Canadian figure skaters sit 5th at World Team Trophy
Ice dance duo Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje score 2nd place in short dance
Canadians ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje performed the second best short program of the World Team Trophy event, but their efforts only have Canada in fifth place after the opening day of competition in Tokyo.
- SCHEDULE: World Team Trophy on CBC Sports
- PREVIEW: World Team Trophy offers a victory lap for top skaters
Japan and Russia are tied for top spot with 44 points, with the U.S. third at 43. China (32) and Canada (31) round out the top five.
The Canadian team won a silver medal in the team event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates were first in the ice dance with a score of 79.05. Weaver and Poje followed at 76.73, and Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia are third at 68.94.
First place in each event is worth 12 points for the country, second 11 points, third 10 and so on.
Evgenia Medvedeva received a record score in the women's short program. Following up on her back-to-back world titles, Medvedeva received 80.85 points while teammate Elena Radionova was second with 72.21. Japan's Mai Mihara was third with a personal best of 72.10.
Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., the world bronze medallist two weeks ago, is fourth at 71.74. Alaine Chartrand, of Prescott, Ont., ranked 10th.
In the men's short, Japan's Shoma Uno, American Nathan Chen, and Boyang Jin of China stand in the top-three positions, respectively. Toronto's Patrick Chan was sixth, and Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., placed 12th.
The even continues Friday with the pairs short, the free dance and the men's free skate.
The 1-million U.S. prize money is divided among the top-six teams:
- 1st place: $200,000
- 2nd place: $170,000
- 3rd placed: $160,000
- 4th placed: $150,000
- 5th placed: $140,000
- 6th placed: $130,000
You can catch more figure skating coverage Saturday on Road to the Olympic Games, our show spotlighting the best high-performance athletes from Canada and around the world. You can stream the broadcast at 4 p.m. ET or watch on CBC TV.