The 2024 Canadian figure skating championship will feel like a return to normal for ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
The two-time world championship bronze medallists didnB次元官网网址檛 compete in last yearB次元官网网址檚 nationals because Gilles underwent surgery for ovarian cancer.
B次元官网网址淢issing it last year was, I think, pretty difficult for us,B次元官网网址� Gilles said Thursday.
The 2022 Canadian championship was held without spectators in Ottawa and the 2021 event in Vancouver was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So CalgaryB次元官网网址檚 competition Jan. 8-14 at WinSport Arena feels like a homecoming of sorts for Gilles and Poirier.
B次元官网网址淭his will be our first, what IB次元官网网址檒l call, normal nationals in four years with missing last year, and then Olympic qualifiers kind of being closed and the year prior to them being cancelled,B次元官网网址� Poirier said.
B次元官网网址淚t really is such a special event every year. You spend the majority of your career coming up the ranks with nationals being the pinnacle of what you do every year. Even now that you know weB次元官网网址檒l have more left to the season afterwards, it still holds that magic somehow.B次元官网网址�
Gilles took medical leave midway through the 2022-23 season for what she said then was an appendectomy. She and Poirier withdrew from both the Four Continents and the Canadian championships.
Gilles revealed in May after the duoB次元官网网址檚 bronze medal at the world championship that her left ovary had been removed along with her appendix.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 feeling so much better than last year,B次元官网网址� the 31-year-old said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a journey to finally feel like IB次元官网网址檓 back where IB次元官网网址檓 supposed to be.
B次元官网网址淓verything has kind of returned to quote-unquote normal. IB次元官网网址檓 like any other patient after any cancer scare. I just have to go back and do my normal tests every few months. I just had my appointment last week. IB次元官网网址檓 healthy, IB次元官网网址檓 good. Until someone tells me otherwise, IB次元官网网址檓 going to do what I love to do.B次元官网网址�
TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Gilles and Poirier of Unionville, Ont., started this season strong by winning OctoberB次元官网网址檚 Skate Canada in Vancouver and NovemberB次元官网网址檚 Cup of China in Chongqing before a bronze medal at DecemberB次元官网网址檚 Grand Prix final in Beijing.
B次元官网网址淚n terms of results, weB次元官网网址檙e right where we want to be,B次元官网网址� Poirier said. B次元官网网址淲ith the last two seasons, weB次元官网网址檝e had a little bit of a later start to choreography and a little bit of a later start to the season, but we felt really prepared for the Grand Prix. Competing also showed us the ways that we wanted to continue to let the programs evolve and grow over the course of the season as we head closer to worlds.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had a lot more time now to make some adjustments, and to really zone in on places where the programs can develop more in terms of the artistry and the technical skills. WeB次元官网网址檝e just been so excited to be able to train consistently and normally over the past few weeks, unlike last year.B次元官网网址�
Poirier, 32, and Gilles claimed world championship bronze in 2021 in Stockholm and another last year in Saitama, Japan. They finished seventh in the 2022 Beijing Olympics and fifth at that yearB次元官网网址檚 world championship.
This yearB次元官网网址檚 nationals offers the duo another chance to hone their programs in front of a Canadian audience ahead of the Four Continents from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4 in Shanghai and the world championship March 18-24 in Montreal.
B次元官网网址淲e always just liked Canadians as a stepping stone for that championship half of the season,B次元官网网址� Gilles said. B次元官网网址淲e can see if weB次元官网网址檙e going in the right direction and we still have time to make adjustments going into Four Continents and worlds after this.B次元官网网址�
Over 300 skaters are expected to compete across junior and senior levels in menB次元官网网址檚 and womenB次元官网网址檚 singles, pairs, ice dance and synchronized skating at the national championship in Calgary.
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