At the Grand Prix de France pairs event, a showdown for the top spot unfolded between two pairs of world champions. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara from Japan, reigning world champions in 2023 and current titleholders, took the lead in the short program, narrowly surpassing Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, the 2024 world gold medalists. Skating to “Paint It Black” on strings, Miura and Kihara earned a score of 79.44, while Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps scored 74.26 in their nearly flawless performances.
In third place were Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko with a score of 70.15, followed by two U.S. pairs: Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman at 63.31 and Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy at 61.79.
The women’s competition saw a surprising start as Ami Nakai of Japan outperformed three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto in the short program. Nakai, a former world junior bronze medalist making her Grand Prix debut, impressed with the only triple axel jump of the competition, earning a score of 78 points.
Sakamoto trailed with a score of 76.20, while Isabeau Levito of the United States, the 2024 world silver medalist, secured third place with a score of 73.37 ahead of the free skate on Saturday.
The competition will resume on Saturday with the ice dance rhythm dance. The Grand Prix de France marks the beginning of the six regular season Grand Prix events leading up to the final in December. These events serve as a crucial test for elite skaters aiming for success at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February.
For comprehensive streaming information on the Grand Prix of France, visit the CBC Sports broadcast schedule.
