With their victory, the Montreal-based duo secured a spot in the 2018 Grand Prix Final in Vancouver.
Hubbell and Donohue scored 120.27 in their free dance to secure gold with 200.76 points overall, topping the field by over five points. In their Romeo and Juliet themed free dance, the reigning World silver medalists completed four Level 4 elements. The win marks their third Grand Prix gold and 11th straight Grand Prix Series medal (apart from the final) dating back to 2013 Skate Canada International. With first place finishes at 2018 Skate America and 2018 Skate Canada International, Hubbell and Donohue will compete in the Grand Prix Final in December for the fourth straight year.
Russia’s Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov earned the silver medal (195.17), while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada won bronze (186.97).
In the ladies competition, Mariah Bell finished fourth with 190.25 total points. Bell rallied from her fifth-place short program to finish just off the podium, scoring a season best 126.90 with five triple jumps. Starr Andrews placed seventh in the ladies event, scoring 109.95 in her free skate for 174.72 points overall.
Russia’s Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Evgenia Medvedeva claimed gold (203.32) and bronze (197.91), respectively, while Mako Yamashita of Japan took home the silver medal (203.06).
Jason Brown rebounded from a tough short program to finish sixth in the men’s competition. The Toronto-based skater scored a season best 158.51 points in his Simon and Garfunkel free skate, landing 11 jumps. He finished with a total score of 234.97, jumping from 11th to sixth place.
Olympic silver medalist Shoma Uno of Japan won the men’s competition (277.25), Canada’s Keegan Messing claimed silver (265.17) and the Republic of Korea’s Junhwan Cha took bronze (254.77).
In the pairs event, Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier also improved on their short program performance, moving from eighth to sixth place. The couple executed four beautiful lifts, each tallying grades of execution over 1.50. They scored 114.91 on their free skate for 170.22 points overall.
World bronze medalists Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France won gold (221.81), China’s Cheng Peng and Yang Jin captured silver (201.08), and Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro of Canada earned bronze (200.93).
For more news and results from 2018 Skate Canada International, please visit the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. The competition can be streamed on-demand on the Figure Skating Pass on NBC Sports Gold.
Results
HUBBELL AND DONOHUE WIN 2018 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL, PUNCH TICKET TO GRAND PRIX FINAL
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue won their second Grand Prix Series event of the season on Saturday night at 2018 Skate Canada International in Laval, Quebec.
