Canada’s Laurin, Ethier 5th in pairs figure skating at Four Continents championship

By Canadian Press on January 24, 2026.

BEIJING — Canada’s Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier finished fifth in pairs figure skating on Saturday at the Four Continents Championship.

Laurin of St-Jérôme, Que., and Ethier of St-Alphonse-de-Granby, Que., earned a personal best score of 122.59 in the free program and 188.27 points overall.

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov of the United States climbed to the top of the podium, beating reigning Olympic champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China. Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi of Japan were third.

Two-time Canadian Junior Grand Prix Final medallists Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov, both from Winnipeg, moved up to eighth place overall (159.20) after the free skate in their Four Continents debut.

In the men’s short program, 2026 national silver medallist Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., scored 79.96 and sits in ninth place.

Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., returning to international competition after an injury last season, is in 15th place with 73.61, followed by Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., in 16th with 68.83 points.

It was a podium sweep for Japanese skaters in the men’s short program led by former world junior champion Kao Miura, who will be competing at the Milan Cortina Olympics next month. Kazuki Tomono and Sota Yamamoto sit in second and third respectively.

The men will conclude the event with their free skate on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2026.

The Canadian Press