Canadian figure skaters Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier clinched the bronze medal in the pairs competition at Skate America on Saturday. Scoring a total of 182.87 points, with 121.58 points in the free skating segment, they secured the third spot in the event held in Lake Placid, New York. This marks their second bronze medal at Skate America, having previously finished in third place in the 2022 edition with a score of 156.94.
The gold medal went to Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who scored 215.99 points, while Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava from Georgia claimed the silver medal with a score of 195.73. Miura and Kihara’s strong performance in the free skating segment on Saturday, where they scored 141.57 points, secured their position at the top of the podium, nearly 20 points ahead of the Canadian pair.
In the men’s event, France’s Kevin Aymoz achieved his first Grand Prix victory after a challenging journey in figure skating. Aymoz, a six-time French champion, had previously earned silver medals at Grand Prix events but managed to clinch the gold at Skate America, surpassing Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov and Japan’s Kazuki Tomono.
Kevin Aymoz finished with 253.53 points, securing the gold medal, followed by Shaidorov with 251.09 points taking the silver, and Tomono with 245.57 points settling for bronze. Despite the good score, Aymoz acknowledged that it falls short of what will be needed for Olympic success in Milan, Italy, in February.
In the ice dance competition, Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the United States wowed the crowd with a Lenny Kravitz-inspired rhythm dance, earning 84.77 points. This gave them a significant lead over the Canadian duo of Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha heading into the free dance event on Sunday. Chock and Bates are aiming for their 22nd Grand Prix medal and are in a strong position to secure their fifth Skate America title.
Rinka Watanabe of Japan led the women’s event after the short program, scoring 74.35 points, narrowly edging out reigning world champion Alysa Liu of the United States. The competition remains tight, with the bronze medal race between Lara Naki Gutmann, Anastasiia Gubanova, and Kim Chae-yeon separated by just over 2 1/2 points. The women’s competition will conclude on the final day of Skate America.