Zachary Lagha

Early years

Lagha began learning to skate in 2004.^[1] He teamed up with Marjorie Lajoie in 2011.^[3] They won the novice title at the 2015 Canadian Championships, coached by Julien Lalonde, Mylène Girard, and Valérie Allard in Saint-Hubert, Quebec.^[4]

2015–2016 season

Following their novice title win, the two ended their partnership, later stating that at the time they had different ideas. Subsequently, they were encouraged to reunite by Marie-France Dubreuil, who they credited with facilitating their reformation in the summer of 2015.^[5][2] They then moved to train with Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, and Pascal Denis in Montreal, Quebec.^[6] Making their junior international debut, they placed seventh at a Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event in early October 2015 in Logroño, Spain.

In January 2016, Lajoie/Lagha were awarded the junior silver medal at the Canadian Championships, after placing fourth in the short dance and second in the free. The following month, they placed fourth in the main competition at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Hamar, Norway. Competing as members of Team Discovery, they won the bronze medal in the team event.^[7] In March, they ranked eleventth in the short dance, thirteenth in the free dance, and thirteenth overall at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.

2016–2017 season

Competing in the 2016 JGP series, Lajoie/Lagha placed fourth in Yokohama, Japan, and Dresden, Germany. At Skate Canada Challenge 2017, they broke the Canadian record in Junior ice dance, held since 2005 by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.^[8] They won the junior national title at the 2017 Canadian Championships. In March, they placed fifth in the short dance, seventh in the free dance, and sixth overall at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan.

2017–2018 season

Lajoie/Lagha opened the 2017 JGP series with a silver medal win at the JGP Australia event in Brisbane. They went on to win gold at JGP Croatia in Zagreb, setting new personal bests in the short dance and combined total score. These results qualified them for the Junior Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan. Lajoie sustained a concussion around late October and also had a hip injury.^[2] After a month recuperating, she returned to training two weeks before the JGP Final,^[2] where the duo placed sixth.

Lajoie/Lagha defended their junior national title at the 2018 Canadian Championships, breaking their own Canadian record.^[9] They closed out the season at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. They placed second in the short dance, earning a silver small medal, but placed fifth in the free dance, resulting in them placing narrowly off the podium in fourth place. Lagha commented: "We did everything we could and we skated well. The performance caps a strong season for us in which we really improved technically."^[10]

2018–2019 season

After some debate over their free program music for the year, Lagha proposed Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto, which was subsequently adopted. Desiring not to do a classical tango for the rhythm dance, Lajoie and Lagha picked a medley of songs by the contemporary Argentinian group Otros Aires.^[2]

Lajoie/Lagha began the 2018 JGP series at the JGP Austria event in Linz, winning the silver medal. The team's choreographic character step sequence was ruled invalid, costing them points. Lajoie expressed dissatisfaction with the performance, stating "the presentation was good but there’s a lot of work to do at the technical level."^[11] They took gold at JGP Canada, scoring personal bests in both segments, and qualified to their second JGP Final.