A pair of ice dancers from the GTA just secured Canada their fourth bronze medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Figure skaters Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier captured bronze on Wednesday afternoon, marking their first Olympic medal after 15 years of skating together.
The ice dancing pair scored 86.18 in their opening rhythm dance, placing them in third. It was their free dance that secured them the bronze medal, scoring 131.56 for a total score of 217.74.
Gilles and Poirier both shed some tears at the end of their season’s-best free dance performance, as the crowd around them erupted, many waving Canadian flags.
The team went viral on Tuesday after a near-wardrobe malfunction during their rhythm dance — Poirier arm cuff snagged on Gilles’ tights during a lift and almost fell to the ice. Gilles quickly snatched up the cuff before it hit the ground and held onto it for the remainder of the skate, narrowly avoiding a one-point deduction that would have dropped them from their third place podium position.
France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won gold, while Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates took silver.
Gilles and Poirier have competed in three Olympics together as an ice dancing pair. They made their Olympic debut at the 2018 PyeongChang Games, finishing in eighth, and just missed the podium at the 2022 Beijing Games, finishing fourth.
Gilles was born in the United States but studied fashion design at Toronto Metropolitan University and became a Canadian citizen in 2013 (her mother is Canadian). After two previous skating partners, she teamed up with Poirier to represent Team Canada in 2011.
Poirier was born in Ottawa and grew up in Unionville, attending the University of Toronto. He skated at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with a different ice dance partner, Vanessa Crone.
Gilles and Poirier’s medal finish marks what likely will be a happy ending to their decorated careers — both aged 34, this is expected to be their final Olympics.
