Montreal (AFP) – World Champion Ilia Malinin grabbed his second Grand Prix title in as many weeks on Sunday, capturing gold at Skate Canada by more than 40 points on the heels of his third straight Skate America triumph. The self-styled “Quad god” completed four quadruple jumps in another scintillating free skate on Sunday in which he gave fans in Halifax, Nova Scotia a look at the new back flip added to his routine this season after the International Skating Union lifted its ban on the dangerous move. He downgraded one planned quad to a triple, but that was barely a blip in a smooth skate that garnered 195.60 points for a total of 301.82. Japan’s Shun Sato was a distant second on 261.16.
Sato, second after the short programme, claimed silver despite a string of errors that included two falls in the free skate, in which he finished fourth on 164.84 points. South Korea’s Cha Jun-hwan, the 2023 world silver medallist, moved up from fourth to third with a free skate that featured two quad jumps and earned 171.93 points for a total of 260.31. Japan’s Sota Yamamoto, the defending Skate Canada champion, was fourth.
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Malinin, 19, became the first man since Alexei Yagudin in 1999 to win both Skate America and Skate Canada — the only time a men’s skater has won the opening two Grand Prix events of a season. His victories mean he is qualified for the Grand Prix Final in December. “I feel pretty relieved with my skate today,” Malinin said. “It was a tough decision to do back-to-back Grands Prix. I’m very proud of myself for doing the last two weeks — it was not easy.”
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the 2024 world ice dance silver medallists, earned their second straight Skate Canada title, leading a Canadian one-two ahead of Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha. Gilles and Poirier, in the lead after the rhythm dance, delivered an elegant, technically challenging free dance to Annie Lennox’s cover version of “Whiter Shade of Pale” to earn a strong 128.40 points for a total of 214.84. Lajoie and Lagha, back after her concussion caused them to miss part of last season, scored 122.56 points for their powerful routine to “The Sound of Silence” for a total of 199.90.
France’s Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud, with a moody free skate to techno music, took third with a total of 194.25. The six-event ISU Grand Prix series continues next month in France, Japan, Finland, and China, leading to the Grand Prix Final in December at Grenoble, France.
© 2024 AFP
