Canadian Figure Skating Championships 2024: Gilles/Poirier win third ice dance title; Kaiya Ruiter upsets Madeline Schizas
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won by some 20 points after the 17-year-old Ruiter wowed her hometown with a sparkling free skate to leapfrog short program leader Schizas. Wesley Chiu won the men's title.
Figure Skating
The performance felt like "magic" to Kaiya Ruiter. The result? A national championship title.
The 17-year-old Ruiter delivered a magical free skate on Saturday (13 January) to upset pre-event favourite Madeline Schizas, the two-time and reigning champion, for the win at the 2024 Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Calgary, Alberta.
Ruiter's near-perfect "Inspiration" free scored a 122.61 to total 180.86, some eight points clear of Schizas' 172.90, flip-flopping the 2023 result when Schizas beat Ruiter. Hetty Shi claimed the bronze medal with a 162.51.
In ice dance, there was no such upset: Pre-event favourites Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier eased their way to victory after key challengers withdrew prior to the event. The duo won its third national title - landing on the podium a 10th time - with a 222.95. Marie-Jade Laurialt and Romain Le Gac claimed silver with a 200.50.
The pre-event favourites also prevailed in pairs, with Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps outpacing challengers Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud by 12 points, 205.79 to 193.14.
In men's singles, 18-year-old Wesley Chiu held on to his short program lead to win a first national title, his 232.15 seven points clear of Aleksa Rakic, who placed second with a 225.39 after winning the free skate (149.90).
Anthony Paradis rounded out the top three, just edging Conrad Orzel by 0.26 points, 209.98 to 209.72.