SASKATOON — Two Canadian pairs placed in the top three in the short program Friday at Skate Canada International 2025 at the SaskTel Centre.
Dina Stellato-Dudek of Chicago and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, who won silver at the inaugural ISU Grand Prix in France, finished second in the short program with a score of 73.03.
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The Canadian duo edged out Germany's Minerva Fabienne Haese and Nikita Volodin, the reigning world silver medalists, who earned 77.53 points.
“It’s always a pleasure to skate at home in front of such an enthusiastic crowd,” Deschamps said.
“Some parts of our program were better than the French Grand Prix, and others were not. We lost a few points on one particular element, but we haven't seen our program yet. It's hard to evaluate everything now,” Stellato-Dudek said.
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Following Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps in the standings were Leah Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., who finished third with a new personal best of 70.66.
“This is one of the best competitions we've done in short, so we're really excited about it. We love the program and we're really excited to show off how we trained it at home,” Pereira said.
Kelly Ann Lauren of Saint-Jerome, Quebec, and Lucas Ethier of Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby, Quebec, finished sixth in the pairs short program with a score of 59.93.
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In the women's competition, Sarah-Maude Dupuis of Montreal was the top Canadian, placing eighth in the short program with a score of 60.41.
“I feel really great. It was the first time I performed my new routine in front of a big audience and the crowd was incredible. It's the best feeling you can have as an athlete. I'm happy with my result and it's very close to a personal best,” Dupuis said.
Ulyana Shiryaeva of Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Madeline Shizas of Oakville, Ontario, also competed Friday, finishing 11th (53.28) and 12th (48.72), respectively.
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Japan's Monet Chiba took first place in the short program with a score of 72.29 points, ahead of American Isabeau Levito (71.80) in second place and Italy's Lara Naki Gutmann (68.11) in third.
Competition continues Saturday afternoon at the SaskTel Center with rhythm dance and the men's short program, followed by the pairs and women's free programs in the evening.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2025.
Canadian Press
