Last year, the ice dance podium made history by becoming the first group of ice dance World medalists to all be in their 30s. The three teams are all back again, and they are all back again as podium favorites and ready to extend the record even more. And the chances are good on that front. As we look ahead to the Olympics in two years, however, this event also gives us a glimpse of who will be making moves—momentum is real in ice dance.
2024 Worlds top 10 predictions
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GOLD Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier CAN - Home ice advantage—might that be the difference? Never underestimate the massive jolts of energy that a Canadian crowd can add to a home team, and if Stellato/Deschamps’ ovations in pairs have been any indication, that energy will translate to Gilles/Poirier as well. They have been knocking at the door for a few seasons. Might this be their year?
SILVER Madison Chock/Evan Bates USA - The defending champs are back for more hardware. They have four World medals, including two the past two seasons. Being in their home training base in Montreal is also a special occasion for Chock/Bates. The last time we saw them was at Nationals, where both came down with an illness during the event and eked out a win for their fifth US title. Can they take it a notch up and win another World title?
BRONZE Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri ITA - The Italians are once again flying a bit under the radar, particularly as the attention has focused on the Canadians in Canada or the Americans trying to win their second title. Lest we forget, they won silver here last year and have put up some big scores this season as well.
4. Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson GBR - Coming off another silver at Europeans, it feels like Fear/Gibson are inching closer and closer to that top group of skaters internationally. They won NHK Trophy this year over Guignard/Fabbri, and like Chock/Bates, they will be competing in their home training base of Montreal.
5. Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Soerensen CAN - Like Fear/Gibson, Fournier Beaudry/Sorensen also have the potential to upset for a podium spot. But more serious than that is the ongoing investigation for alleged sexual assault by Soerensen. No doubt it will be part of the narrative on and off the ice here. They took silver at Four Continents two months ago.
6. Majorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha CAN - Talk about momentum, it may very well be these Canadians who get the most benefit leading into the next two years—both from the home crowd and from the way their season has gone. They started slowly and built strongly, only to be hampered by a concussion that took them out of Canadians and Four Continents. They are back this week and ready to pick up where they left off.
7. Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius LTU - Also making strides the past few seasons are the Lithuanians, who made some history with their bronze medal at their two Grand Prix events and at Europeans this season. They were seventh last year at Worlds.
8. Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versulius FIN - It’s been an up and down season for Turkkila/Versluis, some solid results in the fall but then sixth at Europeans after bronze last year. They were ninth last year at Worlds.
9. Evgeniia Lopareva/Geoffrey Brissaud FRA - Just outside the top 10 last year, Lopareva/Brissaud have been impressing this season with their programs, particularly their rhythm dance. They were fourth at Europeans and looking to build off that great performance.
10. Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko USA - In their second Worlds, Carreira/Ponomarenko bring improved all-around skating from last season, and that translated to a bronze at Four Continents in January. They were tenth at Worlds last year.
Other teams to watch for top 10: Davis/Smolkin, Demougeot/le Mercier, Taschlerova/Taschler