Milton-born Lia Pereira and her partner, Trennt Michaud, who skate for the Milton Skating Club, won pairs gold at Skate Canada International in Kelowna, B.C., on Saturday, Oct. 31. It was their first title at the event and their second gold medal of the season.
Skate Canada International is Canada's stop on the Grand Prix, the International Skating Union's top series of fall competitions, where the world's best skaters face off. It is not the national championships, which Pereira and Michaud already hold: they arrived as the reigning Canadian champions and skated in front of a home crowd.
Their short program score of 77.06 was a personal best, and they added 125.11 points in the free program for a total of 202.17. That put them clearly ahead of Americans Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who took silver, with Switzerland's Oxana Vouillamoz and Tom Bouvart third.
Pereira said: “You just feel so at home and so comfortable, and to be able to put out two strong performances this early in the season and to be backed by such strong Canadian fans, you can’t really ask for more.”
For Michaud, the win answered a childhood daydream. He said he remembered watching the event as a kid and volunteering as a young skater, imagining hearing the national anthem from the top of the podium at a home Grand Prix.
The two teamed up in 2022. Michaud previously skated with Evelyn Walsh, while Pereira competed internationally as a singles skater. They are coached by Alison Purkiss, Nancy Lemaire and Michael Marinaro.
The Milton Skating Club called the win a milestone for the pair in an Instagram post.
See the post on Instagram
