{"id":42932,"date":"2026-03-31T17:07:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=42932"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:12:32","slug":"recap-2026-world-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/recap-2026-world-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Recap: 2026 World Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Anne Calder | Photo by Melanie Heaney<\/em><\/p>\n

The 2026 ISU Figure Skating World Championships were hosted by Prague, CZE for the third time since they were first introduced in St. Petersburg, Russia 130 years ago. The competition was held at the O2 Arena from March 24-29. Thirty-one ice dance teams representing twenty-two countries competed in the Rhythm Dance.<\/p>\n

RHYTHM DANCE<\/b><\/p>\n

The 2026 Rhythm Dance was competed on Friday afternoon, March 27. Twenty teams qualified for the Saturday Free Dance. The couples skated their final routines to the 2025-2026 theme: \u201cThe Music, Dance Styles and Feelings of the 1990\u2019s\u201d.<\/p>\n

Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) partnered in 2025 and are the recent Olympic gold medalists. The duo carried that momentum into first place with a Madonna medley that scored a personal best 92.74. Cizeron and previous partner are four time World, five time European and the 2022 Olympic gold medalists. The new partnership trains in Montreal, Quebec at I.AM.<\/p>\n

Piper Gilles & Poirier (CAN) scored 86.45 for their dance to \u201cSupermodel (You Better Work)\u201d by RuPaul, and \u201cI\u2019m Too Sexy\u201d by Right Said Fred. The team has competed at every World Championships since their first in 2013, one season after they partnered. Poirier also has three more with his previous partner. Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs and Jon Lane coach the duo at their training site in Scarborough, Ontario.<\/p>\n

Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (GBR) danced to a Spice Girls medley and scored 85.09 points. The reigning World bronze medalists and eight time British Ice Dance Champions train at I.AM in Montreal. Fear was born in Connecticut, USA to Canadian parents, raised in London, England and represents Great Britain.<\/p>\n

Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik (USA) placed fourth in the Rhythm Dance at their World Championship debut. They are the 2026 U.S. (silver) and Four Continents (gold) medalists. The team scored an international personal best 84.21 for the dance to selections by Bell Biv DeVoe. The team trains in Novi, MI with Igor Shpilband, Natalia Deller, Adrienne Lenda and Renee Petkovski.<\/p>\n

Evgenia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud (FRA) placed fifth and scored 83.07. Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck (ESP) were sixth with an 81.06 score. Both marks were personal bests. Both teams train in Montreal at I.AM.<\/p>\n

Small medals were awarded to the teams with the highest Rhythm Dance scores: (gold) Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron; (silver) Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier; (bronze) Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson.<\/p>\n

Rhythm Dance quotes<\/b><\/p>\n

Saulius Ambrulevicius <\/b>(LTU) (On the 90\u2019s RD being over) \u201cIt\u2019s a program we skated many times, and it\u2019s still\u00a0fun. The crowd likes it. It was a fun vehicle this year. We will have it in our memories in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis Gibson <\/b>(GBR) (On saying goodbye to the Spice Girls program) \u201cIt\u2019s sad, but it feels like that every season, but then we have so much excitement building new programs.<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Brissaud<\/b> (FRA) (On skating last in the RD) \u201cWe practiced this morning how it was to skate in the\u00a0last last group. We created this season something special between us, so no matter what happens, we can\u00a0reset and say it\u2019s okay and know where we are going.<\/p>\n

Marjory Lajoie <\/b>(CAN) (On next year\u2019s RD) \u201cWe never did the Waltz, so we need to try it before having an\u00a0opinion. So we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

Michael Parsons <\/b>(USA) (On the Golden Waltz for next season\u2019s RD) \u201cThe new rule changes that are coming next season are going to benefit us a lot as a team. They will play to our strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caroline Green <\/b>(USA)\u00a0\u201cWe have immense ballroom and ballet training throughout our careers, so we we\u2019ll use this skill set more.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Philip Taschler <\/b>(CZE) (feelings after skating the RD at home) \u201cIt was a bit challenging, but once we started to go with the music, we just felt love. I\u2019m like wow! The energy was amazing. I enjoyed it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthias Versluis<\/b> (FIN) (to be able to skate) \u201cI\u2019ve been struggling with my back, so we\u2019re very happy that we could put out this performance today and skate as well as that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie-Jade Lauriault<\/b> (CAN) (On the new RD changes for next season) \u201cWe will reflect on it, and if there is a\u00a0way to keep things fun. People want to see skaters having fun on the ice. I think this is what we should\u00a0keep in the Rhythm Dance, Waltz, Samba or whatever the dance is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel Mraze<\/b>k (CZE) (On skating at World Championships at home) \u201cI have to say no audience has cheered us on like that ever before. We are very grateful for that.<\/p>\n

Shira Ichilov <\/b>(ISR) (On Nosovitskly being her 5th partner) \u201cHe is the best partner I ever had. I had partners that were great skaters. None was so hungry for skating and willing to work so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milla Ruud Reitan <\/b>(SWE) (On being the first Swedish ice dancers to qualify for the Olympics) \u201cIt was so amazing. there. It\u2019s different from anything else we\u2019ve experienced. It\u2019s been awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danijil Szemko<\/b> (HUN) (On next season\u2019s RD) \u201cSomething needed to be changed. Everyone is tired of the Rhythm Dance theme which is similar to the one we had previous years. Skaters will look for personality and their own style in this new theme. I think it will be more interesting than what we have now.\u201c<\/p>\n

FREE DANCE<\/b><\/p>\n

The Free Dance closed the curtain on the 2026 World Championship competitions.\u00a0 <\/span>The recent three-time gold medalists opted not to defend their title, so the discipline crowned a new Champion. The supportive audience enthusiastically waved signs and flags as each group was introduced to loud applause. The two CZE teams received a huge home-crowd reception. Juulia Turkkila & Matthias Versluis (FIN) withdrew due to injury.<\/p>\n

At the awards ceremony medals and mini stuffed replicas of the official mascot, Eda the Hedgehog were given to the medalists. This included:(gold) Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron (silver) Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier and (bronze) Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik.<\/p>\n

Fournier Beaudry & Cizeron danced a light and airy performance to the The Whale<\/i> movie soundtrack. The duo earned perfect 10 presentation scores from all nine judges and 80\/81 grade of executions of +4 or +5. The program earned 138.07 points with a total 230.81 score. Both are personal bests.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a really good time tonight,\u201d Cizeron said. \u201cIt was a magical moment. We felt the energy of the crowd. It was a really warm welcome, and it felt like a celebration of a long and beautiful season for us, so we\u2019re just grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilles & Poirier returned to the Wuthering Heights <\/i>soundtrack they had performed in Montreal at the 2024 World Championship. The program skated before a home audience had earned a still current personal best 133.17 score and a Free Dance small gold medal. In Prague, it earned 125.07 points and third place. The Canadians were second overall with a total 211.52 score.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, the Free Dance, as we expected, was going to be a challenge for us, and it felt a little bit like that,\u201d Gilles said. \u201cBut we were ready for it, and we skated a program that we truly enjoy. I think the audience really love it as well, so we created a moment that we wanted. We are proud of that and grateful to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zingas & Kolesnik were mesmerizing in their performance to the \u201cDance of the Knights\u201d and \u201cJuliet\u2019s Death\u201d from Sergei Prokofiev\u2019s Romeo and Juliet <\/i>ballet. The team\u2019s expressions and body movement throughout while performing the elements added to their interpretation. The dramatic ending of two faceless bodies finalized the theme. The program scored 124.99. The total 209.20 earned the Americans the bronze medal at their first World Championships. All their scores were personal bests.<\/p>\n

“(On winning a medal) I think my brain is still processing what\u2019s happening,” Kolesnik said. “All I can say is that I\u2019m just so full of joy. It\u2019s a miracle on ice for us. I would like to dedicate this medal to my parents. They always believed in me and supported me on this journey. Actually my dad is here [from Ukraine]. I haven\u2019t seen him in five years, so I\u2019m extremely excited. I just want that war stops and peace comes hopefully soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson were fourth with a crowd-pleasing dance to a medley of Scottish songs. The costumes were traditional-themed tartan plaid designs to honor Gibson\u2019s heritage. The technical panel called an illegal element\/movement <\/i>on the team\u2019s combination lift, which is an automatic -2 deduction. The stationary section was called a level 3 and Gibson\u2019s twizzles were level 2.\u00a0 <\/span>The result was a disappointing fifth place 123.89 program score and a fourth place 208.98 total.<\/p>\n

Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck earned a Free Dance second place 125.31 score for their dance to a \u201cDune Part II\u201d soundtrack medley. The audience loudly cheered their appreciation with a thunderous standing ovation. The personal scores totaled 206.37.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very overwhelmed,\u201d Smart said. \u201cWe both feel so complete, super proud. Mentally that was so challenging today, but we did it. The crowd was absolutely bloody amazing. It just made me cry seeing them standing on their feet for a team from Spain. I am so proud, and I know Tim is too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lopareva & Brissaud skated to \u201cAll is Full of Love\u201d and \u201cBachelorette\u201d by Bjork. Karl Hugo\u2019s song, \u201cAll Around Us\u201d, was added in between Bjork\u2019s music. The program scored 120.70 and totaled 203.77.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt pretty good on the ice,” Brissaud said. “We made some small mistakes, and it costs a lot when you are in the last group at Worlds, but we are happy – and tired.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very good season for us with a lot of important steps and competitions,\u201d Lopareva added. \u201cWe learned a lot of things like how to manage the stress, how to be be in our own bubble. Many important lessons learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Small medals were awarded to the teams with the highest Free Dance scores: (gold) Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron; (silver) Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck; (bronze) Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier.<\/p>\n

Free Dance quotes<\/b><\/p>\n

Gleb Smolkin <\/b>(GEO) (On the audience)\u201cWe are happy we had the best skates of the season. The audience\u00a0was great and pushed us. It made use want to give all we had on the ice. (On next season) We have some\u00a0ideas. We have not won anything yet, so we are staying for more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony Ponomarenko <\/b>(USA) (On lessons learned this season) \u201cPerseverance. We pushed through and\u00a0went through ups and downs, looking forward and giving our best every single day. There are a lot of good\u00a0lessons learned this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katerina Mrazkova <\/b>(CZE) (On the skate at home) \u201cWe are so excited for the audience that was supporting\u00a0us. It was amazing. We are so happy to experience such a big competition at home in Prague. We were\u00a0aware that media pressure can be quite high and tried not to think about it and just do our job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin Steffan <\/b>(GER) (On future plans) \u201cWe are having a break now, and we are happy to put our skates aside for a while before putting them on again. We will definitely start to prepare for the next season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Poirier<\/b> (CAN) (On the 20 point gap between them and 1st place) \u201cWe always come to competitions keeping in mind that the only thing we can do is to skate our best. We don\u2019t have control over the scoring and judging. We can\u2019t put our sense of accomplishment or about how we feel we skated. It is in the judges hands – we can only assess how we skate, and how we feel we did. That\u2019s what we have to takewith us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vadym Kolesnik<\/b> (USA) (same question about the 20 point gap) \u201cTwo years ago we had a gap of 20 points with Piper and Paul. It\u2019s not that much now. We\u2019re catching up. We\u2019ll see what happens next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piper Gilles <\/b>(CAN) (On their long career) \u201cAs we reflect on our whole career, I wouldn\u2019t change it. It allowed us to create many memorable programs that so many people, even our fans forgot we already did. I think that\u2019s so unique. To be here at our 13th World Championships is a blessing, and we don\u2019t take that for granted. It\u2019s been an honor to be able to celebrate our art with the fans that love us so much.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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