Hot favorites Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier of Canada danced off with their first ISU Championship title in style in Shanghai. Teammates Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Soerensen retained their silver medals from 2023 while Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko (USA) captured the bronze.
Gilles/Poirier put out a mesmerizing performance of their dance to “Wuthering Heights”, telling a story of dark passion and love. They produced effortless-looking step sequences and lifts, never breaking the flow.
The two-time and reigning ISU World bronze medalists collected a level four for the lifts, twizzles and dance spin while the step sequences merited a level three and two. The Canadian Champions scored 128.87 points and accumulated 214.36 points overall for a solid victory.
Gilles/Poirier (CAN) brought the passion of Wuthering Heights to the ice to win their first ISU title at the Four Continents Championships © Annice Lyn
“I think we're really pleased. It's such a big milestone in our career, so I think we're really proud of ourselves to be able to win a competition of this caliber at this point in our career,” Poirier noted.
“I think we're really proud of the way we skated. This week, we really believed in ourselves. We were present in both programs, and we skated like the champions that we are. So I think more than anything, that's what we're going to take,” he added.
“We knew how solid of a performance we'd put down,” Gilles shared.
“I felt like we were both thinking through the whole performance to make sure that we were stepping together and moving together. I almost enjoy those performances more because it keeps us more present than getting so lost in the performance. And I think we really took our time and we enjoyed it and by the time we finished we both were relieved and ecstatic.
“This is our third time in China this season and this was so far the best performance.”
Fournier Beaudry/Soerensen interpreted a dramatic love story with “Notre Dame de Paris” as well. Their performance was highlighted by interesting lifts and fast twizzles. The Canadians got a level four for the lifts and the dance spin as well as for his twizzles and set a season’s best of 125.52 points for a total of 207.54.
Fournier Beaudry/Soerensen (CAN) portrayed the dramatic love story of Notre Dame de Paris to take silver in Shanghai (CHN) © Annice Lyn
“We really felt free today and it was super fun to just perform. I think we stepped it up this week and we just will have a lot of motivation back home to build up towards Worlds.” Fournier Beaudry commented.
“We're just so happy to be able to come here and compete and perform really well in both programs,” Soerensen said.
“We've been working a lot since the Grand Prix Final, just fine-tuning the programs.
“It's really a pleasure to perform these programs at the end of the season. We feel a little bit more at home in the choreography, so everything becomes a little bit more natural and just sort of being able to really capitalize on each or make each moment something really special in this program that we did today was really, really fun.”
Carreira/Ponomarenko’s dance is based on “The Perfume – The Story of a Murderer” and explores yet another shade of love that turns into madness.
The 2022 ISU Four Continents bronze medalists impressed with their lifts and dance spin, however, Carreira wobbled on the twizzles. That cost a few points and the US silver medalists ranked fifth in the Free Dance with 116.67 points. Nevertheless, they remained in third place on 194.14 points to return to the Four Continents podium after two difficult years.
Carreira/Ponomarenko (USA) returned to the third step of the podium two years after their last Four Continents bronze © Annice Lyn
“The last time we were on the podium at Four Continents it was only two years ago, but a lot has happened since then,” Ponomarenko explained.
“Directly after those championships, I had my ankle surgery and I hit some of the lowest lows that I've ever had in my life. So being back here and having those two years of growth with Christina and the rest of our coaching team, it's a big significant moment.
“For sure, lots of emotions involved in it, but I'm proud of our team, I'm proud of Christina for sticking by me and I'm thankful to be in this position today.”
The Ice Dance medalists show off their sparkling prizes at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Shanghai (CHN) © ISU
Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolsenik (USA) came fourth with their dance to “The Beauty and the Beast“ on 193.07 points. Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac (CAN) were third in the Free Dance segment with their fun dance to “Corpse Bride” and moved up from seventh to fifth with 190.83 points. 2022 ISU Four Continents Champions Caroline Green/Michael Parsons (USA) finished sixth with their performance to “Denmark” (190.53 points).
Schedule of the event
The schedule of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is as follows:
Thursday, February 1: Women’s, Men’s & Pairs Short Programs
Friday, February 2: Rhythm Dance & Women’s Free Skating
Saturday, February 3: Pairs & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, February 4: Free Dance & Exhibition Gala
For full entries and results, please see the ISU event page and the official website. Follow the discussion on social media using #4ContsFigure and #FigureSkating.
Where to watch the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2023:
The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here.
Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.
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