Canadian ice dancers Gilles, Poirier sit 3rd at Grand Prix Final

Canadian ice dance duo Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier sit third after the rhythm dance at the figure skating Grand Prix Final on Thursday in Nagoya, Japan.

The duo had a score of 82.89 points, trailing Olympic gold medal favourites Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States (88.74) and Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France (87.56).

Canadians Gilles and Poirier sit in 3rd place at ISU Grand Prix Final

Chock and Bates, the three-time reigning world champions, won a record-tying sixth ice dance title at Skate America in November. They also won the Cup of China. They won the Grand Prix Final in 2023 and 2024.

Reigning Olympic, World and Grand Prix champs Chock and Bates lead at Grand Prix Final

Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudex and Maxime Deschamps, the 2024 world champions, are in sixth with a score of 71.06.

Canadian pair Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps in last place at Grand Prix Final

In the men's competition, Yuma Kagiyama upstaged world champion Ilia Malinin of the United States to lead the men's short program.

Malinin hasn't lost a competition in more than two years and is the gold medal favorite for the Milan Cortina Olympics but stepped out of his opening jump, a quadruple axel-triple toe loop combination, and finished third behind Kagiyama and his Japanese compatriot Shun Sato.

Malinin wasn't fazed by the mistake on the quad axel, calling it an experiment that was something he likely wouldn't attempt at the Olympics.

"I just wanted to try this combo out," Malinin said. "It was the first time in a competition and it didn't work out so I had to just continue with the program."

Japanese pair Miura and Kihara lead on home ice at the ISU Grand Prix Final

Malinin also lost points on a quadruple