Gabrielle Daleman performs in the senior women short program during the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships at Harbour Station in Saint John.Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Gabrielle Daleman is the leader after the short program at the Canadian figure skating championships, her first event since taking a break to focus on her mental health.
The 21-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., scored 70.18 points for her program to “Habanera,” by Georges Bizet.
Meanwhile, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje lead after the short dance program. The world silver and bronze medallists scored 85.19 points to take a two-point lead over Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (83.08).
Daleman, the 2017 world bronze medallist and a two-time Canadian champion, announced in October she was withdrawing from Skate Canada International to focus on her mental health. She also withdrew from her second Grand Prix assignment, the NHK Trophy in Japan, effectively ending her fall competition season.
Larkyn Austman of Vancouver was second in the short program, scoring 64.53, while Veronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., was third with 60.55.
Skate Canada officials said earlier this week that Daleman preferred not to speak to media until after Saturday’s free program. She’s been open in the past discussing her battles with an eating disorder and a learning disability.
Daleman was part of the Canadian squad that won gold in the team event at the Pyeongchang Olympics. But she fell three times during a disastrous long program in the singles event and burst into tears when the music stopped.