze over the weekend at Skate America. 

Canada will boast three Olympic teams in ice dance. 2021 Skate Canada International gold medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will be looking to defend their title after a successful 2021-2022 season that saw the pair claim the Canadian title. Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha will also be strong contenders for the title, with the team winning two gold medals this year at the Ondre Nepela Memorial and Budapest Trophy. Finally, Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac , who claimed bronze at Skate America, will be replacing Miku Makita and Tyler Gunara due to injury. 

Competition starts on Friday, October 28 with every discipline performing their short program/rhythm dance. All medals will be awarded on Saturday, October 29, as all disciplines will perform their free program/free dance. The event concludes on Sunday with the exhibition gala. The event will be live streamed in Canada via skatecanada.ca.  

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Women 
Gabrielle Daleman | 24 | Newmarket, Ont. | Lee Barkell | Toronto, Ont.
Madeline Schizas | 19 | Oakville, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont.   

Men 
Stephen Gogolev | 17 | Toronto, Ont. | Rafael Arutyunyan & Lee Barkell | Irvine, USA
Keegan Messing | 30 | Girdwood, USA | Ralph Burghart | Anchorage, USA
Conrad Orzel | 22 | Toronto, Ont. | Ravi Walia | Edmonton, Alta. 

Pair 
Kelly Ann Laurin | 16 | St-Jérôme, Que. & Loucas Éthier | 22 | Deux-Montagnes, Que. | Stéphanie Valois | Rosemère, Que.  
Brooke McIntosh | 17 | Toronto, Ont. & Benjamin Mimar | 21 | Terrebonne, Que. | Andrew Evans & Alexander Sheldrick | Toronto, Ont. 

Ice Dance 
Piper Gilles | 30 | Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier | 30 | Unionville, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.
Marjorie Lajoie | 21 | Boucherville, Que. & Zachary Lagha | 23 | Saint-Hubert, Que. | Romain Haguenauer | Montreal, Que.
Marie-Jade Lauriault | 25 | Ste-Anne-Des-Plaines, Que. & Romain Le Gac | 27 | Laval, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon| Ste-Anne-Des-Plaines, Que.    

Team Leaders – Carolyn Allwright & Cynthia Ullmark
Medical Team – Tatiana Jevremovic & Agnes Makowski
Officials – Andrea Derby, Veronique Gosselin, Janice Hunter & Lorna Schroder 

For more information about the event and full schedules, click here. To purchase single-session tickets, visit ticketmaster.ca. 

Gabrielle Daleman Wins Women’s Event at 2022 Skate Canada Challenge

REGINA – Two-time Olympian Gabrielle Daleman posted the best scores in both the short program and Sunday’s free skate to win the women’s event to conclude the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge.

Daleman, who helped Canada win the gold in the team event at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, earned 173.66 points. Amanda Tobin of Burlington, Ont., was second at 166.35 and Veronik Maillet of Sept-Iles, Que., was third at 162.95.

‘’It’s nowhere near perfect but it’s definitely going in the right direction,’’ said Daleman, at her third competition this season. ‘’It’s nice to be back into this atmosphere of a live audience and live judging and feel how I am with the adrenaline.’’

In ice dancing, Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que., took the title with 179.61 points. Haley Sales and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Burnaby, B.C., followed at 175.31 and Marie-Jade Lauriault of Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., and Romain Le Gac of Laval, Que., tops in the free dance, were third at 173.66.

‘’In this performance we were focusing on having a strong connection and we achieved that especially in the free dance,’’ said Ayer, fifth with his partner at the Cup of Austria last month. ‘’We were especially pleased with our stationary lift for which we achieved our levels here.’’

Other winners this week in senior competition were Stephen Gogolev of Toronto for the men and Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., in pairs.

In the last junior event on Sunday, Rio Morito of Toronto took the men’s title.

‘’I felt really good and achieved my goals,’’ said Morito. ‘’I’m working on other elements that I hope will be ready for the future.’’

Other winners in junior were Justine Miclette of Quebec for the women, Brooke McIntosh of Toronto and Benjamin Mimar of Terrebonne, Que., in pairs and Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont of Ajax, Ont., in ice dancing.

The winners in novice competition were David Shteyngart of Ottawa for the men, Kayla Halliday of Brookswood, Alta., for the women, Kaitlyn Ho and Daniel Yu of Alberta in ice dancing and Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg in pairs.

Skate Canada Challenge is a qualifying event for novice, junior and senior skaters to earn entries to the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, taking place in Ottawa from January 6 to 13, 2022.

This event is also the 2022 Pre-Novice National Championships.

In pre-novice the winners were: Liam Schmidt of Quebec for the men, Megan Woodley of Orillia, Ont., for the women, Alexane Jean and Charly Laliberté-Laurent of Quebec, in pairs and Auréa Cinçon-Debout and Earl Jesse Celestino of Quebec in ice dancing.

More information: https://skatecanada.ca/2022-skate-canada-challenge/#tab-id-7

Gabrielle Daleman Satisfied with Seventh at Warsaw Cup

WARSAW – Two-time Olympian Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., gained some confidence on Saturday with a seventh-place finish in the women’s competition at the Warsaw Cup, an event on the ISU Challenger Series figure skating circuit.

Maiia Khromykh of Russia won the gold medal with 194.02 points followed by Niina Petrokina of Estonia in second at 188.86 and Ekaterina Kurakova of Poland in third at 187.80.

Daleman, who helped Canada win Olympic gold in the team event in 2018, was fifth after Thursday’s short program.

‘’It was an unusual schedule here, so I was pleased with how I managed everything,’’ said Daleman. ‘’My goal here was just to get out in front of a crowd and judges for only the second this season. My skate wasn’t perfect, but I kept fighting and took it step by step.’’

In ice dancing, Molly Lanaghan, and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., produced the seventh best free dance but remained eighth overall. The event was won by Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Russia.

The highlight for Canada here this week was Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., winning the men’s free skate on Friday to jump from 11th to fourth overall.

Full results: https://page.pfsa.com.pl/results/2122/CSPOL21/

Wesley Chiu Wins Free Skate, Nears Podium in Personal Best Performance at Warsaw Cup

WARSAW – A great season continued for Richmond, B.C.’s, Wesley Chiu on Friday as he won the free skate and placed fourth overall with a personal best score in men’s competition at the Warsaw Cup, a stop on the ISU Challenger Series.

The 16-year-od Chiu, a gold and bronze medallist on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit this season, sparkled against a senior field on Friday roaring from 11th after Thursday’s short program to near the podium with 232.39 points.

‘’It went amazing,’’ said Chiu. ‘’Missing that combination jump in the short really motivated me to go after it on the long program. I came here to get some minimum scores for senior competitions and I definitely achieved that.’’

Sota Yamamoto of Japan was the winner with 247.65, Daniel Grassl of Italy was second at 242.96 and Peter Gumemnik of Russia third at 242.91.

Chiu cleanly landed his seven jumps in his free program. That included back-to-back quads, three combo jumps and the triple Axel. It was the first time he landed two quads in a free skate.

‘’I knew I could do one quad toe so there was no reason why I can’t do a second one,’’ he said. ‘’But it was a tough aspect to learn in practice. Training overall has been going really well leading into this competition.’’

Stephen Gogolev of Toronto was 11th.

In pairs, Russia swept the medals with Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov in first. Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Levis, Que., were 10th and Deanna Stellato Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., 11th.

In the women’s short program, Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., stands fifth at 61.57 just over three points from third place. Maiia Khromykh of Russia leads with 69.24.

In ice dancing after the rhythm dance, Molly Lanaghan, and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., are in eighth place with 67.81 and appear on route to improve on their 11th place at last week’s Cup of Austria. Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Russia are the leaders at 81.30.

Competition ends Saturday with the women’s free skate and the free dance.

Full results: https://page.pfsa.com.pl/results/2122/CSPOL21/

James and Radford Take Silver in International Debut at Autumn Classic International

PIERREFONDS, Que. – Vanessa James and Eric Radford launched their new partnership for Canada with a silver medal in pairs on Friday at the Autumn Classic International figure skating competition.

This past April, two-time world champion and three-time Olympic medallist Radford announced he was coming out of retirement to skate for Canada once again. But this time it was with new partner Vanessa James, a European champion and world championship medallist who formerly competed for France.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan stayed in first place for the victory Friday with 204.06 points followed by the new Canadian pair with 184.01. Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc of the U.S. hung on for third with 170.64.

Skating to Harry Styles, James and Radford opened with a solid triple twist and executed a clean throw triple Salchow later on. But they were shaky on their side-by-side jumps with James falling once and stepping out of another.

‘’We were hoping for better obviously,’’ said Radford, 36. ‘’But there’s so much for us we have to keep in perspective, and we are finding out how to do this. We know we are going to have a clearer target at our next competition. We have a huge opportunity here and that’s how we are going to take this.’’

‘’For me it’s a learning lesson on how to control my stress,’’ added the 33-year-old James, born in Scarborough, Ont. ‘’I’m taking this as a step in our career.’’

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil, Que., missed a berth on the podium by less than a point finishing fourth at 169.91 while Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Levis, Que., remained seventh.

In the women’s free skate, Marilena Kitromillis of Cyprus won the gold ahead of two South Koreans: Young You and Seoyeon Ji.

Emily Bausback of Vancouver, B.C. was the top Canadian climbing from ninth to seventh. Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., was eighth and Alison Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., 10th.

“There’s a lot of positive takeaways from this competition,’’ said Bausback, whose free skate ranked sixth. ‘’I learned a lot about myself and how to deal with my nerves. It’s something I can build on going into Skate Canada International.’’

In ice dancing, world championship bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto, Ont. are first after the rhythm dance with 83.35, Olivia Smart of Adrian Diaz of Spain are second at 75.20 and Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the U.S. third at 73.93.

‘’We were very pleased with our speed today because it’s always hard to come out for the first event and not overdo it,’’ said Gilles. ‘’We skated very sensible and considering where we are in the season, we are super happy.’’

There are three other Canadian entries: Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., are fourth at 71.27, Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver are fifth at 65.11 and Haley Sales of Kelowna, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C. are sixth at 59.91.

All three entries in men’s competition are Canadian. After the short program, Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., is first with 80.82 points, Bennet Toman of Brampton, Ont., second at 63.30 and Beres Clements of Gibson, B.C., third at 55.48.

‘’I was really nervous and holding back on some of the jumps,’’ said Orzel, 21, in his third season at the senior level.

The ISU Challenger Series provides an opportunity for senior skaters to compete at an international level and earn world ranking points.

Competition ends Saturday at the Pierrefonds Sportplexe with the men’s free skate and the free dance.

Full results: https://results.skatecanada.ca/2021ACI/

Athlete Spotlight: Gabrielle Daleman

Gabrielle Daleman

Q: What’s your favourite social media account to follow?
Gabby: @selenagomez

Q: What is your favourite place in the world and why?
Gabby: Milan, Italy. I love the fashion, the culture and the architecture there.

Q:Who is your celebrity crush?
Gabby: Shawn Mendes

Q: What fictional character would you like to meet in real life and why?
Gabby: All the Disney princesses.

Q:What’s your favourite emoji?
Gabby: 🥀

Daleman withdraws from NHK Trophy

OTTAWA, ON: Gabrielle Daleman, 20, Newmarket, Ont., has withdrawn from her second grand prix assignment, NHK Trophy. Daleman announced earlier this month that she had taken a break from training to focus on her mental health.

Daleman was a member of the gold medal team at the 2018 Olympics and is the reigning Canadian champion. She trains in Toronto, Ont., with coaches Lee Barkell and Brian Orser.

 

Olympic Spotlight : Gabrielle Daleman

Fierce and energetic,  Gabrielle Daleman, from Newmarket, Ont., claimed her second Canadian women’s title at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships on the same day she celebrated her 20th birthday.

The 2017 world bronze medallist, known for her breathtaking flexibility and powerful jumps, will be making her second appearance at the Olympic Winter Games.

The youngest member of the entire Canadian team in Sochi four years ago, Daleman has never placed lower than second at the national championships. Daleman, the 2012 Canadian junior champions, says the Olympic moment forever etched in her mind was watching Joannie Rochette compete at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver following the sudden passing of her mother, and heads to PyeongChang looking to follow in her mentor’s footsteps by capturing an Olympic medal.

Behind the Blades for Safe Sport: Gabrielle Daleman

After a very long and exciting season and then being asked to be in Stars on Ice I was ready to come home and regroup for the Olympic year. Stars on Ice was a dream come true for me and working with the incredible cast with so much talent had me over the moon. I was heartbroken when I had to leave the tour due to an illness. I am now recovering and looking forward to getting my new choreography for the upcoming season.

My journey as a young skater was not always easy and achieving the success I had this season didn’t come without tears of happiness and of sadness. All those tears, good and bad, helped me along my journey.

Being bullied as a young girl has given me courage and taught me perseverance. When athletes face the challenge of being hurt or when an illness strikes we have very little resources left to fight through it because we give everything every day in our training. Being bullied because I couldn’t read or spell correctly was terrible but it gave me the strength to fight through it with my skating.

Now being sick it is giving me the courage to work through this so I can go back to the sport I love and the place I call home. Skating has given me so much in my life and I am grateful for all of it. I get to travel the world doing what I love.

Having a Learning Disability, ADHD and Anxiety has been a challenge but through my freedom on the ice I get the relief I need to get away from my struggles and soar. So many people have their own struggles and we need to be kind to each other. We never know what someone is going through.

Skate Canada supports Safe Sport and we can all be a part of that by being understanding, tolerant and inclusive. I am proud to be a champion for Safe Sport and would love to see more being done in arenas around Canada to show kids that every effort is important, whether we are skating for fun or at a competitive level. Bullying, harassment and abuse should not be tolerated. We must appreciate each other for who we are and understand people have limitations. No one should ever be made to feel bad simply for who they are. We need to teach kids at the grassroots level about these important messages. This will help them to build the skills in life needed to get through the good but especially the bad times.

Take the time today to tell someone in your life that what they do is important and to never give up on what they love. Work hard, follow your dreams and don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re not good enough because you are!!!

Historic silver and bronze for Osmond and Daleman / World record for Virtue and Moir

HELSINKI –Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., and Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., took the silver and bronze medal in women’s competition on Friday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

It is the first time in world championship history two Canadians reach the podium in the women’s event. It is also Canada’s first medal in women’s competition at worlds since Joannie Rochette won silver in 2009.

With those performances Canada is guaranteed three spots in the women’s event at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and 2018 ISU World Championships.

“To have Kaetlyn on the podium with me and have three spots for the Olympics is just an unbelievable feeling,’’ said the 19-year-old Daleman, competing at her fourth straight worlds. She was ninth last year. ‘’And I’ve wanted to be like Joannie since I was a little girl. I’m just star struck.’’

Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia successfully defended her world crown with a world record 233.41 points. Osmond followed at 218.13 and Daleman was third at 213.52, both personal bests. No other skaters reached the 200-point plateau.

Daleman and Osmond were the last two skaters of the competition. They were also second and third after the short on Wednesday.

‘’That’s the way that I’ve wanted to compete my long program all season long,’’ said Osmond, 21. ‘’I did everything I possibly could at the best of my ability. I trusted myself and trusted my training and it paid off.’’

It was Osmond’s first worlds since 2014. She missed the 2014-15 season due to a broken leg.

‘’After that injury I never thought I would be skating again, let alone get on a worlds podium’’ she said. ‘’I had to relearn everything, there was a lot of doubt last season and finally this year those doubts have washed away.’’

Both Canadians executed seven jump sequences including three combination jumps.

‘’I honestly have no words to describe how I am feeling,’’ said Daleman. ‘’I just went out there feeling more comfortable, staying calm and doing my job. As soon as I got into my starting position I said to myself to take it and skate with my heart.’’

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir broke their own world record with 82.43 points to lead after the short dance. Defending world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are second at 76.89 and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. are third at 76.53.

Virtue and Moir are enjoying remarkable success in their first season since winning the silver medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. They have won all five events they’ve entered including the ISU Grand Prix Final in December producing many record performances along the way.

“That was a great skate,’’ said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’We worked hard, we prepared, but we felt the pressure today. We knew we had to bring our best, and that’s why we came back.”

“Technically we really try to raise the level of our skating and we needed to because the level of competition is so stiff and so strong,’’ added Virtue, from London, Ont. ‘’It’s nice to be at a world championships and get your best score. We knew we couldn’t have possibly prepared more for this moment.’’

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are in sixth place with 74.84 points while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are in ninth with 72.83.

‘’We’ve been really up and down with some of the elements in our short dance this year,’’ said Poje. ‘’We felt today we took a step in the right direction, we were comfortable and we had a performance we were proud of.’’

‘’We are really excited to delve into the free dance tomorrow and share it with this incredible crowd,’’ added Weaver. ‘’There are some small changes into the transitions and it has some new unique elements.’’

Gilles and Poirier have also struggled with their short program this season.

‘’We’ve been trying a bit too hard, trying to prove ourselves,’’ said Poirier. ‘’So we fall short because of mistakes. Today wasn’t the skate of our lives but we came out and entertained the people and delivered a clean skate.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the free dance and men’s free skate.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1617/wc2017/index.htm

Strong start for Canadian women at ISU World Figure Skating Championships

HELSINKI – Canadians Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman are in medal positions after Wednesday’s women’s short program which opened the 2017 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Defending champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia stands first with 79.01 points followed by Osmond in second with a personal best 75.98 and Daleman is third at 72.19.

It’s the first time Canada has two skaters in the top three after the women’s short program at worlds.

Both Canadians displayed bright smiles after the completion of their programs, flawlessly executing their required seven elements. Osmond inserted her three jumps (triple combo, triple Lutz and double Axel) in her first four elements before finishing with her spins and step sequences.

“I was just trying to stay calm, just stay over my feet,” said Osmond of Marystown, N.L., at her first worlds since 2014. “I’ve worked hard this year at loving that feeling to compete and perform in front of a crowd. I’ve had a lot of personal bests with this program this year and that’s a great way to finish the season with it.”

Daleman, from Newmarket, Ont., also opened with her triple toe-triple toe combo with her Lutz and Axel as her fourth and fifth elements.

“You can always improve on the quality of the spins, jumps, footwork and everything in between,” said Daleman, ninth at the worlds last season. “I’m always determined to find the little details where I can improve more. I’ve gained a lot of confidence and I knew just what I wanted to do, completely enjoyed myself and just stayed in the moment.’’

In pairs, Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto, Ont., are the top Canadians in sixth with 73.14. Two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., are seventh at 72.67 and Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., are 12th.

Radford is battling a hip injury which struck last week and which he described as “extremely frustrating.” However they went out there and produced a clean skate and expected a better placement. They are just over six points from third place.

“We were a bit surprised with how low the score was,” said Radford. “We anticipated it would be higher after a performance like that. Still it builds confidence for us for the long program.”

Radford said he has never experienced competing while injured.

“It still doesn’t feel 100 percent,” said Radford about the hip. “I was going in with a lot ‘what ifs’ in my head but I thought the way we skated was excellent for the condition I was in.”

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China are first at 81.23, Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany second at 79.84 and Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia third at 79.37.

Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch, competing at their third straight worlds, are looking to improve on last year’s seventh place finish. They are only five points back from third.

“We did exactly what we trained to do and came here to do,” said Moscovitch. “We continue to improve every time out. It’s a program we enjoy and it’s great to end it with a season’s best score.”

Seguin and Bilodeau competed for the first time since the Grand Prix Final in December where they placed fifth. Séguin had been dealing with a concussion in the new calendar year.

“We have an overall good feeling about our performance even though there were mistakes,” said Bilodeau. “The short program is more difficult for us right now and we are confident we can manage our free skate a lot better tomorrow (Thursday).”

Competition continues Thursday with the pairs’ free skate and men’s short program. The ladies’ free skate is Friday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1617/wc2017/index.htm.