Zachary Lagha

Biography

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha made their Olympic debuts at Beijing 2022 and have since become an ice dance team to watch on the world stage, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Lajoie and Lagha were crowned world junior ice dance champions in 2019. They were just the second Canadian duo, after Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in 2006, to win a world junior title in ice dance. Two years later in 2021, they competed at their first senior ISU World Championships. 

Lajoie and Lagha earned their first ISU Grand Prix medals in the fall of 2022, winning a pair of bronzes, including one at Skate Canada International. Later that season, they earned their first senior ISU Championship medal, taking bronze at the 2023 Four Continents Championships. They missed out on competing at the 2023 World Championships, however, because Canada had only qualified spots for two ice dance teams.

Lajoie and Lagha started the following season with some very strong results, winning two silver medals during the ISU Grand Prix series to qualify them for their first ISU Grand Prix Final. But they were unable to compete at the national championships or Four Continents Championships in early 2024 after Lajoie suffered a concussion in training. She received clearance to compete again just a week before the 2024 World Championships. On home ice in Montreal, they surprised many with their fifth-place performance in the rhythm dance, putting them into the final flight for the free skate, in which they also placed fifth.

Lajoie and Lagha qualified for the ISU Grand Prix Final again in the fall of 2024 after winning two more silver medals during the series. They finished fourth at the Final. In early 2025, they won silver at the national championships for the third time in their career and followed up with a podium performance at the Four Continents Championships, taking bronze. They ended their season with a seventh-place finish at the worlds.

Lajoie and Lagha made their international debuts in a Junior Grand Prix event in October 2015. A few months later, they captured the silver medal in the junior ice dance event at the 2016 Canadian Championships. They represented Canada at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer where they finished fourth in the ice dance event but won a bronze medal in the mixed team event. They ended the season by competing at their first of four straight world junior championships. 

Over the course of their junior careers, Lajoie and Lagha won three junior national titles (2017, 2018, 2019) and qualified for back-to-back Junior Grand Prix Finals in 2017-18 and 2018-19. They started competing as seniors in 2019-20, which included their debut on the ISU Grand Prix circuit and a silver medal at the national championships. They followed up with a fifth-place finish at their first Four Continents Championships. They were named to the Canadian team for the 2020 World Championships before they were cancelled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the fall of 2021, they posted their first top five finish in a Grand Prix event at the NHK Trophy in Japan. 

A Little More About Zachary

Getting into the Sport: Started figure skating at age 8 and began competing in ice dance at 12… Was also a singles skater until age 15… Initially didn’t want to try ice dance when a coach suggested he be matched with Lajoie; his mother convinced him it would be just for a club show and he just never stopped… Has wanted to represent Canada since attending the 2011-12 Grand Prix Final in Quebec City as a fan… Inspired by Scott Moir, who he calls “the most charismatic male ice dancer of our time”… Outside Interests: Grew up in a family that loves arts and culture… Has been playing piano in competitions and concerts since he was 5… At age 11 won a competition that earned him the honour of playing piano at Carnegie Hall in New York City… As a young teenager, dreamed of being a professional ballet dancer… Loves the technical aspect of figure skating and is certain he will be a coach one day… Enjoys playing chess, reading, watching ballroom dance competitions from past years…