Les Suprêmes of Canada took the lead as the ISU Synchronized Skating World Championships kicked off Friday in front of a sold-out arena in Salzburg, Austria with a thriller of a Short Program. But the competition is not over yet and the scene is set for a fascinating finale on Saturday. 

Les Suprêmes (CAN) skated to a strong lead in the Short Program in Salzburg ©ISU

Les Suprêmes (CAN) on the road to redemption

Team spirit, inspiring performances, great atmosphere: The first day of the event ticked all the boxes. The three-time ISU World Champions Les Suprêmes of Canada are on the road to redemption after missing the podium a year ago. The Canadians skated to a strong lead ahead of multiple World medalists The Haydenettes (USA). Canada’s Nova Senior was a surprise in third place.

Performing to “Hymne à l’amour”, Les Suprêmes turned in an excellent performance, highlighted by superb elements executed at high speed and in perfect unison. The Canadians picked up a level four, the highest degree of difficulty, for their elements to score 83.24 points. 

“We're skating to Céline Dion’s cover of Edith Piaf that she sang at the Olympics,” Julia Bernardo said. “It's a story about love that even through a tragic loss, the connection is eternal. Through our skate, we wanted to show love and a connection. We wanted the crowd to feel something, feel our emotions,” she added. 

“We’ve worked hard and we’re most proud when it comes out at the right time,” Olivia di Giandomenico commented. “There were so many emotions and we felt a lot of love. When we hit the ending pose, we couldn’t be more proud.”

Happy Haydenettes bounce back 

The Haydenettes turned in an inspiring performance to “Crazy Train”, showing off their skating skills, harmony and difficult elements. The reward was a season's best of 79.30 points. The success didn’t come easy to the team that had to overcome some difficulties this season. Due to injuries, the Americans didn’t even have a full team on the ice until November and later some team members fell sick. 

The Haydenettes (USA) shone on the ice in Salzburg ©ISU

“We've had to have all of our skaters step in at one point to skate internationally,” Paige Felton noted. “Having those skaters be able to step in, it really gelled us as a team together. It really makes moments like these even more special knowing that every single one of us has such a crucial role in where we are today,” she continued. 

“We really left our hearts on the ice today and that's the most important part,” Taylor Olender shared. “This is ice skating. We love it. We love what we do and that's why we're here. I'm just really proud of this team for putting our entire beings into the skate today and it was beautiful. I hit that ending pose and the feeling was like no other."

Nova Senior suprises

Nova Senior emerged as a medal contender with a season's best performance to “Still Loving You” by Scorpions. They netted 75.95 points to sit in medal position for the first time. 

Nova Senior (CAN) sit in a medal position for the first time ©ISU

“It’s Nova Senior’s fourth World Championship, so, of course, just being here is an honor to represent our country and to represent Nova,” Morgan Bennett said. “We're very proud, of course, to be on the podium is a very happy surprise,” she added.

“It's an honor actually, to be in a medal position, but we just enjoy it and do business as usual for tomorrow,” Noemie Beaucage explained. “We don't put that much stress on having a medal; it's not the goal of the competition. Our goal is just to do the best that we can and have season bests like we did today.”

Favorite Finns out of the top three on day one

Four-time and reigning ISU World Champions Helsinki Rockettes placed fourth after two skaters fell in the Intersection (72.44 points) in their dynamic performance to “Carmina Burana” but they still can catch up in the Free Skating. The Skyliners (USA) came fifth on 70.46 points followed by Team Berlin 1 (GER) in sixth at 68.68 points. 

Defending ISU World silver medalists Team Unique (FIN) sit in seventh place after some errors on 66.16 points. 

Inspire (SWE) skated in the first group as they have a low world ranking but set the bar high with their captivating performance to “Where Have You Been” and “A Taste of Things to Come”. They earned a season's best of 65.83 points to finish eighth. 

Twenty-two teams with 489 skaters representing 17 ISU Members compete in the Salzburgarena. Austria hosts the prestigious event for the very first time since it started in 2000. 

For full entries and results, please see the ISU event page and the official event page. 

ISU Synchronized Skating World Championships 2026 Schedule

Saturday, April 11: Synchro9 Demo + Free Skating

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