Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps – 2024 World Figure Skating Pairs FS (CBC)

Please welcome the next competitors from Canada. They have the skate of their lives in the short last night. They smashed their season's best score by more than five points. They'll need another skate like that now if they want to take the world title. Remember, they have a four-point lead on the reigning world champions from Japan. But the Japanese team's free program has a higher base value. World title on the line. You know you need to skate your best. And you need to be in the best mental state to do it. Opening with a huge triple twist. Their big combination, a little less big. They opt for triple toe, single axel, double axel. They hope to make up in grade of execution what they lose in base value. Triple toe, single axel, and a stumble out of the double axel. Diana didn't carry speed from the single into the double. You have to think, Kurt. They have to go flawless. Not to add more tension, but Max had trouble with this next jump in the warm-up. Side-by-side triple sows. They do the very unique forward outside death spiral. Hoping to pick up some points ahead of the other teams. That's a very difficult death spiral. And they also got a great grade of execution out of it as well, 1.02. Skating to interview with a vampire. Creating tension. Into their throws. First throw, triple sow count. A little bit of a shaky turn there for Max, but he stayed focused and committed to finish the lift safely. He could have given Diana his hand to grab for two arms, and he didn't. He stayed committed to breathe. This is when all the training comes into play, deep in the program, when it counts. Last throw. There it is. Last element, last lift, star lift. Max has to keep his focus here until the end. Beautiful position. The last world champions for Canada. Megan de Hamel, Eric Bradford, 2016, and then again in 2017. Will Diana Stiletta-Dudak and Max de Chambres be the next? It wasn't the best we've seen them skate, but it was still a great skate. And that's something I always tell the skaters, it doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to be great. And it was the kind of skate that brought everyone along with them. The little tiny mistakes were gutted out and it sort of almost added to the grit of the interview with the vampire program and the tension that was riding along with it. But they did not shut the door on the Japanese. Completely. It did not. There was a few little baubles. Elated support team. Here's a look back at the triple twist. Perfect. Clean catch. Diana comes out so confidently with a little flick of her left wrist. She does, doesn't she? Look at me, I'm here to shine. Triple toe. We saw a bit of hesitation there before she stepped for that double axel. I think she got what we call in skating around the corner too far and the right shoulder took over in that axel. But they didn't let it get to them. Here's the forward outside. That's what Megan was telling you all about. Worth more points. I think it's worth base value of seven, isn't it? And so every little bit helps. Keeping that right hand off the ice. Fighting for every single bit. Little crumb of GOE added to the base value. And right at the end of the program, with the throw trouble loop, digging deep in her knee, but not letting that free leg touch down. I think it did. You think so? I think it barely touched. Didn't support her weight, but it did touch. And those are interesting moments at the end where Max feels that elation. And Diana's got all those really minor things. Is it enough? Is it enough? Right now the Germans sit in first place. But remember, the Canadians did have a five point edge on the Germans heading into the free skate. There's a look at the teams right now that sit first, second, third and second place, the Hungarians. The scores, please. Season's best score, 144.08. Judges say that's the best free program that we've seen so far with one team to go. So the Canadians will be in the lead. They will finish on the podium. They can finish now no lower than in second place.