Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud are currently positioned on the podium at the world figure skating championships. The Canadian duo claimed third place in the short program, achieving a personal best score of 75.52 in their performance set to “Say You Love Me” by Jessie Ware.
Pereira, hailing from Milton, Ont., and Michaud, from Trenton, Ont., secured third place in the short program during their Olympic debut at the recent Milan Cortina Winter Games. However, they slipped to eighth place due to errors in the free skate segment.
Expressing their satisfaction with their performance, 22-year-old Pereira shared with reporters at O2 Arena that their recent success affirms their hard work and preparation. She emphasized the importance of consistent training and solid preparation.
At the top of the standings, Olympic bronze medallists Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin from Germany lead with 79.78 points, narrowly edging out Milan silver medallists Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava from Georgia by just 0.33 points.
Pereira and Michaud, who clinched their first national title in January, hold a 5.6-point lead over the fourth-place finishers Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary going into the free program on Thursday.
Looking ahead, Michaud, 29, emphasized their focus on letting their skating speak for itself. Reflecting on their past successes, he highlighted the importance of concentrating on their performance to achieve their desired results.
The competition at the post-Olympic world championships has seen some notable absences, including gold medallists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan and Canada’s former world champion pair of Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps.
In the women’s singles event, Canada’s Madeline Schizas ranked 15th in the short program. Schizas’ routine, themed around “The Lion King,” garnered her 61.35 points, securing her a spot in the upcoming free program.
Schizas, who had a disappointing 25th-place finish in the short program at the Olympics, expressed satisfaction with her performance at the world championships. She acknowledged the resilience required to bounce back from previous setbacks.
Current world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan leads the women’s field with 79.31 points, while Olympic champion Alysa Liu of the U.S. withdrew from the competition.
Schizas, participating in her sixth world championships, aims to secure a top-10 finish to secure a second women’s entry for Canada at next year’s worlds. The competition will continue with the men’s short program and the pairs free program on Thursday.