DEBRECEN, HUNGARY (March 1st, 2025) – Fourth after the short program, Martina Ariano Kent (Montreal, Quebec) and Charly Laliberté-Laurent (Boucherville, Quebec) improved their position on Saturday to take home the bronze medal from the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
Ariano Kent and Laliberté-Laurent presented the third best free program of the day at the Fonix Arena, earning 99.21 points, bringing their total to 155.02. They were joined on the podium by Georgians Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava (191.01), who repeat their title as junior world champions, and Ukrainians Sofiia Holichenko and Artem Darenskyi (164.06).
“It’s incredible, I still can’t believe it!” said Ariano Kent. “Before the competition, we kept repeating the same phrases to each other, so we’d be in the best possible state of mind. Now here we are, on the podium with the best skaters in the world. It’s very special.”
“It’s a dream come true,” added Laliberté-Laurent. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity lately and I think it’s helped build our character. We focused on our jumps and that’s what really made the difference.”
Also, in action in the pairs event, Jazmine Desrochers (Mississauga, Ontario) and Kieran Thrasher (Amherstburg, Ontario) took eighth place overall with 147.35 points, while Ava Kemp (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Yohnatan Elizarov (Winnipeg, Manitoba) finished in 10th place with 145.37 points.
On the women’s side, Lulu Lin (Oakville, Ontario) placed 24th in the free program with 89.41 points. She finished in 24th overall with a total of 143.38.
“My free program wasn’t great, I fell a few times, and I lost my concentration,” Lin commented after the competition. “I was still able to finish well. I’m coming back from a concussion, and I had to miss a few competitions before Worlds, which had an impact on my preparation. I’m going to come back strong for the rest of the season.”
The ISU World Junior Championships full results are available here.