The 2025 Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki delivered a whirlwind of drama, emotion, and high-stakes competition as the world’s top figure skaters battled for the last available tickets to the ISU Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan. Canadian athletes, in particular, seized their moment on the ice, notching historic milestones and laying down markers for the upcoming Olympic season.
On November 22, the spotlight shone on ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who clinched a silver medal with a combined score of 202.11 points. Their performance, set to "Vincent" by Govardo, showcased both technical refinement and expressive artistry. With a free dance score of 122.55 and a rhythm dance tally of 79.56, the duo not only secured second place but also punched their ticket to the Grand Prix Final scheduled for December 5-8 in Nagoya. The pair’s achievement comes after a challenging outing at Skate Canada, and the sense of redemption was palpable.
“We are really proud of our performance today,” Paul Poirier said after the event. “We felt a lot of pressure after a free skate that fell short of our expectations at Skate Canada International, so we needed to prove to ourselves that we were capable of performing this program well. I think that’s what we accomplished today.” Gilles and Poirier’s silver marks another step forward in their journey toward the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, with Poirier noting, “We have a little bit of time now before the Final to just clean some things up before we go there. But I think we’re really excited to qualify for the Final again and to take that next step closer to the [Olympic Winter] Games.”
The ice dance gold went to France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who posted a total of 204.18 points, narrowly edging out the Canadians. Fournier Beaudry, a former Canadian competitor, teamed up with Cizeron, the 2022 Olympic champion, earlier this season. Their chemistry and technical prowess have made them an instant force, having already captured gold at the Grand Prix de France in October. The American team of Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik rounded out the podium with bronze, scoring 196.02.
Canada’s medal haul didn’t stop with ice dance. In the men’s event, 20-year-old Stephen Gogolev of Toronto delivered a breakthrough performance, capturing his first career Grand Prix medal—a bronze—with a total of 253.61 points. Gogolev’s short program was a stunner, earning 89.35 points and featuring two quad jumps and a triple axel. He entered the free skate in second place, and while a couple of minor errors saw him slip to third, his free skate score of 164.26 kept him firmly on the podium. “Overall, I’m pretty happy with how I skated,” Gogolev reflected. “Obviously, there are a few mistakes to correct, but I fought hard. I had never been in a podium position in a Grand Prix before and it affected me mentally, but I managed not to think about it too much, to focus on the present and to do the best I could.”
The men’s event saw Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama surge to gold with a commanding total of 270.45 points, while France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, the reigning European champion and world bronze medallist, claimed silver with 256.98. Gogolev’s bronze was hard-fought, finishing just 0.22 points behind Siao Him Fa in the free skate. The result solidifies Gogolev’s status as a contender for Canada’s lone men’s spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics, but he’s not alone in the race.
Roman Sadovsky, another Canadian hopeful, mounted a spirited charge from sixth after the short program to finish fourth overall with 243.29 points. His free skate was the fourth-best of the night and narrowed the gap to the podium, trailing Gogolev by just over 10 points. The battle between Gogolev and Sadovsky is shaping up as one of the defining stories of Canadian men’s skating this season, with Olympic selection set to be decided at the national championships in Gatineau, Quebec, this January.
In women’s singles, the competition was equally fierce. Japan’s Chiba Mone delivered a dazzling free skate to leapfrog overnight leader Amber Glenn of the USA, taking gold with a total of 217.22 points. Chiba’s free skate scored a remarkable 144.33, nearly matching her personal best and sealing her second consecutive Grand Prix victory of the season. “Reflecting back on today’s performance, there were not so perfect jumps and the two got quarter (under-rotation) marks,” Chiba said through an interpreter. “However the rest of the jumps I was able to complete clean as I practiced, and the quality was good. And I was able to deliver and convey emotions through the step sequence and choreo sequence, so I’m happy.”
Glenn, who was reportedly battling illness, settled for silver with 213.41 points after a few costly errors in her free skate. “It’s still a decent score,” Glenn remarked. “There were a lot of mistakes and I’m feeling only at about 80 per cent right now, so all that considering, I’m really happy with where I am mentally. Of course it’s disappointing when I’d had four Grand Prix wins in a row, to get second of course is hard, but it’s not ‘oh my gosh I should’ve been first’—Mone was absolutely incredible. But I didn’t feel my best and I was happy I was able to still do something.”
Japan’s Matsuike Rino staged a remarkable comeback, vaulting from sixth after the short program to claim bronze with 193.21 points. American Bradie Tennell finished just off the podium, while Canada’s Madeline Schizas, a three-time national champion and Olympic hopeful, placed fifth with 188.60 points. Schizas’s result marks an improvement over her ninth-place finish at her earlier Grand Prix assignment this season, signaling a positive trajectory as she eyes Canada’s only women’s Olympic spot.
The pairs event saw Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud finish fifth with 191.33 points. The duo has steadily built momentum throughout the season, having recently set a personal best in the short program at Skate Canada International.
Notably, Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx, a perennial podium threat, withdrew from the women’s free skate for medical reasons, adding a layer of unpredictability to the final standings.
The Finlandia Trophy, as the sixth and last event in this season’s Grand Prix series, served as the final gateway to the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya. The pressure was intense, with only the top six in each discipline earning their place at the prestigious event. For Canadian skaters, the results in Helsinki have set the stage for a high-stakes winter, with Olympic dreams and national pride on the line.
As the dust settles on a thrilling weekend in Helsinki, all eyes now turn to Nagoya. The Grand Prix Final promises another round of world-class performances, fierce rivalries, and perhaps a few surprises. For Gilles and Poirier, Gogolev, and the rest of the Canadian contingent, the journey is far from over—the real test begins next month in Japan.
