The pairs competition at the Grand Prix de France showcased a showdown for the top honors between two sets of world champions. Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, reigning world champions from 2023 and the current year, took the lead in the short program on Friday, skating to a rendition of “Paint It Black” on strings. They scored 79.44, surpassing Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, who scored 74.26 and are former world gold medalists from 2024.
Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko secured the third spot with a score of 70.15, followed by two American pairs, Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman at 63.31, and Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy at 61.79.
In the women’s category, the competition began with a surprise as Ami Nakai outperformed three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto in the short program. Nakai, a former world junior bronze medalist, landed the sole triple axel jump of the competition at the beginning of her program, earning a total of 78 points.
Sakamoto trailed with a score of 76.20, while Isabeau Levito of the United States, the 2024 world silver medalist, claimed the third position with 73.37 points before heading into the free skate on Saturday.
The event will continue on Saturday with the ice dance rhythm dance at 7 a.m. ET. The Grand Prix de France marks the initiation of the six regular season Grand Prix events leading up to the final in December. These competitions serve as crucial preparation for elite skaters aiming for success at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February.
To access the complete streaming details for the Grand Prix of France, refer to the CBC Sports broadcast schedule.
