Canada's Gilles, Poirier take ice dance bronze at figure skating Grand Prix Final in Beijing
CBC Sports | Posted: December 9, 2023 2:46 PM | Last Updated: December 9, 2023
Malinin wins men's title, fellow Americans Chock and Bates top ice dance in Beijing
Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will bring home bronze medals from the figure skating Grand Prix Fiinal after Saturday's free dance event in Beijing.
The Toronto duo posted a total of 213.58 to finish behind Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates (221.61), while Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy (215.51) took silver.
WATCH l Canada's Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier take bronze:
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen finished fifth with 195.57 points, just ahead of fellow Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha in sixth at 193.63.
WATCH l Chock, Bates post season-best number of 132.46 points for gold:
Kaori Sakamoto wins 1st Grand Prix final
In the women's event, two-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto won her first Grand Prix Final with a free skate set to music from Lauryn Hill. She was indeed Feeling Good after scoring 225.70 points, easily outdistancing second-place Loena Hendrickx of Belgium and Japanese countrywoman Hana Yoshida, who overtook Nina Pinzarrone for bronze.
Sakamoto opened with her now-signature double axel before landing seven triple jumps, including a triple flip-triple toe loop in combination and a triple loop-triple toe loop to wrap up her program and the title.
"This year, I had a good start with the Grand Prix," Sakamoto said, "so I really wanted to keep it going like that. Being able to get first place everywhere until the Final became a strength for me, I think. So I think it will make me feel confident going forward."
Sakamoto had finished off the podium in two previous disappointing Grand Prix Finals.
WATCH l Sakamoto wins women's event:
Malinin, 19, golden
Ilia Malinin could have been thrown off by a fall on his opening jump — the quad axel.
Then again, nobody else in the world even tries it.
So instead, the 19-year-old American brushed off the mistake, put together a near-flawless free skate the rest of the way, and easily topped Japanese rival Shoma Uno to win the gold medal Saturday. Malinin finished with a career-best 314.66 points, the sixth-highest men's total in history under the current scoring system.
WATCH l Malinin overcomes early mistake to take gold:
Uno made a mistake on a triple axel and finished with 297.34 points. Yuma Kagiyama of Japan was third.
"I'm feeling just amazing. I just don't have words for what just happened," said Malinin, who captured the title 24 years after his mother, Tatiana Malinina, won the Grand Prix Final representing Uzbekistan in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
"I'm still trying to express and think of what just went on," Malinin said. "It's incredible to me. I've never felt like this before."
Skating to music from the HBO hit Succession, Malinin looked smooth and confident after his fall on the opening quad axel, a jump that he landed in the short program for the first time in skating history. The bronze medallist a year ago landed an effortless quad lutz, the second-hardest jump in the sport, and four more quads during the rest of his free skate Saturday.
His technical score was so far ahead of the rest of the competition that Malinin could have afford several mistakes.
"I was really just in such a great mood to skate," he said afterward. "I knew I could trust my training and all my hours I put in."
CBC Sports' coverage of the Grand Prix final wraps with the gala exhibition, live streaming on Sunday at 1:30 a.m. ET