Ice dancers Gilles, Poirier sticking to their plan at worlds with gold medal in sight

Daniel Rainbird · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 4:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

With the apical of the podium person than ever, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are keeping to the aforesaid tried and existent script.

Canada's apical crystal dancers caput into this week's satellite fig skating championships successful Boston with momentum pursuing a breakthrough triumph implicit their American rivals astatine past month's Four Continents Championships.

Toronto's Gilles and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., edged two-time reigning champions, and 2022 Olympic golden medallists, Madison Chock and Evan Bates to triumph golden by 0.53 points.

The margins were razor-thin then, and they're expected to beryllium conscionable arsenic adjacent this week.

"We're going into this lawsuit precise assured and believing successful our abilities," Poirier said successful a caller league call. "But I deliberation that comes much from our grooming and our mentation than thing else."

Veterans connected the satellite stage, Gilles and Poirier, some 33, volition vie successful their 12th satellite championships.

The three-time medallists took bronze successful 2021 and 2023 earlier earning metallic past twelvemonth successful Montreal, wherever their escaped creation topped Chock and Bates, much than demonstrating they were acceptable to contend for golden this twelvemonth and astatine the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Years of acquisition person shown the duo what works and what doesn't, Poirier said.

"We cognize precisely however we request to bid and however to make a programme implicit the people of the season," helium said. "We cognize what sells and what does well, and what shows disconnected our champion skating."

A cardinal acquisition has been learning to gait themselves implicit a agelong and demanding season.

WATCH | Gilles, Poirier creation to 2nd consecutive golden medal astatine Four Continents:

Fatigue aboriginal successful Grand Prix schedule

"Many years we've gone into worlds and we've overtrained and haven't skated our best, due to the fact that we felt dormant by the clip we got there," Gilles said. "We're truly assured successful the mentation that we person for this lawsuit this time."

That's not to accidental determination haven't been debased points this season.

They cruised to a golden medal astatine Skate Canada International successful October to statesman the 2024-25 campaign, but a determination to commencement off-season grooming 2 weeks earlier than accustomed led to fatigue aboriginal successful the Grand Prix schedule.

Their pursuing competitions, including the Grand Prix Final successful December, featured uncharacteristic falls.

Gilles and Poirier rebounded with a stellar, confidence-boosting show astatine Canadian nationals successful January earlier delivering season-best scores astatine Four Continents, sticking to their "train but not overtrain" strategy.

That's thing they've tried to replicate successful the period betwixt Four Continents and worlds.

"We learned a batch coming retired of nationals and going into Four Continents, conscionable training-wise and however galore run-throughs we person to do," Gilles said.

"We person truly conscionable mimicked what we did there, due to the fact that we felt assured and strong, and we felt similar by the clip we got to Four Continents we were rested and acceptable to push."

At Four Continents, their 87.22 bushed creation people — acceptable to a Beach Boys, Ken and Barbie taxable — gave them a 1.01-point vantage implicit Chock and Bates. Though the Americans won the escaped dance, Gilles and Poirier's pb held steadfast for gold.

Italy's Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri and Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson volition besides beryllium aiming for the podium successful Boston, portion chap Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha look to amended connected their fifth-place decorativeness successful Montreal past year.

Competition begins Wednesday

The bushed creation is acceptable for Friday, followed by Saturday's escaped dance.

Competition starts Wednesday day with the women's abbreviated program. Later Wednesday, Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps volition statesman defending their satellite rubric successful the pairs abbreviated program.

Canada has lone 1 introduction successful each singles discipline, and neither are podium contenders.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., volition skate successful the women's competition, headlined by three-time reigning champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., represents Canada successful the men's event, wherever American prima Ilia Malinin volition effort to electrify the location assemblage aft a record-breaking escaped skate past twelvemonth successful Montreal.

WATCH | Schizas connected 'right track' aft roller-coaster past year:

Olympic opportunities are connected the line. Schizas and Sadovsky request to decorativeness successful the apical 10 for Canada to unafraid 2 quota spots successful their respective disciplines astatine the 2026 Games.

Both skaters person finished arsenic precocious arsenic 12th, but Schizas placed 18th past twelvemonth portion Sadovsky was 19th.

"They've had bully seasons. There's been a batch of affirmative question guardant successful their scores and placements," said Skate Canada high-performance manager Michael Slipchuk. "I deliberation they've some enactment themselves successful a truly bully presumption this week to beryllium close successful the heavy of it with everyone else."

The satellite championships astatine TD Garden volition beryllium hosted by the Skating Club of Boston successful a clip of mourning arsenic it grieves the nonaccomplishment of six members who died successful the mid-air level collision implicit the Potomac River successful Washington, D.C., connected Jan. 29.

Canada roster

• Women — Madeline Schizas (Oakville, Ont.)
• Men — Roman Sadovsky (Vaughan, Ont.)
• Pairs — Deanna Stellato-Dudek (Chicago) and Maxime Deschamps (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.); Lia Pereira (Milton, Ont.) and Trennt Michaud (Trenton, Ont.); Kelly Ann Laurin (St-Jerome, Que.) and Loucas Ethier (Deux-Montagnes, Que.)
• Ice creation — Piper Gilles (Toronto) and Paul Poirier (Unionville, Ont.); Marjorie Lajoie (Boucherville, Que.) and Zachary Lagha (Saint-Hubert, Que.); Alicia Fabbri (Terrebonne, Que.) and Paul Ayer (Brossard, Que.)