Canadians Pereira, Michaud win pairs final at Figure Skating Grand Prix in Kelowna

Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov, both of Winnipeg, Man., were fifth (163.07) and Miyu Yunoki and Tristan Taylor were seventh (152.41).

“It feels so amazing just with both performances to have all of the Canadian fans on their feet and see all the flags waving in the audience,” Pereira said. “You just feel so at home and so comfortable, and to be able to put out two strong performances this early in the season and to be backed by such strong Canadian fans, you can’t really ask for more.”

Michaud agreed and added: “It’s really exciting. I’ve said it before, I remember watching this as a kid and volunteering as a young skater and imagining what it would be like to be on the podium, or to be on the top of the podium and hear your national anthem at your home Grand Prix.

“We got to experience that today, and I hope we inspire other young skaters or just young athletes in general to keep pushing for their dreams, because this is what that did for us as young skaters.”

Mao Shimada of Japan won the women’s short program on Saturday by outperforming American Isabeau Levito.

Shimada received a score of 82.11 to win the event. Levito finished with 78.50 points, while Niina Petrokina of Estonia was third with 77.24 points.

Canadians Sara-Maude Dupuis was seventh (64.58), Madeline Schizas was ninth (57.95) and Fee Ann Landry was 10th (57.27).

France’s Kevin Aymoz took gold in the men’s event with 258.43 points. Japan’s Rio Nakata (249.25) won silver, while Estonia’s Mihhail Selevko (248.66) won bronze.

Stephen Gogolev of Toronto finished fourth overall in the men’s event after earning 165.99 points in the free program, for a total 232.72 points. It was a comeback performance for the reigning Canadian champion, who finished last in Friday’s short program.

“The support that I’ve gotten over the past 24 hours, after the short program, has been really great,” Gogolev said. “I’ve gotten some good messages from a lot of people that I admire. It’s been really good.”

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Britain topped the rhythm dance program with 81.37 points, ahead of French couple Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud, who had 77.90 points. Americans Caroline Green and Michael Parsons were third with 74.24 points.

Canadians Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain le Gac were fifth with a score of 72.10. Alyssa Robinson and Jacob Portz were ninth (60.22) and Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys finished 10th (59.72).

Sofiia Holichenko and Artem Darenskyi of Ukraine won the pairs final with a 160.73 score after finishing the short program in sixth with 58.34 points.

Competition wraps up Sunday with the women’s free program and ice dance free dance, with Canadian skaters looking to finish their Skate Canada International campaign on a high note.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Canadians Pereira, Michaud win pairs final at Figure Skating Grand Prix in Kelowna

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