Canadian pair claims podium finish at Milano Cortina 2026
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier have won the bronze medal in ice dance at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, finally reaching the Olympic podium in their third appearance together as a competitive pair.
The four-time world championship medallists delivered an emotionally charged free dance performance to the song “Vincent,” a routine they first performed during the 2018-19 season. Their combined technical skill and emotional resonance resulted in a free dance score of 131.56 and an overall total of 217.74, securing their place on the Olympic podium.
A Breakthrough Moment
Gilles and Poirier’s path to the medal was cleared partly by a costly error from Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who made a major mistake on their twizzle sequence during the free dance and dropped down the standings. The Canadian duo capitalized on the opportunity, delivering what they described as the performance of their lives, with both skaters visibly emotional as they finished their routine.
France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron captured gold with a score of 225.82, while the United States’ Madison Chock and Evan Bates earned silver with 224.39.
Historic Achievement for Canada
The bronze medal marks Canada’s fifth Olympic medal all-time in ice dance and the fourth medal for the country in the last five Winter Games. The achievement adds to Canada’s storied ice dance legacy, which includes Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall’s bronze at Calgary 1988 and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s three consecutive Olympic medals—gold at Vancouver 2010 and PyeongChang 2018, along with silver at Sochi 2014.
