By Canadian Press

Grand Prix champions Gilles, Poirier withdraw from Canadian championships

Jan 4, 2023 | 6:52 AM

OSHAWA, Ont. — Ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, gold medallists at last month’s ISU Grand Prix Final, will miss next week’s Canadian figure skating championships after Gilles underwent an appendectomy.

Gilles and Poirier were having a career-best season, winning both of their Grand Prix assignments, and the Final in Turin, Italy.

Gilles, 30, and the 31-year-old Poirier won bronze at the 2021 world championships. They had considered retirement after their seventh-place finish at last year’s Beijing Olympics, but after an extended off-season break, decided to return.

Senior competition begins Jan. 12 at Tributes Community Centre. 

Skate Canada also announced Gabrielle Daleman, the 2017 world bronze medallist, plus ice dancers Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer and pair team Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland will miss the event due to injuries.

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Keegan Messing will be looking for men’s singles gold in what’s expected to be his final Canadian national appearance. He plans to retire after this season. Beijing Olympian Madeline Schizas is a headliner in women’s singles. 

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, who won the French Grand Prix, will be looking to earn their first national title, while NHK Trophy winners Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen will be vying for the top spot in ice dance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2022. 

The Canadian Press