What to watch this weekend in Olympic sports

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Canadian athletes got a head start on another packed weekend of Olympic sports by capturing several medals today. Here’s a look at who won and the key events coming up:

Figure skating

Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps were among the top contenders for the pairs title at the prestigious Grand Prix Final after winning both of their regular-season starts. But they slid from second place after the short program to the bronze medal today. The new German team of Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won gold to complete a perfect Grand Prix season. Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii took the silver. Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud finished sixth in the six-team event. 

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will have to rally if they’re to repeat as ice dance champs. The Canadians are in third place after today’s opening round, trailing world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States and Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri. The Canadian duos of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen and Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha are fifth and sixth, respectively.

The dance, women’s and men’s events conclude Saturday. Women’s world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan topped today’s short program as she chases her first Grand Prix Final title. American teenager Ilya “the Quad God” Malinin is the men’s leader after yesterday’s brilliant short program that included, yes, his signature quad axel. No Canadians qualified for the singles competitions.

Freestyle skiing

Moguls star Mikaël Kingsbury bounced back from last week’s disappointing (for him) bronze at the season opener in Finland to  win today’s men’s competition in Sweden. It was the Canadian’s record-extending 81st World Cup victory. He’ll go for another in Saturday’s dual moguls event.

In ski cross, Canada’s Jared Schmidt captured his first-ever World Cup gold medal today in France, while Britt Phelan took silver in the women’s race. Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund placed fourth, ending the Olympic and world champ’s incredible winning streak. She’d won 18 consecutive World Cup starts.

Speed skating

The short track World Cup tour resumes in Beijing after a month-long break. Canada’s Steven Dubois, who ranks second in the men’s overall standings, returns to the rink where he won three medals (one of each colour) at the 2022 Olympics. The medal races go Saturday and Sunday.

The long track season continues in Poland, where no Canadians reached the podium today. There are more races Saturday and Sunday.

Some other things happening this weekend:

* Olympic medallist Laurie Blouin is among the Canadians competing in a snowboard big air World Cup event at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium. Riders will launch from a towering scaffold jump that starts above the upper deck.

* The bobsleigh World Cup tour continues in France, where Canadians will make their season debut after their rebuilding team did not send anyone to the opener in China. Cynthia Appiah, who finished third in the women’s monobob standings last season, will compete in that event and pilot a two-woman sled with brakewoman Leah Walkeden. No Canadians reached the podium in today’s skeleton races.

* Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson kept their gold-medal hopes alive by winning their playoff match today at beach volleyball’s Pro Tour Finals in Doha. The fourth-ranked Canadians’ only loss in the group stage was to the top-ranked Brazilian pair of Ana Patricia Ramos and Duda Lisboa, who beat Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson in the gold-medal match at last month’s Pan Am Games in Chile. The semifinals and finals are on Saturday.

How to watch:

All of the events mentioned above can be seen live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Saturday’s CBC Sports Presents show on the CBC TV network features beach volleyball, moguls, ski cross and alpine skiing. Watch it from 2-6 p.m. ET. Here’s the full streaming and broadcast schedule.