Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (CAN) will take a solid lead into Saturday's Pairs Free Skating at Skate Canada International in Vancouver, Canada. © ISU
To the delight of the home crowd, Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps earned the lead in the Pairs Short Program at Skate Canada International in Vancouver on Friday.
Two newcomers were second and third heading into the final Free Skating on Saturday: Lucrezia Beccari/Matteo Guarise of Italy and Australia’s Anastasia Golubeva/Hektor Giotopoulos Moore.
Performing to “Oxygène”, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps produced a triple twist, side by side triple toes, a throw triple loop and an impressive lift. The 2023 ISU Four Continents bronze medalists collected a level four for all elements to post a season best 72.25 points.
Deschamps was pleased with their result.
“It was fun. We have worked so hard this season and we made some improvements from Autumn Classic and we were able to show them tonight.”
There’s also room to grow, said Stellato-Dudek.
“I can do that throw (loop) a lot better than that, so I'm not very happy about that. But overall, we did some other things that were improved from Autumn Classic, so it is a step up, but not the step I want to be.”
Beccari/Guarise completed a triple twist, triple toe and throw triple loop in their routine to “Run” by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi for a score of 65.83. It was the Italians’ first ISU Grand Prix as a team, Beccari said.
Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise (ITA) are second after the Pairs Short Program at Skate Canada International in Vancouver, Canada, on Friday. © ISU
“This is my first senior Grand Prix and my first competition overseas and I am very happy about our performance today. I just tried to stay focused on myself and understand the feeling of my body. We had no expectations. We did a lot of clean programs during training and I was just focused on trying to do what I can do.”
Golubeva/Giotopoulos Moore's program to “Architect of the Mind“ featured a triple twist, a set of triple toes and a throw triple loop. The 2023 ISU World Junior silver medalists scored 62.80 points.
Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore (AUS) took third in the Pairs Short Program by just .58 points at Skate Canada in Vancouver, Canada. © ISU
Golubeva said they weren’t intimidated by the larger stage.
“It’s our first senior Grand Prix, but I was not nervous because we skated this program last season. It was fine, just the jump can be better. We just wanted to do our job and do the elements and all moves with confidence.”
Maria Pavlova/Alexei Sviatchenko (HUN) are sitting in fourth place (62.22), with Brooke McIntosh/Benjamin Mimar (CAN) fifth (59.83).
Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko (HUN) are less than a point out of third place after the Short Program at Skate Canada International in Vancouver, Canada. © ISU
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consists of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN). Skaters collect points to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN).
The General Announcement of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here on the ISU website. The individual announcements are published on the ISU Event section under each dedicated Grand Prix event (filter with the relevant Event Series).
For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.
All Media Accreditation details and deadlines for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series can be found here.
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out Where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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ISU Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
20 - 22 Oct, 2023 Skate America, Allen, Texas (USA)
27 – 29 Oct, 2023 Skate Canada International, Vancouver (CAN)
3 - 5 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)
10 - 12 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Cup of China, Chongqing (CHN)
17 - 19 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)
24 - 26 Nov, 2023 NHK Trophy, Osaka (JPN)
7 - 10 Dec, 2023 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Beijing (CHN)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known as the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline qualify for the Final.
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