Home hopes Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier build five-point lead in Skate Canada rhythm dance
Shantay, you stay, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier!
The four-time world medallists demonstrated their skill and artistry in their Olympic season debut on Saturday, November 1, at the 2025 Skate Canada International, dazzling the audience with a RuPaul-themed rhythm dance. This impressive performance has positioned them with a five-point lead ahead of the upcoming free dance.
The reigning champions at Skate Canada for five consecutive years, Gilles and Poirier earned a stellar score of 85.38. This puts them ahead of their closest competitors, the duo of Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius from Lithuania, who scored 80.89.
Rounding out the top three were American skaters Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, who came in third with a score of 76.83.
Gilles and Poirier, who recently secured silver medals at the past two World Championships, had been one of the few teams yet to compete this season leading into the Skate Canada weekend. However, their calculated late-start strategy proved successful, as they received high marks in both technical (48.71) and artistic components (36.67), captivating the crowd in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The Skate Canada event marks the third stop in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series, where skaters are contesting for prime positions to qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan, planned for next month. This prestigious event serves as a mini-preview for the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games.
Meanwhile, errors plagued fellow Canadians Marjorie LaJoie and Zachary Lagha, resulting in a fourth-place finish with a score of 75.95. Czechia’s Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek found themselves in fifth at 74.29.
Stay tuned for more updates as this exhilarating competition unfolds!
