(Montreal) Moments after winning her first Canadian figure skating title, young adult Madeline Schizas was asked about her goals for the Beijing Olympics.
“My biggest goal is to avoid catching COVID-19,” said Schizas. That’s my goal for the next three weeks. I will do everything in my power to stay healthy. ”
Skating to the tunes of the song Madama Butterfly of Puccini in a turquoise dress that matched the mask she wore during training, her run on the free skate on Saturday was not flawless. The 18-year-old Ontarian benefited from her 12-point lead the day before in the short program to be crowned the event champion and secure her place on the Canadian national team at the Olympic Games. She totaled 198.24 points for both programs.
Keegan Messing won the men’s solo title. The coronation came after a week in which he traveled 33 hours and temporarily lost his pair of skates. Roman Sadovsky finished in the second echelon, but did not confirm his presence in Beijing. Nam Nguyen, who finished first in the same event in 2019, struggled to finish sixth due to the lingering effects of COVID-19 on his breathing.
The bronze medalists at the last World Cup, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, won gold in artistic dance while Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro triumphed as a couple.
Gilles and Poirier confirmed their participation in their second consecutive Games thanks to their program entitled “the long and winding road”, which came close to perfection and which earned 219.24 points in total.
The program presented has been the victim of several changes since their last performance, which was held in France in November and which had earned them the money.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, won gold in artistic dance
“We were a little nervous to participate in the national component,” said Gilles. We have made so many changes since the Grand Prix series. We are still trying to find our automatisms: remember to do this, remember to do that. There is nothing on autopilot yet.
“I’m glad we had this opportunity to present this program and we’ll build on it. When we get to the Olympics, the program will be at its full potential. So we are happy. ”
The dancers qualified for the ISU Grand Prix final last month, but it was canceled due to COVID-19.
The cancellation was a kind of blessing, as it allowed the tandem to rework their program and make small changes all over the place. He hopes these adjustments will allow him to reach the podium in Beijing.
“It’s constantly evolving,” Poirier said. We were making small changes every day, we are refining it. We never stop perfecting the program, there is no end. ”
Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen won silver (206.65), while Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha completed the podium (192.67).
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro triumphed as a couple
Moore-Towers and Marinaro scored 212.54 points to win the pairs competition. Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud finished second (186.52), while Deanna Stellato and Maxime Deschamps took bronze (178.60).
Beijing was hardly on Schizas’s radar until its 13e place at the Worlds last spring.
“I’m a very logical person,” she said. There is only one Canadian skater who will go to the Olympics and the odds of it being me were very slim. Obviously, now that I’ve won a Canadian title, the Games are on my radar, but I don’t really like looking into the future. I think one moment at a time and I think it makes the feeling better after qualifying. ”
Septilienne Veronik Mallet accumulated 170.65 points to clinch the silver. Gabrielle Daleman, Olympian in 2014 and 2018 and bronze medalist at the Worlds, completed the podium (167.50).
Due to sanitary measures, the TD Place arena in Ottawa could not accommodate fans at the event.
Stephen Gogolev, who scooped the money nationally in 2019, was forced to step down when he tested positive when he arrived in the country.
The pair of Vanessa James and Eric Radford, who contracted the coronavirus over the holidays, withdrew ahead of Saturday’s free skate. They can still be named to the Canadian Olympic team.
The national championship makes it possible to select a part of the team which will fly to Beijing. The official membership announcement will take place on Sunday. The maple leaf has one place in female solo, two in couple and in male solo as well as three places in artistic dance.
The men’s solo competition will be held on Saturday evening.