Canadian ice dancers settle for bronze
SHANGHAI Canadian ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje were unable to complete a perfect season as they settled for bronze at the world figure skating championship Friday.
The duo from Waterloo, Ont., were the favourites going into Shanghai having won all five international events they entered this season, including the Grand Prix Final and Four Continents Championships.
“Andrew and I felt great in our free dance,” said Weaver, who shook her head in disapproval when their scores came up on the screen. “We got off the ice thinking that we gave everything that we could and that’s the ultimate goal and that’s what we trained for. Unfortunately, the marks didn’t add up in our favour. But we are not going to mark off the season as a loss. We had an incredible year.”
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France won gold, vaulting from fourth place with an expressive, passion-filled free From left, silver medallists Madison Chock and Evan Bates, gold medallists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, and bronze medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje.
dance performance. Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates took the silver medal.
The Canadians finished with 179.42 points — including a onepoint deduction for an extended lift — while Papadakis and Cizeron recorded 184.28. Chock and Bates scored 181.34.
“We went out there and we gave it all that we had,” said Poje. “We are a little disappointed with our score ... but we are very pleased
with ourselves and with the way we skated.”
The young French duo — Papadakis is 19 and Cizeron 20 — have made remarkable progress since moving up to the senior level last year, winning the European Championships, two Grand Prix events and now the world title. Last year, they were only 13th at the world championships. Since then, Papadakis and Cizeron have shifted their training base across the ocean
WORLD, OLYMPIC CHAMP LEADING
Defending world and Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan overcame a fall on his opening quad toe loop to take the lead after the men’s short program at the World Figure Skating Championships. Hanyu only had a few weeks to prepare for his title defence after undergoing bladder surgery in December and then spraining his ankle, keeping him off the ice for two months. He cleanly landed the rest of his triple jumps, for a lead of nearly three points over Javier Fernandez of Spain. Nam Nguyen of Toronto was ninth, while Jeremy Ten of Vancouver was 15th.
to Montreal, where their coaching team includes former Canadian champions Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, who twice won silver medals at worlds. Their longtime coach, Romain Haguenauer, initiated the move and is also in Montreal.
“It is like a dream,” Cizeron said. “We cried when the scores came up and we saw our placement.”