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CBC
25-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Who to watch at the figure skating world championships
The World Figure Skating Championships are always a big deal. And this year's edition, starting Wednesday in Boston, carries more weight than usual. In addition to deciding this season's world champions (and silver and bronze medallists), the next five days of competition will determine how many entries each country receives for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. We'll get into how that works later. But first, let's look at who to watch. Canadians to watch Last year in Montreal, the pairs team of Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps thrilled the adoring crowd by capturing Canada's first figure skating world title since 2018, while ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier earned a silver for their third worlds medal in four years. These two duos remain Canada's top medal contenders this week in Boston, and that will likely be the case for the Olympics too. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps started this season strong, winning both of their Grand Prix assignments in the fall. More good news came in December when the Chicago-born Stellato-Dudek finally became a Canadian citizen, clearing the way for the Montreal resident to compete for Canada at the Olympics (citizenship requirements for other international skating events are less stringent). The Figure Skating Show | Previewing the 2025 world championships: That Figure Skating Show previews Boston 2025 56 minutes ago Duration 29:52 The 2025 World Figure Skating Championships are in Boston where Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin get to compete on home soil. Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier look to win elusive world gold and Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps defend their title. Olympic quota spots are on the line for Canadian single skaters and we hear from Devin Heroux, our man on the ground at Worlds. But health issues have dogged them since then. A Deschamps illness forced them out of the Grand Prix Final in December, and their preparations for last month's Four Continents championships were affected when Stellato-Dudek took a hard fall in practice and badly bruised her backside. A rough short program put the Canadians behind the eight ball before they rebounded with their best free skate of the season to climb to the silver behind 2023 world champs Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan. You could chalk those health setbacks up to bad luck. But age is a concern with this team as Stellato-Dudek turns 42 in June and Deschamps will be 34 by the time the Olympics roll around. While Stellato-Dudek remains in remarkable shape for her (or any) age after becoming the oldest woman ever to win a figure skating world title, Father Time is, as they say, undefeated. Gilles and Poirier are the premier Canadian ice dancers of the post-Virtue and Moir era. They've won four consecutive national titles (excluding their absence in 2023, when Gilles was recovering from surgery for ovarian cancer) and reached the podium at the world championships in 2021 (bronze), 2023 (bronze again) and 2024 (silver). Though they didn't finish better than seventh in their two Olympic appearances, Gilles and Poirier won the prestigious Grand Prix Final two seasons ago. They took gold and silver in their two regular Grand Prix events this season before finishing fifth in the Final after Poirier tripped on the boards during their short program. But the Canadians repeated as Four Continents champions last month, narrowly defeating reigning world champs Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States. WATCH | Madeline Schizas learns to enjoy the process: The Evolution Of Madeline Schizas 4 hours ago Duration 3:17 Three-time Canadian champion Madeline Schizas finds growth and renewal in learning to enjoy the process, as she prepares for her fifth World Championships. Canada has another solid ice dance team in Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, who finished fifth at last year's worlds and just took bronze at the Four Continents for the second time. The other Canadian ice dancers competing this week are Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer, who are making their worlds debut. Two other tandems will join Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps in the pairs event. Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud finished eighth at the 2024 worlds and took bronze at this year's Four Continents for their first-ever medal at an international championship (albeit one closed to Europeans). Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier were 15th at last year's worlds. While Canada qualified the maximum three entries in both the pairs and ice dance, it has just one skater in each of the singles events — and neither of them are expected to contend for a medal. Madeline Schizas placed 18th in the women's competition at last year's worlds, while Roman Sadovsky was 19th in the men's. Internationals to watch Japan's Kaori Sakamoto will try to become the first skater in 65 years to win four consecutive women's world titles. She started the season by winning both of her regular Grand Prix assignments but only managed a bronze at the Final as American Amber Glenn — also a double winner on the tour — took the gold. In the men's event, American Ilya Malinin remains the guy to beat after winning his first world title last year. The now 20-year-old Quad God nailed an astonishing six of them in the free skate in Montreal (including his signature quad axel, which no one else has ever landed in competition) to deny Shoma Uno of a three-repeat and send the Japanese star into retirement. Malinin swept his Grand Prix events this season, including his second straight Final victory. In pairs, the challengers for Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps' title include the aforementioned Miura and Kihara of Japan, who were the world champs in 2023 and silver medallists last year; and Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, who took bronze at the Montreal worlds and are the back-to-back Grand Prix Final champions. In the ice dance, Gilles and Poirier will try to stop Chock and Bates from capturing their third straight world title after upsetting the American married couple at the Four Continents. Chock and Bates also lost to Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson on home ice at the Skate America Grand Prix but went on to win their second straight Final. How Olympic qualification works Each country is allowed up to three entries in each event (women's, men's, pairs and ice dance) at next year's Winter Olympics in Italy. Without getting into all the ins and outs of the arcane Olympic quota system, here's what that means for Canada: * In the pairs and ice dance, where Canada has three teams each in Boston, only the top two Canadian results will count toward Olympic qualification. If those two placings add up to 13 or less (for example, a third-place finish and a 10th), Canada earns three Olympic spots. If the sum is 14 or higher, it gets two. In the unlikely case that the sum is higher than 28, Canada only gets one spot. * In the men's and women's events, which have just one Canadian each this week, Canada needs a top-10 finish to receive two Olympic spots. Otherwise, it will get just one. Also, remember that Canadian skaters cannot directly qualify themselves for the Olympics at these worlds. The national governing body will award its spots to specific athletes following the Canadian championships next January. How to watch You can catch every skate live on and CBC Gem. Here's the full streaming schedule: Wednesday — Women's short program at 12:05 p.m. ET, pairs short at 6:15 p.m. ET. Thursday — Men's short at 11:05 a.m. ET, pairs free at 6:15 p.m. ET. Friday — Ice dance rhythm dance at 11:15 a.m. ET, women's free at 6 p.m. ET. Saturday — Ice dance free at 1:30 p.m. ET, men's free at 6 p.m. ET. Sunday — Exhibition gala at 2 p.m. ET. The CBC TV network will broadcast additional coverage of the worlds on Saturday from 3-6 p.m. ET and Sunday from 2-4 p.m. in your local time zone.
CBC
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
U.S. and Canadian figure skaters hope sports can unify during world championships
Social Sharing American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates always have been treated with such kindness and support from the people in their longtime training base in Montreal that Canada has become a second home for them. Many of their closest friends are Canadian. They spend as much time there as they do in the United States. None of that has changed, necessarily, despite the divisive rhetoric from government officials from both countries and tariff wars simmering between the longtime allies. Yet the two figure skaters have started to notice some other differences lately. "We were at a cafe last weekend," Chock said, "and Evan ordered a coffee, an Americano, and the barista delivered it and said, 'Here's your Canadian.' And we were like, 'Oh. It's an Americano, and they don't want to call it an Americano, for obvious reasons.' "That was our first experience with that being reflected in Canada." Now, the reigning world champions are curious what will transpire this week in Boston, where they'll be trying to win their third straight title against a field that includes their dear friends and longtime rivals, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada. Will the American fans at TD Bank Garden support everyone universally, as is the custom in figure skating, when competition begins Wednesday? Or will there be more robust cheering than usual for Chock and Bates, and perhaps even some boos for their neighbours from the north, in what should be a preview of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy? "America has always had a very global reach when it comes to politics and culture," Chock said, reflecting on that café encounter, "but we never really saw that truly reflected in her until that moment, when it was like, 'Oh, OK. I understand now."' World pairs champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are just as uncertain what kind of reception they will get in Boston. Stellato-Dudek was born in the Chicago suburbs, but about three months ago she passed the exam to become a Canadian citizen, which was required for her to compete for that country at the Winter Olympics. That plan was set in motion long before Donald Trump returned to the White House, when the notion of Canada becoming a 51st state seemed downright absurd and American liquor was still being stocked on the shelves of Canadian shops. WATCH l Stellato-Dudek, Deschamps capture 2024 world title: Canada's Stellato-Dudek, Deschamps capture historic pairs figure skating world title 1 year ago Duration 9:27 Stellato-Dudek twice finished third at the U.S. championships with Nathan Bartholomay before splitting in 2019, and that's when she teamed up with Deschamps, who had separated from his American partner Sydney Kolodziej the previous year. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps considered skating for the U.S., but they were concerned he would not be granted American citizenship in time to compete at the Milano-Cortina Games; the Olympic Charter requires athletes to hold the nationality of the country represented by their National Olympic Committee in order to compete at the Summer or Winter Games. Being Canadian 'the honour of my life' "I did represent America for many years. I'm very proud to represent Canada. I'm now a Canadian citizen, which is the honour of my life," Stellato-Dudek said. "And I have family that still lives in America that will be at an American worlds to come watch me. They are there to cheer me on, and I'm excited to skate for them. "I think sports is one of the few things that bring people together from all different nationalities and all over the world," Stellato-Dudek added, "and I hope this world championships does this for everybody as well." It promises to be an interesting test case given that the U.S. will be hosting — along with Canada and Mexico — the World Cup next year, and two years later, Los Angeles will be welcoming the world for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Reigning Four Continents Canadian champs Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps take silver in Seoul 1 month ago Duration 7:51 Even newly elected International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry, a former Zimbabwe swimmer who graduated from Auburn University, alluded to the challenges that could come with dealing with the Trump administration, whether that be due to trade wars, the war in Ukraine, diversity issues or a host of other potentially discordant viewpoints. "I have been dealing with, let's say difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old," Coventry said after winning the IOC election in Costa Navarino, Greece. "What I have learned is that communication will be key." In the meantime, figure skaters headed to Boston this week are hoping to communicate that sports can be a unifying force. "I mean, we've kind of gone about [that] sport isn't political. We've been raised that way," said Gilles, who was born in Rockford, Ill., but whose mother and grandmother are Canadian and who became a Canadian citizen herself 12 years ago. "We're lucky to be able to skate in Canada and the U.S. and been welcomed on both soils," she said. "We're kind of focused on our job, and let sport be sport, and not let it be political. We can't focus on what we can't control. We can control our skating and we can control that we're proud of our country and proud to represent our country in the U.S."
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bridging the political divide: US and Canadian skaters hope sports can unify during worlds in Boston
BOSTON (AP) — American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates always have been treated with such kindness and support from the people in their longtime training base in Montreal that Canada has become a second home for them. Many of their closest friends are Canadian. They spend as much time there as they do in the United States. None of that has changed, necessarily, despite the divisive rhetoric from government officials from both countries and tariff wars simmering between the longtime allies. Yet the two figure skaters have started to notice some other differences lately. 'We were at a cafe last weekend,' Chock said, 'and Evan ordered a coffee — an Americano — and the barista delivered it and said, 'Here's your Canadien.' And we were like, 'Oh. It's an Americano, and they don't want to call it an Americano, for obvious reasons.' 'That was our first experience with that being reflected in Canada.' Now, the reigning world champions are curious what will transpire this week in Boston, where they'll be trying to win their third straight title against a field that includes their dear friends and longtime rivals, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada. Will the American fans at TD Bank Garden support everyone universally, as is the custom in figure skating, when competition begins Wednesday? Or will there be more robust cheering than usual for Chock and Bates, and perhaps even some boos for their neighbors from the north, in what should be a preview of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy? 'America has always had a very global reach when it comes to politics and culture," Chock said, reflecting on that cafe encounter, "but we never really saw that truly reflected in her until that moment, when it was like, 'Oh, OK. I understand now.'' World pairs champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are just as uncertain what kind of reception they will get in Boston. Stellato-Dudek was born in the Chicago suburbs, but about three months ago she passed the exam to become a Canadian citizen, which was required for her to compete for that country at the Winter Olympics. That plan was set in motion long before Donald Trump returned to the White House, when the notion of Canada becoming a 51st state seemed downright absurd and American liquor was still being stocked on the shelves of Canadian shops. Stellato-Dudek twice finished third at the U.S. championships with Nathan Bartholomay before splitting in 2019, and that's when she teamed up with Deschamps, who had separated from his American partner Sydney Kolodziej the previous year. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps considered skating for the U.S., but they were concerned he would not be granted American citizenship in time to compete at the Milano-Cortina Games; the Olympic Charter requires athletes to hold the nationality of the country represented by their National Olympic Committee in order to compete at the Summer or Winter Games. 'I did represent America for many years. I'm very proud to represent Canada. I'm now a Canadian citizen, which is the honor of my life,' Stellato-Dudek said. "And I have family that still lives in America that will be at an American worlds to come watch me. They are there to cheer me on, and I'm excited to skate for them. 'I think sports is one of the few things that bring people together from all different nationalities and all over the world,' Stellato-Dudek added, 'and I hope this world championships does this for everybody as well.' It promises to be an interesting test case given that the U.S. will be hosting — along with Canada and Mexico — the World Cup next year, and two years later, Los Angeles will be welcoming the world for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Even newly elected International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry, a former Zimbabwe swimmer who graduated from Auburn University, alluded to the challenges that could come with dealing with the Trump administration, whether that be due to trade wars, the war in Ukraine, diversity issues or a host of other potentially discordant viewpoints. 'I have been dealing with, let's say difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old," Coventry said after winning the IOC election in Costa Navarino, Greece. 'What I have learned is that communication will be key.' In the meantime, figure skaters headed to Boston this week are hoping to communicate that sports can be a unifying force. 'I mean, we've kind of gone about (that) sport isn't political. We've been raised that way,' said Gilles, who was born in Rockford, Illinois, but whose mother and grandmother are Canadian and who became a Canadian citizen herself 12 years ago. 'We're lucky to be able to skate in Canada and the U.S. and been welcomed on both soils,' she said. 'We're kind of focused on our job, and let sport be sport, and not let it be political. We can't focus on what we can't control. We can control our skating and we can control that we're proud of our country and proud to represent our country in the U.S.' ___ AP sports: Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
Associated Press
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Bridging the political divide: US and Canadian skaters hope sports can unify during worlds in Boston
BOSTON (AP) — American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates always have been treated with such kindness and support from the people in their longtime training base in Montreal that Canada has become a second home for them. Many of their closest friends are Canadian. They spend as much time there as they do in the United States. None of that has changed, necessarily, despite the divisive rhetoric from government officials from both countries and tariff wars simmering between the longtime allies. Yet the two figure skaters have started to notice some other differences lately. 'We were at a cafe last weekend,' Chock said, 'and Evan ordered a coffee — an Americano — and the barista delivered it and said, 'Here's your Canadien.' And we were like, 'Oh. It's an Americano, and they don't want to call it an Americano, for obvious reasons.' 'That was our first experience with that being reflected in Canada.' Now, the reigning world champions are curious what will transpire this week in Boston, where they'll be trying to win their third straight title against a field that includes their dear friends and longtime rivals, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada. Will the American fans at TD Bank Garden support everyone universally, as is the custom in figure skating, when competition begins Wednesday? Or will there be more robust cheering than usual for Chock and Bates, and perhaps even some boos for their neighbors from the north, in what should be a preview of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy? 'America has always had a very global reach when it comes to politics and culture,' Chock said, reflecting on that cafe encounter, 'but we never really saw that truly reflected in her until that moment, when it was like, 'Oh, OK. I understand now.'' World pairs champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are just as uncertain what kind of reception they will get in Boston. Stellato-Dudek was born in the Chicago suburbs, but about three months ago she passed the exam to become a Canadian citizen, which was required for her to compete for that country at the Winter Olympics. That plan was set in motion long before Donald Trump returned to the White House, when the notion of Canada becoming a 51st state seemed downright absurd and American liquor was still being stocked on the shelves of Canadian shops. Stellato-Dudek twice finished third at the U.S. championships with Nathan Bartholomay before splitting in 2019, and that's when she teamed up with Deschamps, who had separated from his American partner Sydney Kolodziej the previous year. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps considered skating for the U.S., but they were concerned he would not be granted American citizenship in time to compete at the Milano-Cortina Games; the Olympic Charter requires athletes to hold the nationality of the country represented by their National Olympic Committee in order to compete at the Summer or Winter Games. 'I did represent America for many years. I'm very proud to represent Canada. I'm now a Canadian citizen, which is the honor of my life,' Stellato-Dudek said. 'And I have family that still lives in America that will be at an American worlds to come watch me. They are there to cheer me on, and I'm excited to skate for them. 'I think sports is one of the few things that bring people together from all different nationalities and all over the world,' Stellato-Dudek added, 'and I hope this world championships does this for everybody as well.' It promises to be an interesting test case given that the U.S. will be hosting — along with Canada and Mexico — the World Cup next year, and two years later, Los Angeles will be welcoming the world for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Even newly elected International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry, a former Zimbabwe swimmer who graduated from Auburn University, alluded to the challenges that could come with dealing with the Trump administration, whether that be due to trade wars, the war in Ukraine, diversity issues or a host of other potentially discordant viewpoints. 'I have been dealing with, let's say difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old,' Coventry said after winning the IOC election in Costa Navarino, Greece. 'What I have learned is that communication will be key.' In the meantime, figure skaters headed to Boston this week are hoping to communicate that sports can be a unifying force. 'I mean, we've kind of gone about (that) sport isn't political. We've been raised that way,' said Gilles, who was born in Rockford, Illinois, but whose mother and grandmother are Canadian and who became a Canadian citizen herself 12 years ago. 'We're lucky to be able to skate in Canada and the U.S. and been welcomed on both soils,' she said. 'We're kind of focused on our job, and let sport be sport, and not let it be political. We can't focus on what we can't control. We can control our skating and we can control that we're proud of our country and proud to represent our country in the U.S.' ___
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bridging the political divide: US and Canadian skaters hope sports can unify during worlds in Boston
BOSTON (AP) — American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates always have been treated with such kindness and support from the people in their longtime training base in Montreal that Canada has become a second home for them. Many of their closest friends are Canadian. They spend as much time there as they do in the United States. None of that has changed, necessarily, despite the divisive rhetoric from government officials from both countries and tariff wars simmering between the longtime allies. Yet the two figure skaters have started to notice some other differences lately. 'We were at a cafe last weekend,' Chock said, 'and Evan ordered a coffee — an Americano — and the barista delivered it and said, 'Here's your Canadien.' And we were like, 'Oh. It's an Americano, and they don't want to call it an Americano, for obvious reasons.' 'That was our first experience with that being reflected in Canada.' Now, the reigning world champions are curious what will transpire this week in Boston, where they'll be trying to win their third straight title against a field that includes their dear friends and longtime rivals, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada. Will the American fans at TD Bank Garden support everyone universally, as is the custom in figure skating, when competition begins Wednesday? Or will there be more robust cheering than usual for Chock and Bates, and perhaps even some boos for their neighbors from the north, in what should be a preview of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy? 'America has always had a very global reach when it comes to politics and culture," Chock said, reflecting on that cafe encounter, "but we never really saw that truly reflected in her until that moment, when it was like, 'Oh, OK. I understand now.'' World pairs champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are just as uncertain what kind of reception they will get in Boston. Stellato-Dudek was born in the Chicago suburbs, but about three months ago she passed the exam to become a Canadian citizen, which was required for her to compete for that country at the Winter Olympics. That plan was set in motion long before Donald Trump returned to the White House, when the notion of Canada becoming a 51st state seemed downright absurd and American liquor was still being stocked on the shelves of Canadian shops. Stellato-Dudek twice finished third at the U.S. championships with Nathan Bartholomay before splitting in 2019, and that's when she teamed up with Deschamps, who had separated from his American partner Sydney Kolodziej the previous year. Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps considered skating for the U.S., but they were concerned he would not be granted American citizenship in time to compete at the Milano-Cortina Games; the Olympic Charter requires athletes to hold the nationality of the country represented by their National Olympic Committee in order to compete at the Summer or Winter Games. 'I did represent America for many years. I'm very proud to represent Canada. I'm now a Canadian citizen, which is the honor of my life,' Stellato-Dudek said. "And I have family that still lives in America that will be at an American worlds to come watch me. They are there to cheer me on, and I'm excited to skate for them. 'I think sports is one of the few things that bring people together from all different nationalities and all over the world,' Stellato-Dudek added, 'and I hope this world championships does this for everybody as well.' It promises to be an interesting test case given that the U.S. will be hosting — along with Canada and Mexico — the World Cup next year, and two years later, Los Angeles will be welcoming the world for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Even newly elected International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry, a former Zimbabwe swimmer who graduated from Auburn University, alluded to the challenges that could come with dealing with the Trump administration, whether that be due to trade wars, the war in Ukraine, diversity issues or a host of other potentially discordant viewpoints. 'I have been dealing with, let's say difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old," Coventry said after winning the IOC election in Costa Navarino, Greece. 'What I have learned is that communication will be key.' In the meantime, figure skaters headed to Boston this week are hoping to communicate that sports can be a unifying force. 'I mean, we've kind of gone about (that) sport isn't political. We've been raised that way,' said Gilles, who was born in Rockford, Illinois, but whose mother and grandmother are Canadian and who became a Canadian citizen herself 12 years ago. 'We're lucky to be able to skate in Canada and the U.S. and been welcomed on both soils,' she said. 'We're kind of focused on our job, and let sport be sport, and not let it be political. We can't focus on what we can't control. We can control our skating and we can control that we're proud of our country and proud to represent our country in the U.S.' ___ AP sports:
