A pair of top Kelowna figure skaters made a strong international impression last week at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International.
Olivia Gran, 13, and Mckenna Colthorp, 15, were assigned to represent Canada at the Montreal-hosted event, based on skill sets that rank amongst the top junior level skaters in Canada. The event featured top skaters from Canada, Korea, Mexico, and other nations.
Gran, an Okanagan Mission Secondary student, opened with a fifth place short program, but landed six triple jumps in a strong free program to finish with a total score of 133.49 points, good for a silver medal finish behind Ontario skater Aurora Cotop.
This was Gran’s second international assignment of the season. In August, she represented Canada at the ISU Junior Grand Prix event at St. Gervais, France, where she finished ninth.
Colthorp, also an OKM student, opened with a second place short program and finished in fourth overall after the free program segment. Her total score of 129.67 points would leave her less than one point shy of the podium.
This was Colthorp’s second international assignment as well, representing Canada at the Classic last season.
“Having two skaters selected for this event is huge for our club,” said Kelowna Skating Club Director Jason Mongrain. “We’ve started to scratch the surface with a few international assignments in the past several years, but this is the first time in our club’s history we’ve had 2 in the same year.”