TORONTO -- At the world figure skating championships last spring, Piper Gilles wore a bejewelled Canadian flag that shed crafted herself on the right shoulder of her bodysuit. She wasnt a Canadian yet, but had fingers crossed her citizenship would come through in time to compete at the Sochi Olympics with ice dance partner Paul Poirier. Her dream was realized Tuesday at a citizenship ceremony in Toronto. "I have felt like a Canadian citizen for some time and I am extremely excited that it is now official," Gilles said in a release. "Ive dreamed about competing in the Olympics my whole life and hope to be in Sochi next year. There is no bigger stage than the Olympics and it would be an honour to represent Canada in front of the entire world." Gilles, whose mom Bonnie is a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S., was born in Illinois and moved to Canada in 2011 to train with Poirier, a native of Unionville, Ont. They were second at the Canadian championships last winter in a field missing Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, who were fourth at the 2012 world championships. Gilles and Poirier will try to earn one of Canadas three ice dance spots for the Sochi Olympics at the Canadian figure skating championships Jan. 9-15 in Ottawa. Barring any major mishaps, Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Weaver and Poje will be locks to secure the first two berths. "This sets up an exciting battle in ice dance at the upcoming 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships," Skate Canadas CEO Dan Thompson said in a release. "This adds one more team into the very strong ice dance field competing for those spots." Weaver also moved north for her figure skating career. The Houston-born skater became a Canadian citizen on June 22, 2009. Canadas figure skating team will be announced on Jan. 12. Air Max Vendita Online . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Air Max Outlet Italia . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. http://www.italiaairmax.it/.The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court. Scarpe Air Max In Offerta . The 19-year-old Swiss centre back will initially have to impress in Uniteds reserve side to earn a spot in the first team. Veseli says "Manchester United has a long history of younger players coming through and hopefully I can follow and do the same. Air Max Italia . Johns, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., after a deal was announced to build a new $106-million "event centre" in the Lake Superior community.RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Rafael Nadal showed no signs of a tender back Tuesday, defeating fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the Rio Open. It was No. 1-ranked Nadals first match since losing three weeks ago in the Australia Open final against Stanislas Wawrinka, a match the Spaniard was a heavy favourite to win. Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the final in Australia, bringing up questions again about his health to start a season. A year ago he was coming back from a left knee injury, which he overcame to win the French and US Open. "Daniel is a specialist on clay, so for me it was a great match after so much time off after the final in Australia because of the back problems," Nadal said. "I practiced very little. So I was happy to get back, and get back with a victory." Nadal looked fine on the outdoor red clay and seems headed for a possible final Sunday against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer. Ferrer defeated Jeremy Chardy in his first-round match 6-2, 6-3. Nadal broke Gimeno-Traver in the sixth game en route to taking the first set. The two were even in the second set until Nadal broke in the 11th game and then served out to win.dddddddddddd Nadal has the best clay-court record in the Open Era, 294-21. "For Rio, for the Brazilian people, for everybody its nice because hes No. 1 in the world," third-seeded Fabio Fognini said of Nadal. "For the tournament, especially because its the first year, I think it will help." Other seeded players advancing on Tuesday included: No. 3 Fognini, No. 4 Tommy Robredo, No. 7 Juan Monaco and 8 Pablo Andujar. Ousted were No. 5 Nicolas Almagro and No. 6 Marcel Granollers. In the combined WTA event, top-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic won her first-round match, beating Colombias Mariana Duque-Marino 6-4, 6-4. Second-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy was eliminated in a 6-4, 6-4 to Spains Lourdes Dominguez Lino. Unseeded Teliana Pereira defeated No. 4 Alexandra Cadantu 6-3, 6-4 to become the first Brazilian woman ranked in the top 100 in 23 years. The last was Andrea Vieira. Brazils most famous womens player is Maria Bueno, who won seven Grand Slams, the last at the US Open in 1966. ' ' '