Lia Cho, 13, breaks own Canadian junior women’s record at figure skating nationals

Lia Cho skates in her free program at the 2025 Canadian Figure Skating Championships at Place Bell in Laval, Que. in this Friday Jan. 17, 2025 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Skate Canada-Danielle Earl *MANDATORY CREDIT *

GATINEAU — Lia Cho’s score was so high, it didn’t immediately register.

The figure skating prodigy set another Canadian junior women’s record en route to gold at the 2026 Canadian figure skating championships Wednesday.

Cho, a 13-year-old from Calgary, topped the junior women’s field with 199.60 points, besting her previous mark of 188.79 set at nationals last year in Laval, Que.

“I was just so surprised, that was like such a high score and I was like ‘Wow, that’s like the highest score I’ve ever gotten,’” she said. “And the thing is, I couldn’t understand the French, so I was looking at my coach like, is that a good score? And then they spoke it in English, and I was like, ‘Whoa,’ I was like, ‘that’s such a high score!’”

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Cho landed seven triple jumps at Centre Slush Puppie to beat Victoria Barakhtina, who claimed silver with 171.93 points. Quinn Startek took bronze (157.93).

Cho, who skates out of The Glencoe Club with coach Scott Davis, was an ice patcher at nationals in 2024. She will become eligible for the world junior championships in 2027.

In the junior men’s event, Parker Heiderich of Calgary captured gold with 188.16 points, finishing ahead of silver medallist William Chan and bronze medallist James Cha.

Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys won gold in junior ice dance, scoring 170.33.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2026.

The Canadian Press