Pereira and Michaud claim Grand Prix gold in pairs
The 2026 Canadian figure skating champions in pairs captured the Skate Canada International title in front of home fans in Kelowna on Saturday.
Lia Pereira and Trent Michaud finished first in both the short program and the free skate, to finish with a total score of 202.17 points and claim a momentous gold at the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix. It’s their first Grand Prix title since 2023, and the pair’s first career Skate Canada International medal.
Pereira and Michaud finished comfortably ahead of Americans Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov as they scored 191.90 points to finish with silver. Swiss skaters Oxana Vouillamoz and Tom Bouvart finished third.
The pair put up season-best scores in both the short program and the free skate.
Canadians Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov were in medal contention after finishing third in the short program with 64.94 points, but only had the sixth highest score in the free skate to finish fifth overall. The pair was making their ISU Grand Prix debut in Kelowna.
Elsewhere at the Skate International, Stephen Gogolev rebounded from the 12th-highest score in the men’s short program by posting a score of 165.99 in the free skate, shooting him up to fourth place overall. Gogolev won men’s bronze at the Finlandia Trophy at the ISU Grand Prix in 2025.
