Andrew Poje

Biography

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje are three-time world medallists in ice dance, winning silver in 2014 to go with bronzes in 2015 and 2018. At the former, they came within two one-hundredths of a point of claiming the world title. That came on the heels of a seventh-place finish in their Olympic debut at Sochi 2014. In 2014-15, they won every event they entered until the world championships.

Weaver and Poje began their partnership in August 2006, after they had competed against each other with previous partners. When they both became available at the same time, they had a tryout and found an immediate connection. Just five months later they debuted at the Canadian championships where they won the bronze medal. They also won bronze at the 2007 World Junior Championships.

After competing at the 2007 and 2008 World Championships, they came up short of qualifying for the global event in 2009 and 2010. They also missed the Vancouver 2010 Olympic team by just three-tenths of a point. After Weaver was sworn in as a Canadian citizen in June 2009, they changed training locations to be in a more competitive environment. Working with coaches Pasquale Camerlengo and Angelika Krylova in the Detroit area, they became stronger technically. When they returned to the world championships in 2011 they were a much-improved team, evidenced by their fifth-place finish before moving up to fourth  at the 2012 World Championships. They had hoped to reach the podium at the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario, but their preparations were stalled when Weaver broke her right fibula in December 2012. She underwent surgery, causing them to miss the national championships.

Weaver returned to the ice in early February and they were able to compete in London, finishing an incredible fifth.  Ahead of the 2016-17 season, Weaver and Poje began training with coach Nikolai Morozov, splitting their ice time between Hackensack, New Jersey and Moscow, Russia. Taking their skating in a new direction, they finished fourth at the 2017 World Championships, missing the podium by less than four-tenths of a point. Their return to the world championship podium in 2018 followed their seventh-place finish at PyeongChang 2018.            

A little more about Andrew

Getting into the Sport: Started skating at age six… His mother used to figure skate so she enrolled his sister in figure skating… He would be at the rink with them so he was also put into lessons… Outside Interests: A self-described foodie who loves watching food documentaries and spending an off-day on his bike finding interesting restaurants… Working towards a biomedical science degree at the University of Waterloo… Right to Play ambassador… Odds and Ends: Admired the Russian ice dance team of Maia Usova and Alexander Zhulin for their lines and gracefulness on the ice… Always drinks coconut water before competing… Collects shot glasses for his sister during his travels…