Gogolev inches closer to Olympic berth with first Canadian figure skating title

Stephen Gogolev is one step closer to the Olympic Games.

The 21-year-old from Toronto captured his first national title Saturday at the Canadian figure skating championships.

Skating to "Piano Concerto No. 2" by Sergei Rachmaninov, Gogolev landed two quad jumps to score 175.90 points in his free program, pushing his total to 275.50 after a stellar short program Friday.

Roman Sadovsky, the 2025 men's champion, claimed the silver medal with 255.10 points, climbing to second from fourth after the short program. The 26-year-old from Vaughan, Ont., broke down in tears at the end of an emotional skate.

Aleksa Rakic of New Westminster, B.C., took bronze (246.02).

Stephen Gogolev 1st in free program, wins men's singles national championship

Gogolev and Sadovsky arrived as co-favourites for their fifth head-to-head competition this season.

The matchup marked their final showdown with Canada's one men's singles spot in February's Milan Cortina Winter Games on the line.

The full Olympic figure skating team will be announced Sunday evening. Skate Canada's selection is not based solely on results at nationals, but on a body of work over the past couple seasons.

But Gogolev all but confirmed his place after entering the event with the highest total international score among Canadian men this season.

Earlier Saturday, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier led after the rhythm dance.

The four-time national champions scored 93.11 points – setting a personal best at nationals — to RuPaul's "Supermodel (You Better Work)" at Centre Slush Puppie, where they received a standing ovation.

"We just skated like we were at home," Gilles said. "We just treated this run-through basically as a home run-through, and I think all the details and all the