Battle-hardened duo of Gilles-Poirier ready for their moment in Beijing

The hardest part is letting go.

Piper Gilles had left her American home to pursue an Olympic dream with Canada, Paul Poirier had a devastating ankle injury that proved too big a setback in trying to qualify for Sochi. Together, they were able to achieve so much of what they wanted through their ice dancing routines, except the final results.

Just two months ahead of the PyeongChang Olympics, it was that empty feeling that hit them once again at their final Grand Prix of the season in Lake Placid, New York. Everyone had the nicest things to say about their performances, but couldn't quite get there in reflecting that feedback in their scores. On the car ride back to Toronto, looking at themselves, seeing all the ups and downs that brought them to this moment, it was time to let go of what everyone else thought.

"There's a point in your career where simply showing up and working hard in your career makes you better," Poirier said recently of that epiphanous moment. "Then you reach a point as an athlete where simply showing up and working hard doesn't make you better anymore. It's very easy in that process of trying to figure out 'What do we do next?' to get lost a little bit."

In the wilderness, not knowing where to go, they released their inhibitions and found the direction they needed, with perhaps a final destination of the podium at the Beijing Olympics.

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Gilles was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1992, a city that has risen to prominence amongst Canadians with the rise to prominence of fellow Rockford native Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors. She grew up skating just like her twin sister Alexe and older brother Todd, and a move to Colorado Springs at the age of seven united her with coach Patti Gottwein, who was already training her brother.

With success at the junior level, Gilles partnered with Zach Donohue to find the next level in 2008. While there were some momentous occasions, the partnership itself was combustible.

"They were brilliant together, but they didn't get along at all," Gottwein said. "She was really in a tough stage where there were things going on at the rink that were challenging and the partnership was challenging. It was just a perfect storm for her to kind of lose her way for a little bit without anything of her own doing."

So put off by the experience, Gilles looked at other avenues of seeking joy courtesy of a move to Los Angeles at 18, before her competitive ice dancing career had barely begun. She appeared in a Simple Plan music video and was on her way to Disney on Ice for the role of Rapunzel.

All the while, Gottwein kept the faith. Having trained her since she was a little girl, Gottwein believed there was so much left for Gilles to accomplish. She quietly let those in the competitive skating world know that Gilles was available for potential opportunities.

Poirier also happened to be looking for a fresh start. Having already made an Olympics appearance at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, he was looking to take the next step in his career. He had known Gilles from junior competitions and her mother, Bonnie, had heard through the grapevines that Poirier was looking for a partner. With just two days to go before Gilles would head to Disney, she was convinced by both Gottwein and Bonnie to instead go to Canada and see if there was a fit with Poirier.

Within a couple minutes at Scarboro Figure Skating Club, the two knew they had something special, and everyone watching, including coach Carol Lane, could see it, too. The similarities in their skating style were evident and pointed to a chemistry the pros know is rare to find. 

"What makes our work so rewarding, in a way, is that you do feel a lot of the time that you are working blindly," Poirier said. "You kind of set out this path for yourself, and it's a forest with no path, and you just hope you're going to end up where you want to end up."