World ice dance champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski took the gold in The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, held in Russia’s St Petersburg.

Denkova and Staviski emerged leaders after their free dance, receiving the highest mark of 101.12 points, Focus news agency reported.

Russians Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin ranked second in the free dance, followed by Canadian pair Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon.

Dubreuil and Lauzon were leaders after the original dance. Denkova and Staviski took the lead in the free dance, gathering a total of 161.24 points. The Canadians’ score reached 156.34 points and ranked second.

The first place granted the Bulgarian skaters $25 000 from the award pool totaling $272 000.

This week Denkova and Staviski are expected to receive a sportsperson of the year award in Bulgaria. They are to travel to the country right after the champions’ gala performance on December 17.

Photo courtesy of isu.org