Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps defend Skate Canada pairs title

Canadian pairs champions deliver nearly flawless performance to secure victory

Deschamps: ‘We can’t wait to see what the future holds’

Canadian pair Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro took the lead after the short program and held on to win the pairs title at Skate Canada International on Saturday. Moore-Towers and Marinaro, who won the world title in 2021, scored 128.48 points in the pairs event. They were followed by fellow Canadians Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud, who scored 122.06 points. Canadians Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier won the bronze medal, while Americans Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe finished fourth.

Moore-Towers, 30, and Marinaro, 32, have been skating together since 2014. They won a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics and finished fourth at the 2018 Winter Olympics. They missed the 2022 Winter Olympics after Moore-Towers suffered a concussion.

Moore-Towers and Marinaro said they were thrilled to win the Skate Canada title. "It's always special to win at home," Moore-Towers said. "We're really happy with our performance today. We made a few mistakes, but we're still really happy with the way we skated."

Marinaro said he was proud of the way the pair performed under pressure. "We knew we had to skate well today to win," he said. "We're really happy with the way we performed. We're looking forward to the rest of the season."