Canada's Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier delivered for their home fans at Skate Canada International in Vancouver, Canada. © ISU
Reigning ISU World bronze medalists Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier of Canada skated to their fourth consecutive Skate Canada Ice Dance title on Saturday, with almost 10 points to spare.
Gilles/Poirier put on a captivating performance to the “Wuthering Heights” soundtrack, showing off smooth step sequences and impressive lifts. The two-time ISU World bronze medalists collected a level four for their lifts, twizzles and dance spin, while the footwork was rated a level three.
The Canadian champions scored 131.46 points, for an overall total of 219.01, to win the fifth Grand Prix title of their career. Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson of Great Britain repeated as Skate Canada silver medalists, while Lithuania’s Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius will take home bronze, their first ISU Grand Prix medal and the first for their country in more than 20 years.
Gilles said the Canadians tried to enjoy the moment.
“We're really thrilled with our fourth Skate Canada gold medal. It's taken a long time for us to get to this moment in our career and I think we're really starting to enjoy each moment. We step out on that ice and we believe in ourselves just a little bit more and I think that really showed in the Free Dance today. I think we were so settled from the moment we went out there and we just let the program come to us and I think that's kind of why we've been doing okay.”
Fear/Gibson entertained the crowd with their “Rocky” program, showcasing original moves, fast twizzles and a combination lift. The ISU European silver medalists posted a season’s best score of 126.04 points, 209.55 overall, to claim the third Grand Prix silver medal of their career.
Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) finished second in the Free Dance and second overall at Skate Canada International in Vancouver, Canada. © ISU
Fear said they wanted their Free Dance to be “a little unexpected and different.”
“We like to just show our personality and what we're drawn to and we know that everyone in the crowd loves Rocky hopefully as we do. Just the themes are so universal of believing in yourself, overcoming adversity, and finding that triumph by believing in yourself. I think that we relate to that so much and everyone does in their own way. A lot of people have connected with this program and we've had a lot of great reinforcement and can't wait to build upon it.”
Reed/Ambrulevicius delivered an interesting dance set to “Enough of Our Machines” and “Children”, with level-four lifts, twizzles and a level-four dance spin. The Nebelhorn Trophy silver medalists received 116.41 points, just below their season’s best. With 192.01 points overall, they won the first Grand Prix medal for Lithuania since 2001, when Margarita Drobiazko/Povilas Vanagas won silver at NHK Trophy.
Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius claimed Lithuania's first Grand Prix medal since 2001 at Skate Canada International in Vancouver, Canada. © ISU
Making the podium showed dreams do come true, Ambrulevicius said.
“It was a long road for us and especially teaming up, we had our different careers and coming up to this moment, it's very special. It's just that long work and dreams do come true sometimes. So just believe in that. If someone starts to doubt themselves, I think we're the living proof that you can do whatever you want. You can just believe in yourself. So I’m very proud of us.”
Three U.S. Ice Dance couples remained in fourth, fifth and sixth place: 2022 ISU World Junior Champions Oona Brown/Gage Brown (187.62 points), Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik (184.96) and Eva Pate/Logan Bye (181.46).
Oona Brown/Gage Brown (USA) finished fourth at Skate Canada International in Vancouver, Canada. © ISU
Gilles/Poirier, who picked up 15 points for the ISU Grand Prix standings, will compete at the Cup of China in two weeks. Fear/Gibson (13 points) and Reed/Ambrulevicius (11 points) will meet again at the final Grand Prix event, the NHK Trophy, where they will try to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final.
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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