Canadian pair Pereira, Michaud in third after short program at figure skating worlds

PRAGUE – Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud are in podium position at the world figure skating championships.

The Canadian pair finished third in the short program with a personal-best score of 75.52 in their romantic routine to “Say You Love Me” by Jessie Ware.

Pereira, of Milton, Ont., and Michaud, of Trenton, Ont., also placed third in the short program in their Olympic debut at last month’s Milan Cortina Winter Games, but fell to eighth following a series of mistakes in the free skate.

“This second half of the season for us has just been a real confirmation that we are doing the right things and our coaching staff has been alongside us,” the 22-year-old Pereira told reporters at O2 Arena. “We’re doing the right training, we’re doing the right preparation.

“It’s just nice to always come out and do a great performance and just show that ‘Hey, we’re here.'”

Olympic bronze medallists Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany stood in first Wednesday with 79.78 points, just 0.33 ahead of Milan silver medallists Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia.

Pereira and Michaud, who also won their first national title in January, sat 5.6 points clear of fourth-place finishers Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary heading into Thursday’s free program.

Michaud, 29, said their approach will be “to let the skating take over.”

“When it showed at the Olympics, when we focused on the skating, we got the results that we wanted,” he said. “We feel great. When we finish a program and we’re like, ‘Yes, that felt really good’ … our goals will happen.”

Fellow Canadians Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier were 12th (63.99).

The post-Olympic world championships feature a slightly weakened field, with gold medallists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan withdrawing from the event.

Canada’s former world champion pair of Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps was also absent. The duo almost missed the Olympics after Stellato-Dudek hit her head on the ice during a training session in late January. She received medal clearance for the Games days before the individual pairs event.

Earlier Wednesday, Canada’s Madeline Schizas placed 15th in the women’s singles short program.

Schizas scored 61.35 points to her “Lion King” routine, losing marks when she stepped out of the landing on her triple loop.

The 23-year-old from Oakville, Ont., qualified for Friday’s free program after she failed to advance at the Olympics with a disappointing 25th-place finish in the short program.

“I’m happy with the way I skated,” Schizas said. “I think I was able to show a lot of resilience today to come back and put my previous performances behind me for the world championships, and I was very, I think, relieved.”

Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, set to retire following the event, led with 79.31 points. Japan’s Mone Chiba placed second (78.45) and Amber Glenn of the United States sat third (72.65). Olympic champion Alysa Liu of the U.S. also withdrew from the women’s field.

Schizas is skating in her sixth world championships, having finished a career-best 11th last year in Boston. She would need to finish in the top 10 to secure a second women’s entry for Canada at next year’s worlds.

Competition continues Thursday with the men’s short program, followed by the pairs free.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026.