Piper Gilles of Toronto, Ontario, and Paul Poirier of Ottawa, Ontario won the gold medal on Saturday at the International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Turin, Italy. This was the third gold medal for Gilles and Poirier on the Grand Prix circuit in 2022, as they also won Skate Canada in Mississauga, Ontario, and the Grand Prix Espoo in Finland.
Gilles and Poirier, who played to the music of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” posted a winning score of 215.64 points. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won the silver medal with 211.94 points. Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy won the bronze medal with a score of 206.84 points. Gilles and Poirier won a medal by 14.74 points over Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain, who were in fourth place with 200.9 points.
Gilles and Poirier skate out of the Scarboro Figure Skating Club, and are coached by the British husband and wife team of Carol and Jon Lane. Carol Lane has been a long time figure skating analyst for CBC Sports, while Jon Lane won the bronze medal for Great Britain alongside Janet Sawbridge at the 1968 World Figure Skating Championships in Geneva, Switzerland.
At the junior level, Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont of Ajax, Ontario, won gold in the Junior Gand Prix Ice Dance event in Turin. They are also coached by Carol and Jon Lane. The gold medal for Gilles and Poirier will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina D’Ampezzo.