Canada Claims 5th in Figure Skating; U.S. Secures Gold Again
In the recent figure skating team event at the Winter Olympics held at the Milano Skating Arena, Canada finished fifth, missing the podium. The competition lasted three days, with a total score of 54 points for the Canadian team.
Final Standings of the Team Event
- Gold: United States – 69 points
- Silver: Japan – 68 points
- Bronze: Italy – 60 points
- Canada: 54 points (5th place)
Canadian Skaters’ Performance
The Canadian squad included skaters Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier, Lia Pereira, Trennt Michaud, Marjorie Lajoie, Zachary Lagha, Madeline Schizas, and Stephen Gogolev. Despite a commendable effort, they could not secure a medal.
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, who replaced injured teammates Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, performed to the Gladiator soundtrack. They achieved a seasonal best score of 134.42 points, finishing fifth in the pairs segment.
Women’s Singles Event
Madeline Schizas skated first in the women’s singles free program. Following a fall during her triple lutz, she recovered to score 125 points, placing her fifth overall. Schizas expressed surprise at her fall but highlighted her resilience in rebounding to complete her program.
Men’s Free Program
Stephen Gogolev, an Olympic rookie, also performed well despite Canada being out of medal contention. He finished fourth in the men’s free skate segment with a personal best score of 171.93 points.
Highlights from the Top Performers
The competition for the gold medal was intensely fought between Ilia Malinin of the U.S. and Japan’s Sato Shun. Malinin, who holds the record for the highest score in a men’s free program, won gold with a score of 200.03 points, despite a minor mistake. Sato secured a season-best score of 194.86 but fell short of claiming gold.
With these results, Canada concludes its journey in the figure skating team event, placing fifth overall and looking ahead to future competitions.
