By Dylan Nazareth

It was a big week for Skate Ontario senior level athletes in Laval, picking up six medals, including three gold.

Roman Sadovsky and Madeline Schizas returned to the top of the podium in men’s and women’s singles, while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier defended their title in ice dance.

Catch up on all the action from the over 30 athletes representing Ontario across five disciplines.

MEN’S SINGLES

Roman Sadovsky is Canadian champion once again.

Photo credit: Tina Weltz

With a slew of withdrawals in the men’s competition, two solid skates were good for the 25-year-old skater to coast to his second national gold, five years after he earned his first, with a total score of 240.35.

“[I feel] really good,” said Sadovsky. “Another one in the book … right now just going to come down a bit, take some notes on this competition, and in a few days time start working towards the next event.”

Sadovsky already has his eyes set on Worlds, where he’s hoping to be selected as Canada’s sole skater in the men’s singles event. There, a top 10 finish would earn Canada two spots in men’s singles at the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics. 

“I think I need to do more than this honestly,” said Sadovsky. “It’s small things I need to optimize to get another 10-15 points that are still floating around out there.”

Skate Canada is waiting to select its men’s representative for Worlds until after Four Continents in February, where Sadovsky will skate alongside Wesley Chiu and Aleksa Rakic.

Meanwhile, making his senior nationals debut, 17-year-old Grayson Long finished fourth after a solid free skate picked him up from a ninth place finish in the short.

18-year-old John Kim skated a strong short program, earning a score of 71.32 and placing him in third after the first day of competition. After a shaky free skate, he finished in fifth.

Toronto skaters Bruce Waddell, Rio Morita, and Alec Guinzbourg finished seventh, eighth, and 11th, respectively.

WOMEN’S SINGLES

It was another return to the top for an Ontario skater in women’s singles, as Madeline Schizas regained her national title.

Photo credit: Tina Weltz

The Oakville-born skater had won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023, but fell to second last season. Her total score of 203.87 not only got her crown back, but also marks a new Canadian record.

“I feel so good, I’m happy that not only was I able to win, but I was able to put out skates I was proud of,” said the 21-year-old. Now looking towards World Championships, she echoed a similar sentiment to her men’s singles counterpart.

“My goal is to come top 10 at worlds and I’m just going to keep training the way I have been,” she said. “I’m happy I didn’t skate two perfect programs, that means I still have room to grow … I’m looking forward to taking a couple days off, and then getting right back at it.”

Debuting on the podium this year was Katherine Medland Spence, the 24-year-old skater who rose to prominence this season after winning gold at the Warsaw Cup.

Medland Spence earned bronze for her first national medal in her fourth appearance.

“My brain hasn’t wrapped around it yet, it’s crazy,” said Medland Spence. “I’ve always known I have the ability, but I’ve never been able to put it out there and put out two great skates.”

Medland Spence will join Schizas in Seoul, Korea, for Four Continents for her third international event of her career.

Finishing sixth through eighth were Ontario’s Kara Yun, Megan Woodley, and 2024 national bronze medalist Hetty Shi. Yun will represent Canada at the World Junior Championships in Hungary.

PAIRS

Milton’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud have a lot to be proud of after earning silver in pairs on Saturday, good for their third consecutive medal at Canadian nationals.

Photo credit: Tina Weltz

Back-to-back personal best skates for the duo gave defending world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps a run for their money, as they placed ahead of them in the free program, finishing just 3 points behind them overall with a score of 204.96.

It’s a major improvement from the nearly 13 point deficit they faced last year.

With Four Continents and World Championships now on the horizon, Pereira and Michaud are feeling confident as they aim to prove their place amongst the best in the world.

“This was some good scores and some great skates,” said Michaud. “Lots of things to obviously improve on and we are just going to keep rolling with that heading into Four Continents and into Worlds to qualify Olympic spots.”

Rounding out the competition for Ontario from fourth to sixth were Fiona Bombardier and Benjamin Mimar, Jazmine Desrochers and Kieran Thrasher, and Cristina Lyons and Marty Haubrich.

Desrochers and Thrasher will skate at the World Junior Championships.

ICE DANCE

Ontario took home its third gold of the weekend as Scarborough’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier defended their Canadian title with two stunning performances. The win marks the duo’s fourth national gold medal.

Photo credit: Tina Weltz

“We’re really proud of what we accomplished today,” said Poirier, speaking after the free skate. “It was such a joyful competition and I think from beginning to end we really enjoyed every moment and we didn’t get ahead of ourselves.”

With 11 national medals to their name, the pair said it still feels as special as ever.

“We’ve had some times when we have had to miss nationals because of being ill and then covid,” said Gilles. “It is just an honour to be able to step back on top of that podium and keep this momentum going.”

Gilles and Poirier will look to keep it up as they round out the Canadian delegation headed to Worlds and Four Continents.

Meanwhile, Ilderton’s Lily Hensen and Nathan Lickers landed in fifth. Gilles and Poirier’s training partners Nadiia Bashynka and Peter Beaumont finished seventh after a tough fall in the rhythm dance. Kitchener-Waterloo skaters Alisa Korneva and Kieran MacDonald finished ninth at their first nationals skating in senior.

SYNCHRONIZED SKATING

In the event’s third appearance at nationals, Burlington’s NEXXICE earned a third consecutive medal, finishing with bronze in the senior synchronized skating.

After posting a total score of 210.56, team captains Sadie and Olivia said they’re proud of what they were able to accomplish at this competition.

“I think the biggest takeaway is how we can really come together as a team,” they said. “We really tried to hone in on ourselves and make sure that we are all together and operating as a unit … we are hoping to carry that on for the rest of the season.”

As they continue to work on their programs, they’re looking forward to solidifying the connecting they’ve built together.

“We have a really special bond as a team this year,” they said. “We are all very close and connected with each other, so it makes the team really special.”