Canadian figure skaters Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier secured a bronze medal in the pairs event at Skate America over the weekend. They accumulated a total score of 182.87 points, with 121.58 points earned during the free skating segment, landing them in third place at the competition held in Lake Placid, New York.
This marks Laurin and Éthier’s second bronze medal at Skate America, following their third-place finish in the 2022 event where they scored 156.94 points.
In the same event, Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara clinched the gold medal with a total score of 215.99 points, while Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava from Georgia secured the silver medal with a score of 195.73 points.
Miura and Kihara dominated the free skating segment on Saturday, scoring 141.57 points and claiming the top position on the podium. This score was almost 20 points higher than Laurin and Éthier’s, who finished second in the segment.
Despite leading after the short program on Friday, Metelkina and Berulava had to settle for fourth place in the free skating segment.
In other results, France’s Kevin Aymoz celebrated his first Grand Prix victory in the men’s event after a challenging journey. Aymoz, a six-time French champion, had previously secured silver medals in Grand Prix events four times. However, with a strong free skate performance in Lake Placid, he managed to outperform Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov and Japan’s Kazuki Tomono to claim the gold medal with a total of 253.53 points.
The ice dance competition saw Olympic favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the U.S. leading with 84.77 points after their rhythm dance performance, while the Canadian duo of Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha followed closely in second place with 77.42 points.
Chock and Bates are aiming for their 22nd Grand Prix medal and are eyeing Olympic gold in February. They showcased a stellar performance, setting themselves up well to potentially secure their fifth Skate America title.
The women’s event commenced with Japan’s Rinka Watanabe leading after the short program, scoring 74.35 points. The competition remains tight, with reigning world champion Alysa Liu from the U.S. closely behind with 73.73 points.
The battle for the women’s bronze medal is fierce, with Lara Naki Gutmann, Anastasiia Gubanova, and Kim Chae-yeon all in contention. The final day of Skate America will determine the winners across all categories.