Tag Archive for: ISU World Figure Skating Championships

Canadian Talent on Full Display for Opening Ceremony of 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON (February 26, 2024) – The Bell Centre will come alive on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, with performances by talented Canadian skaters in the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, held in Montreal, Quebec.  

Synchronized skating will take centre stage as two Quebec-based teams come together to perform a mesmerizing routine choreographed by Dr. Shae Zukiwsky, Skate Canada’s Senior Director of Performance Excellence. Les Suprêmes, from Saint-Léonard, are the reigning world champions and will be joined by Nova, from St-Hubert, who claimed silver at the last two Canadian Championships. 

Former Canadian National Team member and social media sensation, Elladj Baldé will also showcase his unique freestyle skating that has garnered him millions of fans around the world. 

The Montreal-based chamber choir Seraphim will perform the national anthem to officially open the week-long event that will feature 200 of the best figure skaters from 50 countries performing in four disciplines – men, women, pair, and ice dance.  

The Opening Ceremony will be preceded by the pair short program and will be followed by the women’s short program. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.ca to enjoy all three events.  

Canadian Ice Dancers in Medal Hunt at ISU World Figure Skating Championships

SAITAMA, Japan (March 24, 2023) – Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are in third place in the rhythm dance as they chase a world medal for the second time in their career, at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. lead with 91.94 points followed by European champions Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy at 88.21. Gilles, from Toronto, Ont., and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., scored 87.34 in their first competition in three months. They have three international victories this season including the Grand Prix Final.

‘’We were a little nervous in some places,’’ said Gilles. ‘’We came into this event not to focus on the scores but make sure we put two solid performances down and not give anything away.’’

Also in the medal hunt are Canadian champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Montreal, Que., who are fifth at 85.59. They have two international medals this season including gold at the NHK Trophy Grand Prix held in Japan last November.

‘’We would like to step on the podium for the first time at Worlds and I think we have a really good chance with the results we’ve had this year,’’ said Soerensen. ‘’But once we finish the program and have done the kind of performance we did today, that we were both happy with, then the job and the goal is accomplished and the rest is out of our control.’’

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan successfully defended her women’s world title with Haein Lee of South Korea second and Loena Hendrickx of Belgium third. Two-time Canadian champion Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., climbed from 16th after the short program to 13th with the 11th best free skate.

‘’No matter where I placed I can be proud with how I skated,’’ she said. ‘’I had a tough year putting out skates I wasn’t super thrilled with so we decided to go back to a program I was comfortable with.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the men’s free skate and the free dance. The event is available for Canadian viewers on the CBC Sports website. For full results, click here.

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps Continue Dream Season with Fourth at ISU World Figure Skating Championships®

SAITAMA, Japan (March 23, 2023) – Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., continued a strong season Thursday placing fourth in pairs at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships®.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan won the gold medal with 222.16, edging out defending champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. who won the free skate but finished second overall with 217.48. Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy were third at 208.08. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps, in their second season together, remained fourth at 199.97, a personal best international score. The duo won four international medals this season including two gold as well as their first national title.

‘’It’s all learning,’’ said Deschamps. ‘’There were some nerves and it was our first time at Worlds as well. The whole season was the highlight for us.’’

First-year partners Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., produced the fourth best free skate but remained sixth overall with a personal best 193.00. Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar of Toronto, Ont., were 11th with 181.95. McIntosh and Mimar, world junior bronze medalists last year, also had personal bests right across the board.

In the men’s competition, Canada’s Keegan Messing is in the medal hunt after producing a clean skate and ranking fourth for his short program with a personal best international score 98.75. Defending champion Shoma Uno of Japan leads with 104.63, Ilia Malinin of the U.S. is second at 100.38 and Junhwan Cha of South Korea third at 99.64.

Messing, competing at his sixth worlds, has announced this is his final season.

‘’To pull out this performance on this stage is what I’ve been looking for all year,’’ said Messing, whose previous best at worlds is sixth in 2021. ‘’I was a little scared going in on how much I felt I did have this. I wasn’t feeling nervous, I was feeling free and everything was lining up. But I was able to reign myself in and keep myself at a constant level.’’

Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., ranked 26th and will not advance to the free skate.

Competition continues Friday with the rhythm dance and the women’s free skate. The event is available for Canadian viewers on the CBC Sports website. For full results, click here.

Gilles and Poirier Take Fifth Spot at ISU World Figure Skating Championships®

MONTPELLIER, France – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto placed fifth in ice dancing Saturday to conclude the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Olympic champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France took the gold with 229.82 points. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. were second at 222.39 and their compatriots Madison Chock and Evan Bates third at 216.83.

The top-five remained unchanged after Friday’s rhythm dance as Gilles and Poirier totalled 202.70.

‘’It was especially satisfying to end the season with a skate on our terms,’’ said Poirier. ‘’The Olympic free dance didn’t go the way we wanted for us. It was important do the last performance of the season the way we know we can do it.’’

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal were ninth and Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., 11th.

Sorensen injured his back in training earlier in the week and it came back to haunt him near the end of the free dance.

‘’We started out well,’’ said Sorensen. ‘’All the things we’d been working on since the Olympics worked out great. But two thirds of the way in I couldn’t really find my legs, so I had trouble at the end. It’s unfortunate but it happens.’’

Lajoie and Lagha were 14th at the worlds last year and 13th at the Olympics.

‘’The most difficult thing was to keep the motivation after a disappointing rhythm dance,’’ said Lagha. ‘’We’ve always been a strong team mentally and I think we showed that tonight.’’

Olympic bronze medallist Shoma Uno led Japan to a 1-2 finish in men’s competition. Yuma Kajiyama, the silver medallist in Beijing, was second and Vincent Zhou of the U.S. was third.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., produced the ninth best free skate to surge from 18th after the short program to 12th overall. Canadian champion Keegan Messing was 14th.

‘’Compared to my performance at the Olympics this was night and day,’’ said Sadovsky. ‘’I’m really proud of how I handled the pressure here. I know there’ll be better moments to come.’’

Canada ends the competition with one bronze medal won by Vanessa James and Eric Radford in pairs on Thursday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/wc2022/

Schizas 12th, Gilles and Poirier Fifth After Rhythm Dance at ISU World Figure Skating Championships®

MONTPELLIER, France – Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., took 12th spot in women’s competition Friday while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto stand fifth after the rhythm dance at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships®

Olympic bronze medallist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won the women’s gold with Loena Hendrickx of Belgium second and Alysa Liu of the U.S. third.

Schizas ranked 10th in both Thursday’s short program and the free skate, but she still dropped slightly in the standings.

‘’I’m happy with my skates,’’ said Schizas, 19th in her Olympic debut last month. ‘’This is the kind of scores and performances I’ve put out this year.’’

Canada iced three entries in ice dancing. After the rhythm dance, Gilles and Poirier stand fifth, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal eighth and Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., 13th.

Olympic champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France set a ‘’new record score’’ for the rhythm dance with 92.73. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. are second at 89.72 and their compatriots Madison Chock and Evan Bates third at 87.51.

‘’We are a little disappointed in the scores today,’’ said Gilles, who received 80.79 with her partner. ‘’We feel like we performed it almost at our best. We did make some changes since the Olympics and maybe not having those totally under our belt may have hurt us a bit.’’

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

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/wc2022/

James and Radford Win Bronze Medal at ISU World Figure Skating Championships®

MONTPELLIER, France – Canadians Vanessa James and Eric Radford concluded their first season together with a bronze medal in pairs on Thursday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships®.

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. won the gold medal with 221.09 points. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan were second at 199.55 and James and Radford completed the podium with a season’s best 197.32.

The veteran Canadian skaters were fifth after the short program on Wednesday. They gained a spot when Americans Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc, second after the short, withdrew. Cain-Gribble was injured when she fell on a jump halfway through the program. The Canadians also passed Georgian couple Karina Safina and Luka Berulava in the standings.

‘’It was amazing to have that skate,’’ said Radford, now living in Montreal. ‘’It was an incredible and unforgettable experience for us even as experienced competitors that we are. The technical aspects were there today but we really got to release and feel that skate from the heart and that’s the best feeling.’’

Both Radford and James joined forces in April 2021 after decorated careers with other partners.

‘’Everything came together just as we needed to,’’ said James, from Toronto. ‘’We didn’t just fight, we didn’t just skate and think about the elements we really performed it and felt comfortable on the ice.’’

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., climbed from eighth to sixth with 176.02.

‘’We had to fight for some elements, it wasn’t easy,’’ said Walsh. ‘’We were really trying to enjoy this performance which is the last one of the year and not feel too tense.’’

In men’s competition, Japanese skaters are 1-2-3 after the short program. Shoma Uno leads with 109.63, Yuma Kagiyama is second at 105.69 and Kazuki Tomono third at 101.12.

Canadian champion Keegan Messing is ninth and Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., is 18th.

Messing, 11th at the Olympics, produced a clean program and is still in contention to equal or better his career best sixth from last year’s worlds.

‘’I hit all my levels today which I didn’t do at the Olympics,’’ said Messing. ‘’I was a little bummed about the technical side of things but honestly, I stayed on my feet and kept space for bigger and better things.’’

Sadovsky opened with a perfect quad Salchow but had to fight to land his other jumping elements.

‘’I wanted to have like a fresh start for this competition,’’ said Sadovsky. ‘’I took a break after the Olympics to recover, rethink some things and I was motivated to finish the season with some confidence.’’

Competition continues Friday with the women’s free skate and the rhythm dance. The men’s free skate is Saturday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/wc2022/