Ice dancers Gilles, Poirier ‘put best foot forward’ to earn world bronze | CBC Sports

Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier captured bronze at the world figure skating championships on Saturday in Saitama, Japan.

Gilles, of Toronto, and Poirier, of Unionville, Ont., were third after the rhythm dance and scored a total of 217.88 points following the free dance. 

“We just wanted to put our best foot forward and enjoy every last step of this program,” said Gilles, the current Grand Prix Final champion and 2021 world bronze medallist alongside Poirier. “We’ve enjoyed doing it every time we’ve gone out there, so performing it on the stage after being gone for a few months was so rewarding.”

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won gold for their first ice dance title.

First after the rhythm dance, Chock and Bates finished first in the free dance at Saitama Super Arena with 134.07 points for a total of 226.1.

Reigning European champions Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy were second with 219.85 points.

“We’ve been pursuing this goal for so many years,” Bates said. “It was exciting and stressful all at the same time. I know that the ice dance field is so competitive. We’ve competed against all these teams for so many years. We really just wanted to focus on ourselves and skate our best.”

WATCH | Gilles, Poirier win bronze in ice dance at worlds:

Canada’s Poirier and Gilles win ice dance bronze at worlds in Japan

The Canadian pair held their third place standing to hit the podium following the free dance program.

Chock and Bates, the three-time Four Continents champions , have been together for 12 years.

They won the silver medal at the 2015 world championships in Beijing, bronze in Boston in 2016 and bronze last year in Montpellier, France.

They have also competed at six Grand Prix Finals, winning four medals — all silver.

WATCH | U.S. ice dance duo Chock, Bates top worlds podium:

Madison Chock and Evan Bates top worlds ice dance podium

The American duo held their lead after yesterday’s program to capture gold following a flawless free dance.

Meanwhile, defending champion Shoma Uno of Japan beat South Korea’s Cha Jun-hwan for gold in the men’s competition.

Uno finished with 301.14 points after the free skate, 5.11 ahead of Cha.

The 25-year-old, who led rising American star Ilia Malinin after Thursday’s short program, fell backwards and lay on the ice as he soaked up a standing ovation from the delighted home crowd.

Malinin collected bronze with 288.44.

Canadian champion Keegan Messing finished seventh with 265.16 in the final world championship performance of his career.

Live coverage of the entire event is available on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.