Tag Archive for: Las Vegas

Strong start continues for Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen with bronze at Skate America

LAS VEGAS – Ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen of Montreal collected a third international medal this season with a bronze on Saturday night at Skate America, the opening stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. won the gold medal with 209.55 points edging Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia in second at 206.57. Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen followed at 197.53.

Last month the Canadians won the gold medal the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany and the silver at the Lombardia Trophy in Italy.

‘’We were excited and grateful to give two solid performances here,’’ said Fournier Beaudry. ‘’We just want to keep building that momentum.’’

In men’s competition, Canada’s Keegan Messing ranked eighth for his free skate to drop from third to fourth with 239.34 points. Two-time world champion Nathan Chen of the U.S. won the gold medal with 299.09, followed by compatriot Jason Brown at 255.09 and Russia’s Dmitri Aliev at 253.55.

It was Messing’s first competition since his younger brother Paxon was killed in a motorcycle accident last month. After an emotional short on Friday, Messing admitted it was hard to regroup for the free.

‘’It was very hard to keep my mind focused and it was a big fight,’’ said Messing about his free skate. ‘’I’m very pleased in the end that I was able to fight through this and skate here this weekend.’’

In pairs, Montreal’s Camille Ruest and Andrew Wolfe moved from seventh to sixth overall. The event was won by Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China.

‘’It was a great opportunity for us to get international exposure,’’ said Wolfe. ‘’We gained a lot of experience.’’

Anna Sherbakova of Russia won gold in women’s competition while Veronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., was 10th.

‘’I felt great about both my skates here and I feel I’m on the right track,’’ said Mallet.

The second stop on the circuit is Skate Canada this Friday and Saturday in Kelowna, B.C.

Full results: ISU GP 2019 Skate America

Inspirational performance puts Messing third after short program

LAS VEGAS – Carrying a heavy heart, Canada’s Keegan Mesing brought the house down in his short program in men’s competition to stand third at Skate America, the season opening event on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Two-time world champion Nathan Chen of the U.S. is first with 102.71 points, Dmitri Aliev of Russia is second at 96.57 just ahead of Messing at 96.34, a personal best international score.

Less than a month ago, Messing’s younger brother Paxon was killed in a motorcycle accident. In his short, Messing skated a clean program to Ed Sheeran’s Perfect and received an emotional standing ovation from the crowd.

‘’Coming here this week was a huge decision for me with everything that happened,’’ said Messing, 27. ‘’This was a very hard skate to come to.  Just being on the ice the last few weeks has been one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do.’’

He opened landing his quad and triple toe loops then the triple Axel. He pointed to the sky as he skated off the ice.

‘’All the elements seemed pretty solid,’’ he said. ‘’I’m going to take one step at a time. I have some great support here with my wife, my parents and close friends in attendance.’’

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen of Montreal are also third after the rhythm dance with 77.85. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. lead the ice dance at 83.45 and Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia are third at 80.46.

‘’We had no expectations,’’ said Fournier Beaudry, 10th with her partner at last year’s worlds. ‘’We just wanted to have a good experience.’’

Montreal’s Camille Ruest and Andrew Wolfe placed seventh in the pairs short program.

Veronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., stands ninth after the women’s short program.

All four free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP 2019 Skate America

Six Canadian skaters headed to U.S. for 2019 Skate America

OTTAWA, ON: Team Canada will be competing at the first event of the 2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., from October 18-20, 2019.

In the men’s discipline, Keegan Messing will be representing Canada. Messing is coming off a third-place finish at Autumn Classic International, which took place earlier this season in Oakville, Ont.

In the women’s field, Véronik Mallet will be representing Canada. At her first competition of the season, Mallet placed 12th at the ISU Autumn Classic International.

In pairs, Camille Ruest and Drew Wolfe will be competing for Canada. The team is coming off a seventh-place finish at the ISU Challenger Series event U.S. International Figure Skating Classic earlier this season.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen will be the ice dancers representing Canada at the event. Earlier this season, the two won gold at Nebelhorn Trophy and silver at Lombardia Trophy, two ISU Challenger Series events.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director and Marie Bowness of Chester, N.S., will be the team leaders at the event. Physiotherapist Siobhan Karam of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Jerome Poulin of Montreal, Que., and Ron Conacher of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian officials attending the event.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT SKATE AMERICA – LAS VEGAS, USA

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Keegan Messing 27 Sherwood Park, Alta. / Brantford, Ont. Ice Palace FSC Ralph Burghart
Women Véronik Mallet 25 Sept-Îles, Que. CPA Sept-Îles Annie Barabé / Sophie Richard
Pair Camille Ruest / Drew Wolfe 25 / 24 Rimouski, Que. / Calgary, Alta. CPA de Rimouski / Glencoe Club Richard Gauthier
Ice Dance Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sørensen 27 / 30 Lasalle, Que. / Copenhagen, DEN Town of Mount Royal FSC / Town of Mount Royal FSC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer