HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Kaori Sakamoto, a three-time world champion, asserted her dominance in the women’s short program at Skate Canada International on Friday, scoring an impressive 74.97 points.
As the defending champion of Skate Canada, Sakamoto outperformed American skater Alysa Liu, who garnered 67.68 points, and Kimmy Repond of Switzerland, who achieved 66.94 points. Sakamoto’s strong showing places her at the top of the leaderboard, keeping her hopes alive for a repeat win.
Canadian skater Madeline Schizas secured fifth place with a score of 65.28, while her teammates Kaiya Ruiter and Sara-Maude Dupuis rounded off the competition in seventh and ninth positions, respectively.
In the pairs category, reigning world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps delivered a commendable performance, finishing first in the pairs short program.
Deschamps expressed his enthusiasm about performing in front of a home crowd, noting, “Going out there, being in front of our home crowd, for the first time since Worlds — that was great. We did a lot of stuff that we improved since the last competition, and we’re happy with that.”
Stellato-Dudek commented on the atmosphere, saying, “I actually noticed the difference in volume from our announcement versus everybody else’s. It was that noticeable. But yeah, I mean, I felt stressed, and just wanted to do well.”
Despite a minor mishap on their throw triple loop that ultimately affected their score, they managed to hold a substantial lead heading into the free program, finishing at 73.23 points with their performance set to a remix of Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love” at the Scotiabank Centre.
Second place in the pairs went to Germany’s Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel with a score of 64.82, closely followed by Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore from Australia, who scored 64.81.
The Canadian duo of Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier finished at the bottom of the eight-team competition with a score of 52.16.
The rhythm dance and men’s short program events are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, followed by the pairs and women’s free programs later in the evening. The competition will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the men’s free program and the free dance.
Skate Canada International is part of the Grand Prix, which is the premier series in figure skating, comprising six events followed by a final. This event marks the second stop on the circuit, following the opening event, Skate America, held the previous week.
As the defending champion of Skate Canada, Sakamoto outperformed American skater Alysa Liu, who garnered 67.68 points, and Kimmy Repond of Switzerland, who achieved 66.94 points. Sakamoto’s strong showing places her at the top of the leaderboard, keeping her hopes alive for a repeat win.
Canadian skater Madeline Schizas secured fifth place with a score of 65.28, while her teammates Kaiya Ruiter and Sara-Maude Dupuis rounded off the competition in seventh and ninth positions, respectively.
In the pairs category, reigning world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps delivered a commendable performance, finishing first in the pairs short program.
Deschamps expressed his enthusiasm about performing in front of a home crowd, noting, “Going out there, being in front of our home crowd, for the first time since Worlds — that was great. We did a lot of stuff that we improved since the last competition, and we’re happy with that.”
Stellato-Dudek commented on the atmosphere, saying, “I actually noticed the difference in volume from our announcement versus everybody else’s. It was that noticeable. But yeah, I mean, I felt stressed, and just wanted to do well.”
Despite a minor mishap on their throw triple loop that ultimately affected their score, they managed to hold a substantial lead heading into the free program, finishing at 73.23 points with their performance set to a remix of Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love” at the Scotiabank Centre.
Second place in the pairs went to Germany’s Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel with a score of 64.82, closely followed by Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore from Australia, who scored 64.81.
The Canadian duo of Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier finished at the bottom of the eight-team competition with a score of 52.16.
The rhythm dance and men’s short program events are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, followed by the pairs and women’s free programs later in the evening. The competition will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the men’s free program and the free dance.
Skate Canada International is part of the Grand Prix, which is the premier series in figure skating, comprising six events followed by a final. This event marks the second stop on the circuit, following the opening event, Skate America, held the previous week.