Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 🇨🇦 122.55 / 202.11 Paul: “We had a lot of pressure on ourselves after the performance at Skate Canada, so we needed to prove to ourselves that we are capable of this program, and I think we accomplished that today. The crowd has been so welcoming of us both. They really got behind our performance, so it’s been a real joy to be able to compete here this week. We’ve had low levels this week, so we’ll have some things we need to work on. We do have a little bit of time now before the Final to clean some things up before we go out there, but I think we’re really excited to qualify for the Final again and to take the next step closer to the Games.” On what has changed in their reimagined Vincent program: Paul: “I think the biggest difference in the reimagined Vincent program is the skating. The skating is different because we are different skaters. We are better skaters. We are stronger skaters. And we really want the purity of the skating to shine in this program. I think we’ve constructed it in a way that allows us to do that a lot more.“ On the support of her comments from yesterday: Piper: “I saw a lot of comments, and it was really nice — especially from the fans — because we are speaking on behalf of the athletes, but also on behalf of the fans, the ones that are supporting us every single year. It was nice to see them share that frustration, and I know it motivates the athletes to use their voice. I think a lot of times we are afraid of the repercussions of doing so, and I think we are at the point of our career that when we don’t say anything, nothing will change. So I’m really proud of what we did. We as athletes are accountable for everything we do out there on the ice, but I don’t necessarily think that judges and the technical panel are also accountable for what they do to the athletes. I think there needs to be an equal amount of respect between the two of us. Hopefully we can get to that point, and I’m really happy that everybody supported us in sharing our feelings.” #GPFigure #GPFinland #FigureSkating

🥇Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Guillaume Cizeron 🇫🇷 124.29 / 204.18 Guillaume: “This is our first competition outside of France. We feel very lucky to be sharing those moments together. We are very pleased with our performances this weekend. We have been working a lot on both programs, we had so much fun today sharing that with the public.” On when their partnership “clicked”: Laurence: “I think from the very moment we started together, we had right away so much respect for each other, and we love what we do together. So it was just an enjoyment from the very beginning.” On the next steps: Laurence: “We just qualified for the Final with the placement of today, so we are excited to go there and have the mission to win the Final. And then we will get to go to French Nationals, get some rest with the family at Christmas, and then we will go to Europeans, and hopefully win Europeans.” On receiving French citizenship: Laurence: “It was really amazing. I just learned a week and a half ago that I finally got my citizenship. It’s a blessing because it’s an honor for me to be able to represent France at the Olympics.” Guillaume (laughing): “She’s becoming more and more French as we speak.” #GPFigure #GPFinland #FigureSkating

Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nikita VOLODIN 🇩🇪 🥇 136.48 / 206.88 Minerva: “Winning here means a lot. It is a big relief. And I think we skated choreographically and emotionally better than at the last competition. Yesterday’s performance was not our strongest. There we started strongly and then got a bit shaky. Today was much better. We were more focused. The mistake on the Salchow was a bit unfortunate, but the rest was very good. And it was very fun to skate here. For the final, we want to show even more emotions in both programs.” Nikita: “We were very nervous and made more mistakes at our last competition. I did one mistake today. It is a problem with my blade. I will try to fix that during the next week. I am very pleased with the rest. Technically, everything is okay. And I think it was a good performance. In this final, we want to skate with even more confidence.” #GPFigure #GPFinland #FigureSkating

Amber Glenn 🇺🇸 75.72 “You know, I haven’t been feeling my best. I’ve been sleeping a lot since I got here, and if anything, I felt a bit slow and sluggish, but it might have helped in my favor. I was very relaxed, very calm, almost a little too much. I had to really pump myself up to get the Axel done, and then I kind of felt like: okay… but I felt like I could do another program afterwards. I wasn’t tired. I wasn’t breathing heavy. I’m just sleepy, it is from the medications, but it’s just antibiotics. You know, my body is fighting off infections.” “I did notice ahead of the skate that I lost one of my earrings. I don’t know where it went. I’m just glad I saw myself in the mirror before I went out. It would look very silly with one earring.” “Well, the quality is not bad, but it’s just not what we’re used to. I don’t think it’s slippery, it’s soft, so you slide a lot more. Whereas a lot of us are used to harder ice because we share with hockey skaters and all that. So it’s a little harder to get up in the air. Especially on picks, jumps are a lot harder. Edge jumps are fine.” “I mean, I’m 26, I’m doing it for so long. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of good mental training that kept me over my feet, but it was not necessarily the best jumps I’ve ever done.” #GPFigure #GPFinland #FigureSkating

Madeline Schizas 🇨🇦 65.16 “I am really happy. I’ve worked a lot in the past couple of weeks on the triple–triple, just making sure I have a plan if the combo doesn’t go to plan. I was able to do the combo, and I think I really carried the performance well today.” “My federation told me actually in the hallway in Skate Canada to go back to the ‘Lion King’ program, and I was like: you don’t need to tell me twice, I really like that one. We couldn’t clear the other music either. So at this point, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but regardless, I’m happy to be doing this program for a few events, even if it’s not the one I take on for the second half of the year.” On what helped her through the rough start of the season: “It was really a rough start to the season. I think I just kind of felt the pressure of wanting to do the best. I had a really great World Championships, and I honestly had a great off-season. But the skating I was doing wasn’t reflecting how I was skating in practice. I was just really getting nervous when I got out there.” “My coaches helped me so much through the process. They were really supportive, even through a difficult month and a half. And without them, I don’t think I would have been able to skate like that today and to skate the free skate that I had at Skate Canada.” “Also, I want to give a shout-out to my dog. He was very supportive — he just snuggles, you know.” 🐶 “Also, a big support are always my parents. They are really chill. If I told them I wanted to quit skating tomorrow, they would be supportive of that choice. They really just want to see me happy and to see me like what I’m doing.” “I’m from a really big family, everyone is always supportive and wants to see me happy. My mom and one of my best friends are here to support me, and I’m so happy to see them later.” #GPFigure #GPFinland #FigureSkating