
Piper Gilles of Toronto, Ontario and Paul Poirier of Ottawa, Ontario won their third Canadian Figure Skating Championship in Calgary, Alberta on Saturday. Gilles and Poirier posted a score of 222.95 points to take the title. They previously won the gold medal in 2020 in Mississauga, Ontario, and in 2022 in Poirier’s hometown of Ottawa.
The 222.95 points were the best score of the season for Gilles and Poirier, and came after they struggled with their twizzles at the 2023 Grand Prix Final in Beijing, China, where they finished third with 213.58 points. The career best score for Gilles and Poirier came at the 2020 Canadian Championships when they had a total of 225.62 points.
Gilles and Poirier were the heavy favourite heading into the event. The Canadian duo of Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Quebec and Zachary Lagha of Greenfield Park, Quebec withdrew because Lajoie was dealing with a concussion problem. Meanwhile, Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen withdrew because Sorensen is allegedly dealing with a legal issue. All three Canadian teams were at the Grand Prix Final.
In the other elite events in Calgary this weekend, Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, British Columbia won the men’s event. Kaiya Ruiter of Ottawa, Ontario won the women’s event, and Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec won the ice dance event. The 2024 World Figure Skating Championships will be in Montreal, Quebec from March 18-24.