Canadian ice dance pair Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier secured the third spot following the rhythm dance at the figure skating Grand Prix Final held in Nagoya, Japan. The competition showcases the top six contenders in each figure skating category from the Grand Prix season. Gilles and Poirier amassed 82.89 points, while Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates took the lead with 88.74 points. Laurence Fournier Beaudry from Montreal, now representing France, and her partner Guillaume Cizeron claimed the second position with a score of 87.56. The Canadian duo had previously won the Grand Prix Final in 2022, grabbed the bronze in 2023, and finished fifth last year.
Expressing satisfaction with their performance, Poirier mentioned, “We’re pretty happy with our performance. We wanted to skate with a lot of confidence and joy, and we succeeded. We felt in control and believed in ourselves.” The free dance segment is scheduled for Saturday.
In the pairs category, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps currently hold the sixth position after the short program with 71.07 points. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara from Japan lead the pairs competition with 77.32 points, followed by Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii from Italy at 77.22, and Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava from Georgia at 75.04 points.
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama surprisingly emerged as the top contender after the men’s short program. Despite a minor error early on, world champion Ilia Malinin from the United States dropped to third place, with Shun Sato from Japan securing the second spot. Malinin, who has not faced defeat in over two years and is a favorite for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, mentioned that the mistake on the quadruple axel-triple toe loop combination was an experimental move that he is unlikely to attempt at the Olympics.
Kagiyama wowed the audience with a personal-best score of 108.77 points, landing impressive jumps during his routine. Sato also showcased a strong performance, securing 98.06 points with two quad jumps and a triple axel. The Grand Prix Final, featuring the top six competitors in each discipline, serves as a crucial gathering of the world’s elite skaters before the Winter Olympics. The competition will conclude on Saturday with the free skate events for men and women.