Veteran Canadian ice dancers eye Olympic podium in potential final games

Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier have Olympic medal hopes after what might be their last games. John Vennavally-Rao reports.

When it comes to Canadian ice skaters to watch at the upcoming Winter Games, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are among those at the top the list.

They are busy training at a rink in the east end of Toronto and getting ready to head to Italy on Feb. 1, where they’re considered one of the country’s best hopes for a skating medal.

“We want to be on the podium, of course, but more than anything, we want to have two performances that we’re really proud of,” says Poirier of the Rhythm and Free Dance programs. “And we think that that will take us to where we want to be.”

A fifth national title

The pair are yet to win a medal at the Olympics after competing at the games that took place in Pyeongchang, South Korea and Beijing, China.

They hope the third time is the charm, especially after coming out on top at the Canadian championships earlier this month. It was their fifth national title.

“We’ve been training for this for a really long time, and we feel so ready and confident,” Gilles said. “That’s such a nice feeling to have.”

The pair have skated together for the past 15 seasons.

They’ve won back-to-back silver medals at the world championships. Topping the podium in Milan is a possibility, but simply returning to the Olympics is a major victory for them, considering that Gilles was diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer, three years ago.

“My whole life has changed. My perspective on how I approach skating and how I approach life,” says Gilles. “Every opportunity I’m so grateful for.”

Cancer brings a new perspective

Gilles, who is originally from Illinois, Chicago, had successful surgery in late 2022 to remove her left ovary and appendix. She still gets checked every six months.

“I had an ultrasound last week and (I’m going to) see my doctor next week,” Gilles said.

“I’m so happy to be a role model for anyone going through cancer – showing that you can still do hard things and come back from something that can be so scary and shocking.”

She also continues to raise awareness about early detection, a cause close to her heart since her mother died of brain cancer in 2018. She says she skates in her mother’s honour.

“I still feel her presence,” Gilles added. “I do miss her at competitions. I do miss hearing my mom screaming from the stands. But my sister had kind of taken on that role a little bit.”

Gilles and Poirier are now skating and training five hours a day, five days a week. They are fine-tuning their performances, tweaking them after the nationals and making sure they nail them for the Olympics.

“It’s repeat…repeat…repeat,” Poirier said.

They don’t deny that this could very well be their last season and last Olympics together, after 14 years.

However, they say they haven’t given it much thought and are focused on the games for now.

“When we get to the other side of the games, then we can think about what our next steps are,” Poirier added.

“We know how special the Olympics are. We really want to savour it and just be present in those moments.”

Chasing the final medal

Both, Poirier and Gilles say they don’t want the pressure of feeling like this could be the end of their long run, yet they acknowledge it could be.

“We did these last four years because we wanted that medal,” Gilles said. “We’ve accomplished so much in our career. We’ve won some major events, and I think that’s something to be proud of. But I think the lingering thing is one last medal at the Olympics.”

“I don’t think any of us went into this partnership imagining that we would do three Olympics, but it’s been such a rewarding experience and a rewarding 15 seasons together,” Poirier added. “We’ve had so many wonderful experiences and memories in that time.”

Poirier also competed at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver with a different ice dance partner, so this will be his fourth Olympics.

“We’re just so excited about what’s coming up,” Poirier said. “It’s such an incredible opportunity to represent Canada at the games.”