Seoul Gazette - Canada's Gilles and Poirier triumph in ice dance at Four Continents

NYSE - LSE

CMSC	-0.3%	21.725	$
CMSD	-0.09%	21.98	$
BCC	1.77%	77.84	$
RIO	-0.32%	91.22	$
BTI	1.84%	60.96	$
GSK	1.19%	51.35	$
RBGPF	-1.11%	66	$
BCE	0.42%	21.3	$
AZN	0.58%	169.26	$
JRI	1.23%	13.06	$
NGG	-0.09%	82.3	$
VOD	-0.66%	15.15	$
RELX	4.5%	34.41	$
BP	-0.25%	43.82	$
RYCEF	-1.05%	18.17	$

Canada's Gilles and Poirier triumph in ice dance at Four Continents

SPORTS 04.02.2024

Canada's Gilles and Poirier triumph in ice dance at Four Continents / Photo: © AFP

Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier hailed a career milestone as they won their first International Skating Union championship title in the Four Continents ice dance in Shanghai on Sunday.

Text size:

The pair's elegiac "Wuthering Heights" free dance earned them 128.87 points for a total of 214.36.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen also scored above 200 points to take silver, while the US pair of Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko came third with 194.14.

Sailing across the ice in billowing steel grey and baby pink, Gilles and Poirier wowed the crowd with their complex choreography and gravity-defying holds.

"It's such a big milestone in our career," said Poirier.

"I think we're really proud of the way we skated. This week, we really believed in ourselves... we skated like the champions that we are."

The two-time world bronze medallists missed Four Continents last year after Gilles was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had precautionary surgery.

This year's victory comes weeks after they were crowned national champions.

"I'm looking forward to some dumplings after this," Gilles quipped after coming off the ice.

Fournier Beaudry and Soerensen, who also represent Canada and are a couple off the ice, withdrew from the nationals after Soerensen confirmed reports he is under investigation by Canada's Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner for alleged sexual assault.

Soerensen said in a social media post at the time that the allegations were false, but that his presence at the national competition would be "distracting".

At the end of Sunday's "Notre Dame de Paris" free dance, he was visibly emotional, dropping his head to Fournier Beaudry's chest after they struck their final pose.

Canada also triumphed in the pairs event on Saturday, with Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps taking gold.

Japanese skaters dominated the singles events, with Yuma Kagiyama and Mone Chiba winning the men's and women's competitions respectively.

O.Na--SG

Featured

Joshua survives knockdowns, stops Prenga

Two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua survived two early knockdowns on the way to a second-round knockout of Kristian Prenga on Sunday, his triumphant ring return paving the way for a blockbuster all-British bout with Tyson Fury.

Ohtani delays throwing session over knee 'regression'

Japanese batting and pitching star Shohei Ohtani postponed a planned bullpen throwing session on Saturday over what Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called "regression" in his left knee injury.

Hiltz extends US 1,500 streak, Lyles advances in 200

Nikki Hiltz captured her fourth consecutive 1,500-meter US outdoor title while Noah Lyles and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden cruised into the 200m finals on Saturday at the US Athletics Championships.

Hodge, Hope give West Indies edge in rain-impacted Pakistan Test

Kavem Hodge's dogged unbeaten 83 and the support of Shai Hope in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand took the West Indies to 194 for three at the end of a rain-shortened first day of the first Test against Pakistan at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Saturday.