Worlds 2024: 'We're very grateful we're able to do this'
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud aren't taking for granted in any way the opportunity that awaits them this week in Montreal. And they want to put on the biggest of shows at the Bell Centre.
MONTREAL — The coincidence was so delicious … except this time, at least, it is coming complete with a happy ending.
All the way back in 2020, Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud thought everything was in place to skate at a World Figure Skating Championships at Montreal’s Bell Centre — one year after they made their debut at the competition in Saitama, Japan. As we all know, that Worlds got scrubbed due to the global pandemic. While Walsh has since retired, Michaud joined forces with Lia Pereira in 2022 to continue his career. And as good fortune would have it, he’ll get this do over at a Montreal Worlds.
Care to guess where Pereira and Michaud made their Worlds debut in 2023?
“My first Worlds was in 2019 in Saitama which is funny, because that’s where our first one was together,” Michaud said during a practice day at the Bell Centre, with Pereira standing right beside him, grinning as she often does in adding “what a coincidence.”
And what a thrill this week is going to be for the second-year duo, which splits its training between Brantford and Milton, two Ontario cities just west of Toronto. They use words like “grateful” to describe this opportunity to skate at a home Worlds — a rare chance that the 27-year-old Michaud thought might have possibly passed him by back in 2020.
“It was really upsetting (back then) but at the same time, the whole world shut down. So, it was understandable, but it’s really awesome to be back here and actually be here now. We got past that part,” he said. “I was hoping that because it had been cancelled, that it would be back here again but definitely there was a small part of it that was like ‘oh, it doesn’t happen very often.’ … We’re very grateful that we’re able to do this.”
Pereira and Michaud arrive at the Bell Centre riding the wave of an impressive first Grand Prix season together, which included a silver medal at Skate America in what was Pereira’s first GP event, followed by a gold at Grand Prix de France. That qualified the duo for the Grand Prix Final in Beijing, where they placed sixth (they also come into this event as silver medallist at the Canadian Championships).
“It’s been amazing. Making the Final, winning our first Grand Prix medal, winning our first Grand Prix … we’ve had just a very good season,” said Michaud. “We’ve had some stuff along the way, like my back injury after nationals. But it’s been a really great season for us and we’re excited to continue that through (this week) and then get excited and work for the next year. We’re loving skating and training and the process.”
Most importantly, they have grown together as a pair team. Pereira and Michaud originally joined forces in August 2022, and were competing just a few months later. It was literally a race to get to the starting line. In their minds, this as their first full season together.
“The biggest growth is just their connection as a team. They don’t look for each other on the ice any more, they know where each other is. Their stride, their speed has really improved … and just their musicality together,” said Alison Purkiss, who coaches the team with Nancy Lemaire and Derek Schmidt. “Just finding their look, their voice as a team together has been the biggest growth. Of course, all of their (pair) elements have been amplified by that speed and that connection as well. It really comes down to the time that they’ve had together makes the biggest difference.”
Making the Grand Prix Final, in particular, gave them a particular boost. One might suggest joining that lofty group of entries seems like a logical followup to placing sixth in their Worlds debut in Saitama, but Michaud said “it was a different thing because that (Worlds) was a little bit more of a whirlwind, pretty quick … like (we were doing) competition, competition, competition.
“This year it was like okay, we’ve got that pressure, we were sixth in the world. Now we’re proving that we really are within that top six in the world. It was definitely a feather in the cap in a way and another one to keep pushing us to be better, because we know we can be up there.”
Added Pereira: “It was a good confidence boost for us as well because that was our goal, to make Final. Once we were there, we didn’t feel out of place. We actually felt like we were competing very closely with the other teams that were there. It was a good confidence boost and just a reminder of what we’ve done in a short amount of time and how good we are as a team. Every competition this season has been a reminder of that, which is awesome, and heading into (these Worlds) as well.”
Purkiss says now that she knew her proteges were capable of such heights during the fall season but, then again, that’s the kind of message coaches are supposed to be sending toward their skaters. But when you hear it from the folks deciding your fate … that’s a whole different ballgame, indeed.
“That gave them the experience and the belief in themselves. ‘Oh, it’s not just us or our coaching team that is saying we’re capable of doing this. The judges are actually agreeing with them.’ That was sort of a good feather in their cap, and gave them motivation and momentum for the rest of the season,” said Purkiss. “Mentally, it strengthened their resolve that they were on the right path, that they were doing all the right things from their off-ice training, their mental training, all of those things. And this was sort of the cherry on top to carry it through. It’s been a really good jumping off point for them since then in talking about how we’re feeling and what the pressure is like, and all those kinds of expectation conversations. It’s all positive stuff and all learning steps.”
Both skaters will tell you they’re reached the point of feeling like they belong with the best, which Purkiss agreed is “huge” for their development.
“Especially to come at it that quickly. But again, it’s wonderful to make Final but I think their perspective on it is a testament to their connection as a team, on and off the ice,” she said. “How they handle those things, setbacks and triumphs, how they take it, build on it or brush it off and (say) let’s move on. All of that stuff is what makes them Lia and Trennt.”
They’ll also take the ice in Montreal with a fervent belief in the material they present: “River,” by Bishop Briggs, for the short program, and music from the “Gladiator” for their long. It’ll be their last go at both in Montreal, which brings with it an element of sadness as well.
“We’ve had two great vehicles for programs and we’re kind of a little bit sad this is the last time we’re going to get to perform them, because we love them so much,” said the 20-year-old Pereira. “Which is not normal for end of season; normally, you’re like ‘okay, I’m ready to move on’ but we still love both of them. We’re looking forward to competing and really excited to perform them, but we’re also excited for the off-season because it brings so many challenges and new things.”
They’ve also got some new, rather tangible goals here in Montreal.
“This is an interesting question for us because it’s a judged sport and you don’t know what your competitors are going to do. We really want to put out two really great programs. We’ve really worked on the little meticulous details and fine tuning everything to be as good as it can be,” said Pereira. “But there are score goals that we want. Our personal best (for the short program) is around 66 (65.97 in France), so we want to be pushing the 70 mark and getting 130 in the long (to go over 200).”
(their personal best total, also set in France, is 194.67)
Mostly, they’ll have gratitude for this opportunity in to skate for the home fans in Montreal, which pretty much every Canadian skater we’ve talked to here describes as a “once in a lifetime” thing. When Purkiss reflects back upon the opportunity that was lost in 2020, it’s the gratitude for such things that stands out most to her. Even four years later, the entire episode still seems surreal when she thinks about it all.
“Skate Canada brought us for the training day (before Worlds) with the whole team and it was great, everyone was super excited. I actually went to Junior Worlds in Estonia with my junior team and we (Pereira and Michaud) had done Four Continents the week before in Korea,” said Purkiss. “When we left Korea, it was very different. They were taking temperatures, and we had never seen that before. Then I came back from Junior Worlds in Estonia and we didn’t really have any of that (in Canada). So I thought this whole thing would blow over really quickly. And then I remember when they told us (it had been wiped out), I was thinking ‘oh, my gosh, this is going to be the only thing that they cancel. The Montreal Canadiens will be playing in that building in that week now because we’re not going to be there.’
“It really felt to us like … maybe it was an overreaction. Then the entire world shuts down for a pandemic. So you just never know. If that whole experience has taught us anything, it’s that every one is a special experience and none of them are guaranteed or promised, as much as we prepare for them. It’s up to us to enjoy every one of these opportunities that we get, whether we learn hard lessons at them or they’re amazing experiences. It’s really special.”
We’re still talking about it
Much as the International Skating Union would no doubt like to avoid the subject this week in Montreal, count on the talk about its decision regarding the Team Event medals for the Beijing 2022 Olympics to surface again. Especially with the International Olympic Committee’s executive board beginning three days of meetings today in Lausanne.
To recap, the ISU elevated the United States into the gold medal position and Japan to silver after it deducted 20 points from Russia’s total in the wake of Kamila Valieva’s disqualification for a doping infraction (10 each for the short and long programs, which she won). However, it chose not to give Canada an extra two points because of the DQ (which would have moved them up to third) and left Russia with the bronze. It was a decision that managed to piss off both Canada and Russia, which still wants its gold, with both countries’ skating federations having filed appeals to the CAS over the result.
It was, as we wrote here previously, a decision that made little if any sense.
Judging by these comments from Canadian ice dancer Piper Gilles, the hope of earning a bronze medal is still there for the country’s skaters, three of whom are competing here this week (Gilles, her partner Paul Poirier and Roman Sadovsky). But it’s hardly front of mind for any of them this week.
“Honestly, it’s been a little bit of a roller-coaster, but Paul and I left Beijing with the mindset that we are fourth. It’s just been easier for us to move on with our lives, move on with our future (thinking that way). There are a lot of other steps that Skate Canada and the ISU have to do that doesn’t totally involve just us. Having it come back a couple of years later and having a ruling of us still being fourth was a little bit disappointing after having gone through that acceptance of not having a medal, and now we have a little bit of hope.
“The nice part is the U.S. and Japan moved up, and that is the biggest win in this whole situation. Clean athletes need to win no matter what, and I’m sure Skate Canada is doing everything possible to make sure we get the bronze medal. We trust that they are doing everything so Canada can get that bronze. That’s kind of where we are now, but right now our focus is on the World Championships and making sure that (decision) comes second.”
Watching Worlds
If you’re not here in Montreal, you’ll need to rely on the CBC (at least in Canada) to watch the World Championships, either on TV or via the streaming route. The public broadcaster has its commentary team here at the Bell Centre, so those are the voices you’ll be hearing starting on Wednesday. Via Skate Canada, here are the schedules for both TV and streaming:
Everything gets underway Wednesday with the pairs short program at noon.
For Canadian fans, here are the start times for skaters wearing the red maple leaf:
Pairs short program: Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier, 1:46 p.m.; Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, 2:12 p.m.; Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, 3:32 p.m.
Women’s short program: Maddie Schizas, 8:42 p.m.