Grenoble, France (December 6, 2024) – The senior ice dance event at the ISU Grand Prix Final commenced on Friday in Grenoble, France, where Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha delivered the highest Canadian performance after an unusual fall by Paul Poirier left him and Piper Gilles in sixth position. Lajoie from Boucherville, Que., and Lagha […]
Grenoble, France (December 6, 2024) – The senior ice dance event at the ISU Grand Prix Final commenced on Friday in Grenoble, France, where Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha delivered the highest Canadian performance after an unusual fall by Paul Poirier left him and Piper Gilles in sixth position.
Lajoie from Boucherville, Que., and Lagha from Saint-Hubert, Que., entered the event following silver medal finishes at Skate Canada International and the Cup of China, starting off with their Austin Powers themed rhythm dance. They achieved a score of 77.73, placing them fourth at the end of the day.
“We’re really pleased, it went very well. We simply enjoyed ourselves. We’d rather execute our best routine and then see what score we get rather than feeling we didn’t perform at our peak and still score well,” Lagha remarked, recalling their performance at Skate Canada International where they believed their skating wasn’t at its best yet they received a higher score.
Gilles from Toronto, Ont., and Poirier from Unionville, Ont., arrived at the competition ranked third in the Grand Prix standings after winning their fifth consecutive title at Skate Canada International and earning a silver medal at the Finlandia Trophy. However, after Poirier stumbled by catching his foot on the board and falling during their rhythm dance, the duo scored 72.15, ending the day in sixth place.
“You never wish to make significant mistakes, so this is disappointing for us, but we need to focus on our responsibilities for tomorrow, and I believe when we return home, we’ll concentrate on the positives from this event – there were enhancements made in the program,” Poirier commented after the competition. “Once we’re home, we’ll evaluate our training and ensure we’re ready to avoid mistakes in competitions as we head into the latter half of the season.”
The reigning World Champions, Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the USA, lead heading into Saturday’s free dance with a score of 87.73. Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri from Italy are in second place (83.12), while Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson from Great Britain are ranked third (82.31).
The event concludes tomorrow with the senior free dance and the junior pair free program for the Canadian team.
For complete results, please click here.