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HALIFAX — Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are back-to-back champions at Skate Canada Worldwide, however they’re not smiling about it.
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Not after the a number of errors they dedicated within the free skate on Saturday.
“That was definitely not simple tonight,” Deschamps stated. “It was going properly at residence, however it’s gonna occur generally.”
It began with Deschamps falling on a triple-toe loop to begin a sequence early within the free skate, then Stellato-Dudek stepped out on a throw later in this system, which was awarded the second-best rating of the day (124.10).
The Canadian pair completed with 197.33 whole factors at Scotiabank Centre, properly under the 221.56 they set to win gold on the world championships final March in Montreal.
“I’m probably not positive what occurred,” Stellato-Dudek stated. “I’ve executed so many clear runs of this program at residence, so I actually do not know why that occurred tonight.
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“We got here right here ready. The efficiency was not indicative of how our coaching has been going. We have now to determine why it occurred within the second.”
Seeking to discover causes for the blemishes, Stellato-Dudek questioned if Deschamps’s tumble threw them off.
“I virtually stated one thing after his fall, as a result of I used to be like, what? What was that?” Stellato-Dudek stated. “His fall shocked me a bit bit, as a result of it’s not regular.”
Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev of Uzbekistan completed second (189.65) and Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore of Australia have been third (186.14).
Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps have been an inconceivable match once they teamed up in 2019.
The 41-year-old Stellato-Dudek, a Chicago native within the means of buying Canadian citizenship, retired at 17 however returned to the game 16 years later as a pairs skater. Deschamps, a 32-year-old from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., cycled by way of eight companions with restricted success earlier than discovering Stellato-Dudek.
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Now they’re world champions and have their sights set on gold on the 2026 Olympics.
Not solely are they preventing the competitors this yr, they’re additionally battling the strain that brings.
The ageless skaters are speaking to sports activities psychologists and taking suggestions from individuals who have been of their footwear earlier than. That features Eric Radford, a two-time pairs world champion with accomplice Meagan Duhamel.
“Eric was saying throughout the summer season, like, this (world championship) is ours for good,” Deschamps stated. “New season, and let’s go assault. No defending something — simply assault.”
So how will they regroup from a tough night time?
“You simply need to overlook about it, transfer ahead, however study from it,” Deschamps stated.
“For me, the preliminary response is simply excessive disappointment and unhappiness,” added Stellato-Dudek. “Then I get actually, actually mad and I’ll do issues till I’ll by no means miss them.”
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In the meantime, Canada’s Madeline Schizas was beaming after a fifth-place end within the ladies’s occasion.
The 21-year-old from Oakville, Ont., posted 190.04 factors — her highest worldwide rating in additional than two years — and cried tears of pleasure at centre ice after laying down back-to-back robust performances.
“I wasn’t actually crying. I’m probably not a crier,” Schizas stated. “I used to be simply pleased. I put out some good skates in apply, however I’ve had such a tough time translating it to competitors.”
It was virtually sufficient to win a medal. Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto gained gold with 201.21, forward of Rino Matsuike (192.16) and Hana Yoshida (191.37) as Japan swept the rostrum.
Schizas had a disappointing finish to final season with an 18th-place end at worlds. This weekend, she put forth a joyful, almost mistake-free brief program to “The Lion King.”
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The 2-time nationwide champion adopted it up with a strong free skate to the extreme “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saens.
“I simply got here in with a fiery perspective this weekend, and it actually helped me carry out my finest,” she stated. “With that I’d have been high 10 worlds, after which some.
“It additionally makes me really feel good going into Canadians, and good going into choice for the second half of the season, realizing that I now have a rating that places me within the high 10 on the planet.”
Earlier Saturday, Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier took the lead after the rhythm dance.
Gilles, from Toronto, and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., scored 86.44 factors for his or her Seashore Boys-themed routine with Barbie and Ken costumes.
Fellow Canadians Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., completed second with 77.34 factors.
Reigning world champion Ilia Malinin of the USA leads the lads’s brief program with 106.22. Toronto’s Stephen Gogolev completed fifth with 82.70 after a strong skate.
The free dance and males’s lengthy program are scheduled for Sunday.
The Grand Prix, the highest sequence in determine skating, consists of six occasions and a remaining. Skate Canada is the second occasion this yr after the circuit kicked off at Skate America final week.
Take a look at our sports activities part for the newest information and evaluation.
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