13-Year-Old Cho Shatters Canadian Junior Women’s Skating Record

Lia Cho Smashes Canadian Junior Women’s Figure Skating Record

Lia Cho’s score at the 2026 Canadian Figure Skating Championships was so high, it took a moment to sink in.

The 13-year-old Calgary skater set a new Canadian junior women’s record, winning gold with 199.60 points, surpassing her own previous mark of 188.79 set at last year’s nationals in Laval, Quebec.

“I was just so surprised—it was such a high score,” Cho said. “At first, I didn’t understand the French announcement, so I looked at my coach to see if it was good. Then they announced it in English, and I thought, ‘Whoa, that’s my highest score ever!’”

Cho landed seven triple jumps at Centre Slush Puppie, edging out Victoria Barakhtina, who earned silver with 171.93 points. Quinn Startek claimed bronze with 157.93 points.

Skating out of The Glencoe Club under coach Scott Davis, Cho was an ice patcher at nationals just two years ago in 2024. She will be eligible to compete at the World Junior Championships in 2027.

In the junior men’s event, Parker Heiderich of Calgary won gold with 188.16 points, ahead of silver medallist William Chan and bronze medallist James Cha.

In junior ice dance, Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys took gold with a score of 170.33.