Radford, James finish 2nd in 1st pairs event together at Autumn Classic International
CBC
Canada's newest pairs duo, Eric Radford and Vanessa James, continued to impress at the Autumn International Classic on Friday, placing second in the free skate to finish their debut event second overall.
The pair received a free-skate score of 115.72 to bring their total to 184.01, well behind Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara's total of 204.06. The Japanese duo won both the short program and free skate, earning 131.74 in the latter.
Fellow Canadian duo Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps narrowly placed third with a score of 112.08, just 0.07 ahead of American pair Katie McBeath and Nathan Bartholomay.
Radford, a three-time Olympic medallist and two-time world champion, announced in April that he and James were coming out of retirement to compete together. James previously competed for France, topping the podium at European and Grand Prix Final championships, as well as earning bronze at worlds.
WATCH | Radford, James place 2nd in free skating pairs event:
The news came ahead of the season leading up to the Beijing 2022 Olympics, where Canada is slated to send two pairs teams.
WATCH | Japanese duo victorious in pairs event:
