Canada's Gogolev looks to build on Olympic performance at figure skating worlds

Gogolev skates to the medal ceremony after winning the senior men's figure skating competition at the 2026 Canadian National Skating Championships in Gatineau, Que., on Jan. 10, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Patrick Chan was nearing the end of his storied career when Stephen Gogolev burst onto the scene with limitless potential.

Just 13, Gogolev was already armed with a full arsenal of quad jumps and was poised to become Chan’s heir apparent in Canadian men’s figure skating.

“The next phenom,” recalled Chan, a three-time world champion. “He was going to maybe be my rival.”

A foot-long growth spurt and subsequent back injuries stalled Gogolev’s rise and pushed him to the brink of quitting. But this season, he’s making good on that promise.

Gogolev, now 21, enters this week’s world championships in Prague with momentum after a breakout performance at last month’s Milan Cortina Olympics, where he placed fifth for the best result by a Canadian man since Chan took silver at the 2014 Winter Games.

“Now we’re fast forwarding almost 10 years later, and he’s finally done it,” Chan said in a phone interview last month. “I’m just so proud for Stephen.”

On a wild night in Milan, Gogolev posted the second-best free skate and finished a mere 1.12 points off the podium, announcing himself to the broader sporting world in the first major international competition of his career.

The Toronto skater sat briefly in the leader’s chair at Milano Ice Skating Arena before watching several contenders stumble, including a shocking collapse from overwhelming favourite Ilia Malinin.

“It was very exciting in a sense,” he said last week during a conference call. “I knew if I skated my best, my expectations were somewhere around top 10, top eight. But never, I don’t think, had I imagined myself being in a top-five position, especially being less than two points away from third.

“But knowing that I gave it my all and this was my personal best and the best I’ve competed ever, I have no regrets whatsoever.”

Since the Games, Gogolev said his life hasn’t changed all that much, though more people recognize him when he walks into his skating club, and his University of Toronto classroom — where he studies political science — or the occasional restaurant. His social media profile is growing, too, with fans on TikTok affectionately dubbing him “Mr. Canada.”

His mindset, he says, remains unchanged heading into the world championships. Gogolev is focused on skating his best and replicating his training rather than setting results-based expectations.

However, there is a growing self-belief in his capabilities, a stark contrast to how he felt during the low points of past seasons.

“Throughout the season it’s been confidence-inspiring,” he said. “Especially after Olympics because this was my first big international event, and competing the way I did, it’s definitely confidence-inspiring.

“Just looking forward to competing at worlds.”

In recent years, Gogolev’s back problems have repeatedly cut seasons short. In December 2024, he even took three months off the ice.

Finally healthy this season, all he’s done is level up from one event to the next, winning his first Grand Prix medal and first Canadian championship before delivering in the team and individual events in Milan.

“All throughout the season I was able to build kind of my reputation and the world ranking as well, which I am very happy about,” he said.

In Prague, Gogolev will compete at his first world championships, beginning with Thursday’s short program, and could be a dark horse for the podium in a weakened field without Olympic gold medallist Mikhail Shaidorov. A top-10 finish would secure two men’s singles spots for Canada at next year’s worlds.

There is reason to believe Gogolev is just scratching the surface. A gifted jumper, he has two quads in his free program (salchow, toe loop) but can land two others in practice (lutz, loop). He has also said he “would want to try” the 4 1/2-revolution quad axel — a jump only Malinin has landed.

Questions have circulated about the lack of contenders in Canadian men’s figure skating despite a strong lineage from Brian Orser to Kurt Browning, Elvis Stojko and Chan. For now, Gogolev is offering an answer.

“We need this in Canadian figure skating,” Chan said. “We need somebody who’s not flashy, just do your job. Let’s get the spots for the next world championships. Let’s earn our stripes again. Let’s rebuild the skating program.”

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

In what could be the final event of their competitive careers, Olympic ice dance bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are bringing back a fan-favourite program.

Skate Canada revealed Tuesday that the four-time world medallists will skate to the “Wuthering Heights” soundtrack in the free dance, instead of the emotional “Vincent” routine that propelled them to the Olympic podium.

At the 2024 world championships in Montreal, Gilles and Poirier won the free dance while performing to “Wuthering Heights” and captured their first silver medal. The switch is timely, after the “Wuthering Heights” film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi hit theatres in January.

CANADA’S TEAM

Gogolev, Gilles and Poirier headline a group of 12 Canadian skaters heading to Prague. Madeline Schizas is Canada’s lone women’s singles entry, while Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud hold the country’s best medal hopes in pairs with Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps absent.

Pereira and Michaud, who won their first national title in January, were third after the short program in the Milan individual pairs event and finished eighth.

“It just really helped us when we came home to know that, OK, these were the right tools that we used to prepare,” Pereira said. “Let’s do that again.”

Competition begins Wednesday with women’s and pairs short programs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press