Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec won the gold medal on Saturday in the pairs competition at the 2022 French Grand Prix figure skating competition in Angers, France. Stellato-Dudek made figure skating history, as at the age of 39, became the oldest figure skater ever to win a gold medal on the Grand Prix circuit. She had left the sport for 16 years because of hip and ankle injuries, and made a return in 2016.
Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps had a first place score of 185.84 points. Camille and Pavel Kovalev of France won the silver medal with a score of 179.85 points. Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany won the bronze medal with a score of 179.73 points. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps reached the podium by 11.12 points over Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini of Italy, who were in fourth place with a score of 174.72 points.
Team Canada won a second medal in France on the weekend in ice dancing. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal, Quebec posted a score of 201.93 points to win the silver medal. Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy won the gold medal with a score of 207.95 points. Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France won the bronze medal with a score of 187.15 points. Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen reached the podium by 28.19 points over Loicia Demougeot and Theo le Mercer of France, who were in fourth place with a score of 179.76 points. The medals for Fournier Beaudry, Sorensen, Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina D’Ampezzo.
