Canada's Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud formed their figure skating partnership in August, 2022. In less than four years they've established themselves as one of the top teams in the world.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
In August, 2022, Lia Pereira, a promising young singles skater, and Trennt Michaud, a veteran pairs skater in need of a new partner, met at a Starbucks.
Michaud laid his cards on the table: He and his former partner, Evelyn Walsh, had placed second at nationals, but they weren’t named to the Beijing Olympic team. She had decided to retire, but he was determined to go to Milan Cortina. Through the small world of Canadian figure skating, Pereira and Michaud’s respective coaches – Nancy Lemaire and Alison Purkiss – had dreamed up the union.
Was Pereira interested in switching to pairs?
Nervous but excited to do something new, Pereira agreed to give it a try. They clicked instantly and the new pairs elements came easy to her. But still she was hesitant: “I remember asking myself like, ‘Okay, Lia. Are you just doing this because it’s fresh and new and then you’re not going to want to do it in a year? Now my decisions are affecting somebody else.’”
In the end, she decided to go for it and on Monday night, Pereira and Michaud finished their Olympic debut in Milan, coming out of the Games as one of the world’s top teams, finishing eighth in the individual pairs event and fifth in the team event.
Figure skaters Stellato-Dudek, Deschamps end tumultuous Olympics on a high note
Heading into the free program, Pereira, 21, and Michaud, 29, were sitting in third. In the short program on Sunday, the duo laid down a season’s best score, while many of the expected top teams made costly mistakes.
On Monday, Pereira and Michaud started out strong with a big triple twist and then a solid triple toe, double axel jump sequence, but Michaud went down on the triple Salchow and then Pereira lost her edge in the death spiral.
Despite the bobbles, the pair – who are reigning Canadian champions – finished their Olympics with an impressive résumé.
“We’ve had four performances; four very good performances,” Michaud said afterward. Lots to take out of that. We’re super proud.”
Pereira and Michaud will shift their focus to the upcoming world championships, where they hope they can continue to build on their Olympic momentum.GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
In a dramatic comeback in the pairs event, Japan’s Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi performed a flawless free program that catapulted them from fifth after the short to the top of the podium. European champions, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia were silver and Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin came away with bronze. Meanwhile, Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps finished in 11th place.
After the skate, Pereira and Michaud said they will now be turning their focus to the World Championships, where they hope to keep themselves in the same conversation as the top teams in the world.
But as for another Olympics, both skaters said that four years ago at that Starbucks, they had only ever mapped out this far. Another season is new territory that will need a new plan.
“This was the goal when we started our partnership … to make Milano Cortina,” Pereira said. That said, she added, “we love competing and we love doing what we do.”
Said Michaud: “I feel like we’re still hungry for more.”
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