Weekend Roundup: Double double figure skating podiums, Dubreuil skates to pair of silvers
The winter competition season is heading towards its climax and Team Canada athletes continue to rack up some incredible results.
Four medals were won at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, led by Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier defeating the defending world champions. Sprint speed skating star Laurent Dubreuil hit a major career milestone with two World Cup silver medals, while Elizabeth Hosking gave the home fans in Calgary a thrill with her return to the snowboard halfpipe podium.
Here’s a quick look back at those and more great moments from the weekend.
Figure Skating: Two double podiums at Four Continents Championships
Canadians stood on two steps of both the pairs and ice dance podiums at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea.
On Friday, reigning pairs world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps responded to a disappointing fourth-place performance in the short program with a season best free skate to move up and claim the silver medal. Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud had their two best performances of the season to win bronze for their first ever medal at an ISU Championship.
READ: Canadian double podium in pairs at Four Continents Championships
On Saturday, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won their second consecutive ice dance gold medal at the Four Continents Championships, this time defeating two-time reigning world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates. A season best rhythm dance put Gilles and Poirier into the lead. They held onto first place by 0.53 after the free dance, in which they also earned a season best score, but still have room to grow with regards to the levels on some of their technical elements as they look towards the world championships in March.
READ: Gilles and Poirier defend Four Continents title, Lajoie and Lagha claim bronze
Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha won their second career ice dance bronze medal at the Four Continents Championships, adding to the one they earned in 2023.
Roman Sadovsky made his case to be Canada’s lone representative in the men’s event at the world championships. The reigning national champion finished 10th for the second straight year. Sarah-Maude Dupuis was the top Canadian in the women’s event with her own 10th place finish. National champion Madeline Schizas finished 12th.
Long Track Speed Skating: Two 500m silvers for Dubreuil
Laurent Dubreuil placed second in both men’s 500m events at the ISU World Cup in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland. That means he has finished on the podium in four straight events at that distance.
On Friday, he clocked in at 34.73 seconds, finishing 0.24 back of 20-year-old American phenom Jordan Stolz, who has won seven of nine 500m World Cup races this season. Dubreuil reached a major milestone with his 40th career individual World Cup podium.
On Sunday, Dubreuil had to deal with a false start, but still got off the line quickly and stopped the clock in 34.70 seconds. He was 0.18 shy of the winner, Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Koshkin. Dubreuil sits second in the 500m World Cup standings with two more races to go at next weekend’s World Cup finale in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
Also on Sunday, Ivanie Blondin took bronze in the women’s mass start for her first World Cup medal in that event since the season opener in November. She then teamed with Carolina Hiller and Béatrice Lamarche to win silver in the women’s team sprint.
Snowboard: Hosking lands on halfpipe podium in Calgary
Elizabeth Hosking claimed her first podium of the year, finishing third in snowboard halfpipe on home snow at the FIS World Cup in Calgary.
Hosking was the lone Canadian to reach a halfpipe final at the Snow Rodeo. Her score of 79.25 on her third run of the final put her onto the podium behind Japan’s Sena Tomita (90.75) and American Maddie Mastro (85.25). This is Hosking’s third career World Cup podium, with her last also coming in Calgary in February 2023. This has been a comeback season for her after she missed all of 2023-24 due to injury.
READ: “That fire hasn’t left”: Snowboarder Elizabeth Hosking wants to reach new heights in the halfpipe
In slopestyle, Laurie Blouin was the lone Canadian in the women’s final and finished 11th. Three Canadians qualified for the men’s final. Truth Smith finished 13th, ahead of Liam Brearley in 14th and Cameron Spalding in 16th.
Moguls: Mikaël Kingsbury and Julien Viel ski to podiums
Mikaël Kingsbury finished second in moguls at the FIS World Cup in Beidahu, China on Friday. It’s his ninth podium of the season and 138th of his career. Kingsbury’s score of 85.91 in the super final left him just 0.66 back of one of his top rivals, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, who earned his third straight World Cup victory.
“I tried to push in the super final and it was close. I don’t have the words right now, but I’m happy with what I did. It’s another podium, even though I would have preferred to win”, Kingsbury said.
Two other Canadians reached the final, with Julien Viel placing sixth and Sam Cordell finishing eighth.
Viel got onto the podium in the dual moguls on Saturday, finishing third after defeating American Nick Page in the small final. It’s his second podium of the season after finishing second in moguls at home in Val St-Come at the end of January.
“It definitely feels good, because yesterday I got 5th place and I was expecting a little more. Today, I got my revenge and I’m really happy,” Viel said.
Ski Jumping: Abigail Strate flies to podium in Austria
Abigail Strate took third place in the second women’s normal hill event at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Hinzenbach, Austria. The day after her 24th birthday, she scored 226.6 points on Sunday for her fifth career individual World Cup podium. It’s her first individual podium since she earned three straight in January 2024. Strate had finished eighth in Saturday’s first normal hill event of the weekend.
“It feels really good. I wasn’t trying to expect anything but being in third after the first round, I haven’t been in that position this year, so it was a bit stressful,” said Strate. “Today, I decided I was going to go for it. It either works or it doesn’t. In a top sport like this the margin is so small you can’t be half in.
“I have been playing it safe this year, but I reached the point where I said ‘we are doing it. I know I can do it.’ I proved that to myself in training and qualis this weekend.”
Alpine Skiing: Crawford top-six in World Cup downhill
Jack Crawford finished sixth in his first FIS World Cup downhill race since his historic win in Kitzbuehel last month.
Racing in Crans Montana in the Swiss Alps, Crawford finished with a time of 1:56.91, just 0.03 seconds back of fourth place, but 0.42 from a podium spot. Franjo Von Allmen took the win to lead an all-Swiss podium.
Crawford currently sits in fifth place in the Crystal Globe downhill standings. Saturday’s result is his sixth top-10 finish of the season and was his fifth in a row.
The Canadian women were in Sestriere, Italy. Britt Richardson finished 11th in the giant slalom for her second best result of the World Cup season. Ali Nullmeyer was 11th in the slalom for her best World Cup result since March 2024.
Aerials: Fontaine close to first individual podium of season
Miha Fontaine earned his best individual FIS World Cup result of the season, finishing fourth in men’s aerials in Beidahu, China. Fontaine’s score of 112.67 in the super final put him just 3.26 back of a podium position. Alexandre Duchaine just missed advancing to the six-man super final, placing eighth in the first round of the final.
On Monday, Duchaine joined with Marion Thénault and Lewis Irving to finish fourth in the mixed team event.
Ski Slopestyle: Two top-six finishes in Stoneham
Canada’s top slopestyle skiers were competing on home snow in Stoneham, Quebec over the weekend. Olivia Asselin led the way with her fifth-place finish in the women’s final. Three Canadians made the men’s final, led by Evan McEachran‘s sixth-place performance. Charlie Beatty and Max Moffatt finished 15th and 16th, respectively.