Stephen Gogolev ‘golden’ in Gatineau
2026 Canadian National Skating Championships: Men
Stephen Gogolev (ON) claimed the Men’s title at the 2026 Canadian National Skating Championships on Saturday afternoon in in Gatineau, QC. Roman Sadovsky (ON) rose from fourth to claim the silver, while Aleksa Rakic (BC/YK) maintained third for the bronze.
Stephen Gogolev
Gogolev put out a technically strong short program to “Mugzy’s Move” which featured a quad toe-triple toe, quad Salchow, and triple Axel. All spins and footwork were graded a level four, and he earned many positive grades of execution (GOE) for his jumps. He finished first with 99.60 points going into the free skate.
The skater, who has been working on his speed, said he felt comfortable after landing the first jump.
“I think there has been a little bit of pressure going into this competition and I’m glad I was able to deal with that in the short program,” said the 21-year-old. “But the free program is still tomorrow, so I’ve got to keep it calm and ready for tomorrow.”
Gogolev was near-solid in his free skate to “Piano Concerto No. 2” by Sergei Rachmaninov. He opened with a quad Salchow but doubled the toe. He went on to land a quad Salchow-triple toe albeit a tight landing. However, he also produced six more triple jumps, including two triple Axels, while earning a level four on all three spins and footwork. He scored 175.90 for first place in this segment and overall (275.50).
“It feels a bit unreal. I don’t think it’s fully sunken in yet, but overall, I’m pretty happy with the performance,” said Gogolev. “Obviously it wasn’t perfect, but I’m quite satisfied.”
The 2025 Finlandia Trophy bronze medalist added that he felt more pressure going into the free skate given that this event is the “deciding point” for who will be selected to go to Milano.
“I think it was probably the most nervous I’ve been for a competition,” Gogolev admitted. “There was a bit of relaxation, but I think the pressure increased towards today, because this is obviously the harder program to do and the more challenging one.”
Going to the Olympics would mean a lot to the skater who felt he has struggled over the past few years.
“Coming back this season is very special,” he said. “There were even times where I thought maybe it’s not worth continuing doing because it was year after year where I wasn’t able to perform and compete the way I wanted to or even compete at all. So, I’m very, very thankful and happy to be here right now.”
Roman Sadovsky
Roman Sadovsky (ON) placed fourth (81.79) in the short program after making several small errors. His opening quad Salchow was landed on the quarter, and he stepped out of triple Axel. He later put a hand down on the landing of the first jump in a triple Lutz-double toe combo, but picked up a level four on his spins and footwork.
The two-time and reigning national champion admitted it was one of his “weaker” short programs and that it was “rough around the edges.”
“I heard Stephen’s scores going in and I really had to put out the best I could possibly do,” said Sadovsky. “But once the music started playing, I was in the zone and really just focused on myself.”
The 2019 NHK Trophy bronze medalist said he would simply refocus going into the free skate and not overthink the mistakes from today.
“Just trusting the training,” Sadovsky said. “I think that’s maybe something that didn’t happen today and hopefully I can pull it off tomorrow.”
Skating to Clair de lune and “Photograph,” Sadovsky opened with a quad Salchow-double Axel sequence followed by a triple Lutz-triple toe, triple Axel and triple loop. He took a fall on a quad Salchow attempt, but quickly recovered to land two more triple jumps. He also earned a level four on all three spins and finished second in both the free skate and overall (173.31/255.10).
“That quad Salchow really surprised me,” said the 26-year-old. “I had so much energy and just a little bit of a loss of rhythm, even in the air. I thought, ‘oh, I’m a little off, but I can do this.’ I was wrong. The rest was so solid. And I mean, that we worked on all that performance aspects and the connection to the music, I think really followed through and showed. And I think that’s what I’m most proud of. Yesterday I was really beating myself up and I’m glad that I could finish these nationals.”
Aleksa Rakic
Aleksa Rakic (BC/YK) put a foot down on a triple Axel, but the opening quad toe and triple loop-triple toe were solid in his uplifting short program to “Punga.” He also displayed level-four spins and footwork and placed third with 83.60 points going into the free skate.
The 2024 Canadian silver medalist finished third in the free skate and overall (162.42/246.02). His routine featured a quad toe and seven triple jumps, including two triple Axels. The only notable error was a two-footed landing on the front end of a triple Axel-double toe. He also picked up a level four for two spins and the footwork.
“I think it went very well,” said the 21-year-old. “I liked that I was able to put out a really normal performance and do things that I do at home. But also, you know, Roman, I don’t know exactly what he did, but I assume it was a very good skate. He had a standing ovation, I saw him in tears, and I was like, ‘OK, well, I have to follow this up.’ You know, maybe pressure, but I just have to focus on myself and I’m really proud with how I dealt with that.”
Wesley Chiu
Chiu missed the last half of the 2024-25 figure skating season, including nationals, due to injury. The skater announced in June that he underwent surgery for an ankle fracture. In Gatineau he landed a quad toe, triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe for second place (89.14) in his evocative short program to “How It Ends.” The skater, who only started jumping again in September, also earned a level four on two spins and his footwork.
“It’s been quite a struggle, even leading up to this competition, but especially for the past year,” said the 2024 national champion. “So, it definitely felt good to be able to put out something like that, especially after everything I’ve gone through from laying in a hospital bed in June.”
Chiu struggled a bit in the free skate, stepping out of a quad toe as well as a triple Lutz. He also doubled a Lutz and put a foot down on a that last jump in a triple flip-double Axel-double Axel sequence. He managed four clean triple jumps and was also rewarded a level four on two spins and the footwork to finish fourth (152.34). With a total score of 241.48, he slipped off the podium to fourth place overall.
“I think my expectations were just to come out here, sort of just enjoy the experience again,” said the 20-year-old. “Definitely missed feeling all this energy in a competition environment, so that was really encouraging and really motivating going forward.”
Chiu said it’s been tricky getting back into the season with a lot of “strategic planning.”
“I think everything takes longer than you kind of expect it would,” he explained. “And then when things pick up, it sort of gets more predictable, but it’s always a bumpy ride, even leading up to this competition. But yeah, we navigated through, and I haven’t really had a solid chunk of training. So it was really just one thing after the next, trying to build.”
“I think just my mindset going into competition has kind of shifted a little bit, sort of with injury and I guess part of maturing as a person,” Chiu summed up. “But I think I’m definitely more grateful for every experience. I try to be as present as possible and try to soak it all in, because in the blink of an eye, in just one jump, it could turn your whole season sideways. So yeah, definitely a lot of paying attention when I need to, but also trying to soak up every opportunity that I get.”
Keegan Messing
Coming out of retirement, Keegan Messing (AB/NT/NU) made his ninth appearance at Canadian Nationals, entertaining the crowd with his rock and roll short program to “On the Dark Side.” However, he wasn’t perfect after his hiatus. The 33-year-old landed the front half of his opening quad toe-double toe on the quarter and later put his hands down and turned out the landing of a triple Lutz. The two-time national champion managed a triple Axel, but lower levels were reflected in his spins and footwork. He placed seventh (79.05) heading into the free skate.
The 2023 Four Continents silver medalist landed a quad toe and triple Lutz-triple toe in the free skate, but doubled several jumps to place fifth (148.71) in the free skate and overall (227.76).
“A couple more doubles than were planned,” joked Messing, “but you know what? This was the feeling I’ve been searching for. This is why I came back and all those familiar faces in the crowd. And I feel like I got to touch each and every one of them again. And it’s like, no, it wasn’t the perfect program I was looking for, but I feel like it was the perfect experience.”
While Messing may have been circling the thought of a return to the Olympics, he said his goals changed throughout the year.
“It really went from trying for a spot to like, no, it’s not about a spot. It’s about the experience,” he said. “It’s about coming back and doing everything I can to see what I can do. And to come back like this, with this kind of reception. And even to non-perfect skates, it’s so heartwarming. It makes me feel like I never left and it’s just, it’s so warm out there.”
The veteran skater said if asked, he would attend the Four Continents, but if asked to attend Worlds, he’d let the “next generation come in and the step forward.”
John Kim (ON) finished sixth overall (219.00) followed by David Bondar (ON) (211.83), Anthony Paradis (QC) (211.70), and Matthew Newnham (AB/NT/NU) (210.40).
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