Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, the reigning world champions of 2024, placed sixth in the pairs category at the Grand Prix Final on Friday after experiencing a difficult free skate performance.
The duo, who have earned medals at the Grand Prix twice, scored a total of 194.36 points, which included a fall during their free program, and had previously secured a bronze at the 2023 Final.
Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara clinched the championship title with a score of 225.21, followed closely by Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii at 223.28, and Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin with 221.25 points.
Deschamps remarked, “We’re not sure what went wrong; we felt prepared and everything was in place. We plan to take a week off to recuperate. Competing in four events over nine weeks has been tough, especially since we’ve both been unwell. A break is necessary to recharge and approach the remainder of the season with renewed energy.”
The 2024 world champions from Canada, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps finished in last place following the pairs free program, at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya, Japan.
This event showcases the top six competitors in each figure skating category from the Grand Prix season.
On Saturday, Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will perform their free dance after securing third place in Thursday’s rhythm dance.
In the junior ice dance category, Canadians Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys started their competition in sixth place following Friday’s rhythm dance during their first Junior Grand Prix Final.
Leading the junior ice dance standings are Americans Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin, followed by Ukraine’s Iryna Pidgaina and Artem Koval, and France’s Ambre Perrier Gianesini and Samuel Blanc Klaperman.
Veillon expressed, “It’s wonderful to be here, and we take pride in our achievements. We worked diligently to qualify. Our aim was to deliver two solid performances, but things don’t always go as planned. We need to focus on moving forward rather than dwelling on the past.”
In junior pairs, Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov from Winnipeg are currently positioned third as they head into Saturday’s free skate.