OLYMPICS: Figure Skating-Canada's Gilles and Poirier say Milan bronze is proof of endurance

MILAN – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier made history on Wednesday, earning Canada’s first Olympic ice dance medal in eight years at the Winter Games.

The duo, five-time Canadian champions, claimed bronze with a season-best score of 217.74 points, holding off home favorites Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy and British contenders Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson.

Gilles, who has battled ovarian cancer, reflected on her journey. “When I was diagnosed, I didn’t imagine this moment,” she said. “But if you continue to lead with your heart, anything can happen. For anyone going through a dark time, if you can just get out of bed and keep believing in yourself, anything can happen.”

The pair, skating to Govardo’s acoustic ballad Vincent in their free dance, maintained the third-place position they had earned in Monday’s rhythm dance, which followed this season’s 1990s theme. Their emotional performance ended with tears and a joyful celebration as Gilles jumped to her feet to greet the score.

Gilles and Poirier have been skating together since 2011. They finished fourth in the team event earlier in the Games, and their Olympic journey has been marked by perseverance. Gilles underwent surgery in late 2022 to remove an ovary and appendix, later learning the tumor was cancerous. She also lost her mother to brain cancer in 2018.

“This 15-year journey hasn’t been easy, but Paul and I have stuck it out time and time again,” Gilles said.

Fans like Viennese skater Antonia Lutha celebrated the achievement. “They deserve to be on the podium,” she said, holding a Canada flag. Lutha added that she and her mother became Canadian supporters inspired by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada’s previous Olympic champions in ice dance. Virtue and Moir won the last Canadian Olympic free dance medal in PyeongChang 2018, when Gilles and Poirier placed eighth. They later finished seventh at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Poireir described their approach to Wednesday’s performance: “Piper and I both felt so calm today, which was a little strange going into a competition of this level. We allowed ourselves to be vulnerable and just say: this is who we are, this is what we do. Here you go.” -Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Chris Reese/Reuters