Canada's Lajoie, Lagha lead after rhythm dance at junior figure skating worlds
Duo will compete for gold at Saturday's free skate
Canada's Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha received the highest score in the rhythm dance at the junior figure skating world championships on Thursday in Zagreb, Croatia.
The duo from Quebec scored 70.14 points to lead the ice dance competition. The free skate takes place Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.
A trio of Russian pairs followed Lajoie, 19, and Lagha, 20, in the standings. Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva and Nikita Nazaroz placed second with 68.69 points, with Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko in third (67.56 points) and Arina Ushakova and Maxim Nekrasov in fourth (65.96 points).
WATCH | Lajoie, Lagha lead after rhythm dance:
''It was very stressful,'' said Lagha, from Greenfield Park, Que. ''The short program is always the hardest. We gave a good showing of what we've been working on.''
Lajoie, from Boucherville, Que., kept focused on the performance.
''I wanted to feel like it was just another competition,'' she said. ''I didn't want to think about the name 'world juniors' and just concentrate on my skating.''
A second Canadian duo, Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer, also secured qualification with 55.58 points and a 13th-place finish.
WATCH | The entire rhythm dance program:
Canada's Brooke McIntosh and Brandon Toste placed 10th in the pairs event, while Gabrielle Levesque and Pier-Alexandre Hudon came in just below them in 14th place.
Russia swept the pairs podium as three separate duos eclipsed the 110-point plateau.
Competition resumes Friday with the ladies' short program at 5 a.m. ET followed by the men's free at 12:15 p.m. ET.
WATCH | The entire pairs free program:
