Gilles and Poirier Reach the Olympic Podium with Bronze Medal
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By Ava Tremblay
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Summary:
- Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won bronze in ice dance at the Milan Cortina Olympics with a season-best free dance score.
- It’s their first Olympic medal after 15 years together and two previous Games without reaching the podium.
- Canada earns its 4th medal of these Games and its first in figure skating since 2018.
After 15 years side by side, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finally have the one thing that had eluded them: an Olympic medal.
Bronze for the Duo
On Wednesday night in Milan Cortina, the Canadian ice dancers skated to Govardo’s cover of “Vincent” by Don McLean, putting together the kind of free dance that seemed to carry every near miss and every year of experience with it.
The judges rewarded them with 131.56 points, their best free dance score of the season, and a total of 217.74. It was enough for bronze.
When the music ended, so did the composure. Gilles and Poirier stood in the centre of the rink, both in tears, as the crowd rose to its feet.
Canadian flags waved in pockets around the arena. In the kiss-and-cry, Gilles leapt up when the score appeared. Poirier punched the air, the relief written all over his face.
Closing the Gap
The medal feels especially meaningful given their history. The Toronto-based duo, partners since 2011, are four-time world championship medallists. However, at their two previous Olympic appearances, the podium stayed just out of reach. This time, they closed the gap.
Gold went to France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who scored 225.82 with a dramatic program set to music from “The Whale”. The Americans, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, three-time reigning world champions, took silver with 224.39 after skating to “Paint It Black” by Ramin Djawadi in front of a strong U.S. presence in the crowd.
There was also late drama. Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who trailed Gilles and Poirier by just 0.71 points after the rhythm dance, slipped from fourth to seventh when Fear stepped out of her twizzles.
For Canada, the bronze is its fourth medal of these Games and the country’s first in figure skating since collecting four at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.
How many medals can Canada win at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, check the latest odds with selected Olympic bookmakers
