Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier achieved a milestone at the Skate Canada International figure skating competition on Sunday. They secured their sixth consecutive gold medals at the event, making them the first ice dance pair to accomplish this feat with a total score of 202.89. Lithuania’s Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius came in second with 200.92, while Canada’s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha claimed the bronze with a score of 192.41.
After leading the standings following Saturday’s rhythm dance with a score of 85.38, Gilles and Poirier maintained their position despite a close challenge from Reed and Ambrulevicius, who scored 80.89.
In the free dance on Sunday, the Lithuanian duo earned 120.03 points but fell short of catching up to Gilles and Poirier, who scored 117.51 points, securing their victory. Meanwhile, in the men’s free dance, Roman Sadovsky finished as the top Canadian in seventh place with 236.73 points, followed closely by Stephen Gogolev with 236.48 points, and Aleksa Rakic in 12th place with 216.90 points. The event was won by Ilia Malinin from the United States with a total score of 333.81.
Malinin set a new world record for the free skate, maintaining his unbeaten streak for two years and solidifying his position as a top contender for Olympic gold at the Milano-Cortina Games. His impressive performance included landing six quads and a triple axel set to music from “Les Bal des Folles,” giving him a significant lead over the second-place finisher, Aleksandr Selevko.
Malinin’s free-skate score of 228.97 points surpassed the previous record under the current scoring system, set by Olympic champion Nathan Chen in 2019. Selevko finished second with 257.21 points, and Kao Miura from Japan took the bronze with 253.69 points.
Malinin has maintained a winning streak since November 2023, with victories at multiple major competitions including world titles and Grand Prix Finals. Skate Canada International is part of the Grand Prix series, with upcoming events including the NHK Trophy in Japan, Skate America in Lake Placid, N.Y., and the Finlandia Trophy serving as the final chance to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.