Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier perform in the ice dancing rhythm dance during the Skate Canada International figure skating competition at Prospera Place.Dominique Belanger-Gagne/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
KELOWNA, B.C. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier sit second after the short dance at Skate Canada.
Toronto’s Gilles and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., scored 82.58 points and narrowly trail Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue (83.21 points) heading into Saturday’s free dance.
Americans Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker are third at the second Grand Prix event of the season.
Hubbell and Donohue are coming off a win last week at Skate America in Las Vegas. They won bronze at last season’s world championships and silver in 2018.
Gilles and Poirier were seventh at last season’s worlds.
Reigning world junior champs Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Saint-Hubert, Que., are seventh after the Skate Canada rhythm dance and Haley Sales of Kelowna, B.C., and Nicolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C., are 10th.
In the women’s short program, 2018 Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva had a rough performance.
The two-time world champion from Russia, who is coached by Canadian Brian Orser, didn’t land a double axel cleanly and fell on her final jump to stand sixth in the 12-woman field.
Rika Kihira of Japan leads the way with 81.35 points. Young You of Korea (78.22) is second and 15-year-old Russian Alexandra Trusova (74.40) is third.
Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., is fifth, Montreal’s Alicia Pineault is 11th and Veronik Mallet of Sept-Îles, Que., is 12th.
The men’s and pairs short programs were scheduled for later Friday.
Free skates in all four disciplines are Saturday.