What to know for figure skating's Grand Prix Final
2 Canadian duos hit the ice in France
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The most important annual event on the international figure skating calendar is the world championships. Second is the Grand Prix Final, which begins tomorrow in Grenoble, France.
Here's what to know:
It's not easy to get in.
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating's regular season consists of six events held around the world in October and November. Skaters can compete in a maximum of two of these. They earn points based on where they finish, and those points decide who gets to compete in the Final. Only the top six in each discipline — men's, women's, pairs and ice dance — are invited.
The only other time we'll see this many of the world's best figure skaters gathered in one place this season is at the world championships in Boston at the end of March. The Grand Prix Final should give us a pretty good idea of who will contend for the podium there.
Canada has three two entries.
For the fifth straight time, no Canadian singles skaters qualified for the Final. But three Canadian duos finished in the top six in either pairs or ice dance to earn a spot in Grenoble.
Unfortunately, Canada's best tandem dropped out. Reigning pairs world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps announced Monday they're unable to compete because Deschamps is recovering from an illness.
WATCH | That Figure Skating Show previews the Grand Prix Final:
Stellato-Dudek, 41, and Deschamps, 32, captured Canada's first figure skating world title since 2018 last March in Montreal, where they live and train. They've remained at the top of their game this season, winning both of their Grand Prix assignments — in Finland and at Skate Canada International in Halifax — to top the pairs standings.
Assuming they're healthy, they should contend for another world title this spring and maybe an Olympic gold in 2026. That will depend on whether Stellato-Dudek, who's originally from Chicago, can get her Canadian citizenship in time for the Games.
Canada's two remaining entries in the Final are both in the ice dance event. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier placed third in the standings while Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha were sixth.
WATCH | Catching up with Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, looking ahead:
Gilles and Poirier took silver at the Montreal worlds last season for their third medal in four years. This season, they captured gold at Skate Canada and silver in Finland behind Grand Prix leaders Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson. The British duo upset back-to-back world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States at Skate America and will now try to dethrone them as Grand Prix champs.
Two Canadian teams qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final, which also begins Thursday in Grenoble. Jazmine Desrochers and Kieran Thrasher are ranked second in pairs while Julia Quattrocchi and Simon Desmarais are fifth in the same event.
Other skaters to watch:
With Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps out, the top pairs team is Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara. They won the Grand Prix Final two years ago and added the world title later that season.
Japan's Kaori Sakamoto is favoured to repeat as women's champion. Last March, she became the first skater in 56 years to capture three straight women's world titles, and she's 2-for-2 in Grand Prix events this season.
The men's event also has a clear favourite to repeat. American phenom Ilya Malinin won his first Grand Prix Final gold last year and went on to claim his first world title in Montreal. The 20-year-old Quad God won Skate America and Skate Canada this season, but he could be a bit rusty as those were the first two stops on the Grand Prix tour.
Worlds bronze medallist Adam Siao Him Fa of France is out with an ankle injury after taking gold and bronze in his two assignments.
How to watch:
CBC Sports is live-streaming every skate at the Grand Prix Final, starting with junior events on Thursday morning. Here's the full streaming schedule and here's where to check results.
