U.S. figure skating star Ilia Malinin dominated the sector and captured men’s gold on the Skate Canada International in Halifax on Sunday.
The reigning world champion received a standing ovation for his vampire-themed free program — which included a backflip — to say a Grand Prix title on consecutive weekends.
Malinin also won Skate America in Allen, Texas, last Sunday.
Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps repeated as pairs champions Saturday, while three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won gold in the ladies’s title.
The 19-year-old Malinin scored 301.82 total points.
Japan’s Shun Sato (261.16) won silver while South Korea’s Junhwan Cha (260.31) took bronze.
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Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., scored 222.49 as the highest Canadian, ending seventh within the 12-skater field.
Toronto’s Stephen Gogolev (216.84) fell to ninth after placing fifth within the short program.
Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., withdrew for medical reasons after ending last within the short program Saturday.
In a while Sunday, ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier compete within the free dance, the ultimate event at Skate Canada. Gilles and Poirier ranked first after the free skate, ahead of fellow Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha.
Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps repeated as pairs champions Saturday, while three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won gold in the ladies’s title.
The Grand Prix, the highest series in figure skating, consists of six events and a final.
Next up is the Grand Prix de France from Nov. 1-3.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.
