Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps open ISU Grand Prix Series with silver in Angers
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps brought flair and resilience to the ice in Angers, kicking off the 2025-26 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series with a silver-medal performance on Saturday.
With their sights firmly set on Milano Corina 2025, the pair led the Canadian delegation at the Grand Prix de France. Finishing with a total score of 197.66 points, they trailed only Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who captured gold with 219.15 points. Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko took bronze with 192.76 points.
Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps were well-positioned after Friday’s short program, scoring 74.26 points to hold second place behind Miura and Kihara’s leading 79.44.
Bringing undeniable intensity to the ice, the Canadians delivered a near-flawless short program that lit up the arena. Skating to Carmina Burana in bold, flame-inspired costumes, Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps thrilled the crowd with an assisted backflip.
“It’s fire!” Deschamps said of what makes the new short program a perfect fit for them. “The power. It’s fierce!”
The pair was strong on their jumps. Their backward inside death spiral, another element they have been working hard to perfect in the off-season, scored top points.
“It was of course nerve-wracking,” Stellato-Dudek said of starting off the Grand Prix season. “But it felt very good to get back out there and to put out a solid performance.”
In Sunday’s free skate, the Canadians recovered after an early mistake on their opening twist lift, an uncharacteristic error that affected the flow of their program. Despite the shaky start, they pushed through the rest of the routine to earn 123.40 points, enough to hold onto second place and secure the silver medal.
READ: From champions back to challengers: Stellato-Dudek & Deschamps set to chase Olympic medal dreams
The pair began the season on a high note, having claimed gold at the John Nicks Pairs Challenge in September.
In ice dance, Canadians Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac placed sixth in the rhythm dance earlier on Saturday, earning 73.75 points. Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson lead the segment with a score of 84.38 heading into the second day of competition.
The Grand Prix de France is the first of six regular-season Grand Prix events culminating in a final in December. The series is a key competitive test for top skaters eyeing medals at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February.
