Kaitlyn Weaver, Andrew Poje miss podium at figure skating worlds
Ice dance duo fail to overcome early setback
After two seasons of dominating international ice dancing, Canada Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje will go home from the world figure skating championships without that gold medal they so desired.
Instead, it's heartbreak and bruised egos.
The Waterloo, Ont., duo finished fifth at the world championships in Boston on Thursday, dropping a spot after finishing fourth in the short dance.
They planned to spend Thursday night with family and friends.
"We have so much family here, hopefully they'll help our bruised egos a little bit," Weaver said. "But there'll definitely be some celebration. We've had a spectacular season, we've done so many great things to be proud of, so there will be some champagne flowing tonight."
Skating to Max Richter's haunting "On the Nature of Daylight," Weaver and Poje scored 110.18 for a total of 182.01 points. They were noticeable out of sync, however, on their twizzles — side-by-side spins that travel across the ice.
"I don't know what it was, just a brain fart or what," Poje said. "We're only human, we make mistakes."
Piper Gilles of Toronto and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., fifth after the short dance, fell three spots to eighth.
France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won gold with 194.46 and easily held off American siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani, who scored 188.43. Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates won bronze with 185.77.
Weaver and Poje had been gunning for gold after winning world silver in 2014 and bronze last year. They arrived in Boston having won all but two competitions over the past two seasons.
"It's a little discouraging to have two seasons in a row now, such success at the beginning, and then not as much as we would like in the end," Weaver said.
Earlier Thursday, Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., finished a best-ever eighth in the women's singles short program.
The 18-year-old reeled off three triple jumps en route to scoring 67.38 points.
American Gracie Gold is the leader going into Saturday's long program with 76.43 points. Anna Pogorilaya is second with 73.98, while her Russian teammate Evgenia Medvedeva was third with 73.76.
Pogorilaya is second with 73.98, while her Russian teammate Evgenia Medvedeva was third with 73.76.