BOSTON - Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps felt a sense of relief despite missing the podium and falling short of defending their world figure skating title.
The Canadian pair finished fifth in Boston on Thursday, a year after capturing gold in spectacular fashion on home soil in Montreal.
鈥淲e鈥檝e learned so many lessons this year, being the returning champion has been so difficult,鈥 Stellato-Dudek told reporters at TD Garden. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e expected to win, you鈥檙e asked about it every time. Itsa国际传媒 just been a new learning experience. I think I鈥檓 better at the chase 鈥 because I love it.
鈥淭his is probably the best place for me to be going into the Olympics.鈥
Japansa国际传媒 Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won their second world title with 219.79 points, narrowly edging Germanysa国际传媒 Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, who tallied 219.08 after an outstanding free skate.
Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii took bronze (210.47).
Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps scored 132.44 points in their underwater-themed free skate for a total of 199.76. They held the lead until all four teams in the final group scored higher.
Last yearsa国际传媒 champions faced an uphill battle after placing seventh in Wednesdaysa国际传媒 short program with a disappointing 67.32 points, their lowest this season.
鈥淵esterday was super disappointing, especially because it was elements like the spin and the twist that we鈥檙e excellent at, so that was like giving points away,鈥 Stellato-Dudek said. 鈥淲e were so far behind after yesterday, so all we could do was fight our hearts out today, and we did that.鈥
Stellato-Dudek, a U.S.-born skater, became a Canadian citizen in December, allowing her to compete for the country at next yearsa国际传媒 Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy.
The 41-year-old partnered in 2019 with Deschamps, a 33-year-old from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. Stellato-Dudek became the oldest woman to win a world title in any figure skating discipline last year.
Despite winning two gold medals on the Grand Prix circuit, the duo didn鈥檛 reach the same heights this season. Their season-best total score of 210.92 was well below their personal best of 221.56 set at last yearsa国际传媒 worlds.
Deschamps' illness also forced them out of the Grand Prix Final in December, while Stellato-Dudek dealt with several minor injuries.
Now they have extra motivation to get back on top next year in Milan.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be really hungry for next year,鈥 Deschamps said.
Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., finished 11th (179.50), falling from 10th after the short program following a shaky free skate.
Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jerome, Que., and Loucas Ethier of Deux-Montagnes, Que., were 16th (169.55).
The results at this yearsa国际传媒 worlds have implications for the 2026 Winter Games. Canadasa国际传媒 top two teams fell short of the combined placement of 13 or lower required to secure three provisional pairs spots for next yearsa国际传媒 Olympics.
Earlier Thursday, American star Ilia Malinin of the U.S. won a thrilling mensa国际传媒 short program with a whopping 110.41 points, three off the world record set by Nathan Chen at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Japansa国际传媒 Yuma Kagiyama followed with 107.09 in a stellar program of his own, while Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan was a distant third (94.77).
Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., posted an 80.25, just shy of a season-best, to rank 15th after his solid skate to 鈥淯nconscious鈥 by Charlie Winston.
鈥淥verall, a really positive experience, really good energy here in the crowd 鈥 lots of Canadian flags,鈥 said Sadovsky, who placed 19th at worlds in Montreal last year.
The 25-year-old qualified for Saturdaysa国际传媒 free skate and likely secured one mensa国际传媒 event entry for Canada at the Olympics. Sadovsky would need to climb into the top 10 to earn his country a second provisional spot.
Competition continues Friday with the rhythm dance and womensa国际传媒 free program.
Canadasa国际传媒 Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won ice dance silver last year and will battle two-time reigning champs Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. for gold in Boston.
Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., was sixth after the womensa国际传媒 short program.
The world championships are hosted by the Skating Club of Boston in mourning as it grieves the death of six members on Jan. 29, when an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter near Washington, D.C.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.
