Tag Archive for: Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Sorensen

Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen Win Silver Medal at Cup of Austria

GRAZ, Austria – Despite a lack of sleep, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen of Montreal won the silver medal on Sunday in ice dancing to conclude the Cup of Austria, an event on the ISU Challenger Series circuit.

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy took the gold with 208.88 points followed by the Canadians with a season’s best 194.67 and Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Spain in third at 189.88. Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen, chasing a first career Olympic berth this season, were third after Saturday’s rhythm dance.

That rhythm dance finished late Saturday night and the free dance was early Sunday. That left only about 12 hours between performances which also included a practice.

‘’It was great to be able to perform under those conditions,’’ said Sørensen. ‘’We finished late last night and started early today so we didn’t get much sleep. We were really happy with what were able to produce today and happy to see the program is heading in the right direction.’’

It was a third medal in three competitions for the Canadians. They also took bronze at Skate America earlier this month and silver at the Lombardia Trophy. They ended last season placing eighth at the world championships.

‘’Today actually felt normal because our practice was closer to the competition,’’ said Fournier Beaudry. ‘’It was yesterday (Saturday) that we really had to properly manage our time because we skated so late at night.’’

Canada’s other two entries also gained a spot in the standings. Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary were fifth while Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., and Molly Lanaghan of Scarborough, Ont., took 11th.

All the other free skates were on Saturday. (https://skatecanada.ca/2021/11/fournier-beaudry-and-sorensen-on-track-for-a-third-medal-this-season-at-cup-of-austria/)

For the women, Emily Bausback of Vancouver was seventh and Allison Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., moved from 17th after the short program to 13th.

In men’s competition, Corey Circelli of Toronto moved from 14th to 10th and Beres Clements of Gibson, B.C., was 16th.

In the junior event Canada won two medals.

Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell of Toronto won gold in ice dancing and Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., took silver in the men’s event.

Full results:

Junior: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/7.2021_22/031/index.htm

Challenger Series: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/7.2021_22/030/index.htm

Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen on Track for a Third Medal this Season at Cup of Austria

GRAZ, Austria – Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen of Montreal are on track for a third international medal this season as they stand third after the rhythm dance in ice dancing at the Cup of Austria, a stop on the ISU Challenger Series.

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy are first with 82.78 points, Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Spain second at 78.53 and the Canadian ice dancers follow at 77.38, a season’s best score.

Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen also took bronze at Skate America earlier this month and silver at the Lombardia Trophy.

Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary are sixth and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., and Molly Lanaghan of Scarborough, Ont., are 12th.

In the men’s event, Nika Egadze of Georgia rocketed from 12th after the short program to win the gold medal. Lucas Honda of Japan was second and Ilia Malinin of the U.S. jumped from 13th to third.

Corey Circelli of Toronto moved from 14th to 10th and Beres Clements of Gibson, B.C., was 16th.

Wakaba Higuchi of Japan hung on to gold in the women’s event despite the fourth best free skate with Yeongjeong Park of South Korea second and Niina Petrokina of Estonia third.

Emily Bausback of Vancouver was seventh and Allison Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., moved from 17th after the short program to 13th with the eighth best free skate.

Competition ends Sunday with the free dance.

Gold and silver medals for Canada in the Junior Event

The Cup of Austria also featured a junior competition which concluded Saturday. The big news for Canada was a victory for Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell in ice dancing on Saturday. It was a second victory this season after they won an ISU Junior Grand Prix event in September.

‘’There were lots of positives but also a couple of negatives we weren’t as happy about,’’ said Waddell. ‘’But that’s super necessary for us to happen in order to realise the difference between this and an amazing performance.’’

‘’There are a lot of things we want to change and improve when we get home,’’ added D’Alessandro.

Sandrine Gauthier of Saint-Constant, Que., and  Quentin Thieren of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., were ninth.

Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., nearly grabbed another victory for Canada in the junior men’s event. He took the silver medal with 180.04 points with the winner Naoki Rossi of Switzerland first with 180.82.

Rose Théroux of Ste-Victoire-de-Sorel, Que., won the women’s junior short program but couldn’t duplicate that performance in the free skate and placed fourth overall less than three points from the podium.

Full results:

Junior: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/7.2021_22/031/index.htm

Challenger Series: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/7.2021_22/030/index.htm

Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen Hang on to bronze at Skate America

LAS VEGAS – Ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen of Montreal earned their third career bronze medal on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit on Sunday as they held on to third spot at Skate America.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue collected gold for the fourth straight Skate America event with 209.54 points. Their compatriots Madison Chock and Evan Bates were second at 208.23 and Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen followed at 190.13, just under 11 points off their personal best.

The Canadians ranked fourth for the free dance but held on to third by a mere 0.44 points over Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Spain in fourth.

‘’It was so great to be back in international competition with an audience,’’ said Sørensen, eighth with his partner at the world championships this past March. ‘’We really felt them with us in both programs and it gave us the energy to produce two clean skates.’’

Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen also won bronze in 2019 at Skate America and the Cup of China.

Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver moved from eighth after the rhythm dance to seventh overall.

‘’It was an awesome experience,’’ said Firus ranked third with Soucisse in Canada. ‘’We are really happy with our performances, we don’t feel at this point in the season we could have done much better. We had some objectives for this meet and we achieved them.’’

On Saturday night, Nam Nguyen of Ajax, Ont., was eighth in men’s competition and Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., were eighth in pairs. There were no Canadians in the women’s event.

The next stop on the circuit is Skate Canada International this upcoming Friday and Saturday in Vancouver.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/gpusa2021/

Seven Canadians Kick Off ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Las Vegas

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have four entries for a total of seven skaters competing at Skate America 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Canada will have one entry in men, one entry in pairs and two entries in ice dance. This is the first event in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating and the event takes place from October 22 to 24, 2021.    

Nam Nguyen, 23, Ajax, Ont., will be the lone Canadian entry in men. Nguyen finished second at the 2021 Skate Canada Challenge and finished sixth at the 2020 ISU Four Continents Championships. He is coached by Robert Burk, Danielle Rose and Ken Rose in Richmond Hill, Ont.   

Evelyn Walsh, 20, London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 25, Trenton, Ont., will be the only Canadian entry in pairs. Last season, Walsh and Michaud placed twelfth at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.  They are coached by Alison Purkiss, Andrew Evans and Paul Macintosh in Brantford, Ont.   

Laurence Fournier Beaudry, 29, Montreal, Que., and Nikolaj Sørensen, 32, Montreal, Que., are the first Canadian entry in ice dance. They finished second at the 2021 Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, Italy and placed eighth at the 2021 ISU World Figure Skating Championships They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que. 

Carolane Soucisse, 26, Châteauguay, Que., and Shane Firus, 27, North Vancouver, BC., are the second entry in ice dance. This season they finished eleventh at the 2021 Finlandia Trophy and fifth at the 2021 Autum Classic International. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Toronto, Ont.  

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director and Cynthia Ullmark, of Canmore, Alta., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Physiotherapist Paige Larson of North Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Lynne Dey, Edmonton, Alta., and Erica Topolski, Fredericton, N.B., will be the team officials at the event.   

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING
SKATE AMERICA – LAS VEGAS, USA 

MEN
Nam Nguyen (23) / Ajax, Ont. / Richmond Hill Training Centre / Coached by Robert Burk, Danielle Rose, and Ken Rose 

PAIRS
Evelyn Walsh (20) and Trennt Michaud (25) / London, Ont., and Trenton, Ont. / Brantford Skating Club and Trenton Skating Club / Coached by Alison Purkiss, Andrew Evans and Paul Macintosh 

ICE DANCE
Laurence Fournier Beaudry (29) and Nikolaj Sørensen (32) / Montreal, Que. / Town of Mount Royal FSC / Coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain and Haguenauer  

Carolane Soucisse (26) and Shane Firus (27) / Châteauguay, Que. and North Vancouver, BC. / CPA Repentigny / Coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs 

Silver for Canadians Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen at Lombardia Trophy

BERGAMO, Italy – Montreal ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen held on to the silver medal position after Sunday’s free dance to conclude the Lombardia Trophy figure skating competition, the first stop on the ISU’s Challenger Series circuit.

The top-three remained unchanged after Saturday’s rhythm dance. Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy took the gold at 205.35, the Canadians followed at 185.26 and Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin of Spain were third at 180.98.

‘’Not the best free dance today, there were some small mistakes,’’ said Sorensen, also a silver medallist here with Fournier-Beaudry in 2019. ‘’But it’s still early in the season and we are just going to build from here. The feedback we got from here are both programs are really good.’’

Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary, ninth at the world juniors in 2019, took 12th spot.

‘’It was really amazing to get back competing,’’ said Fabbri. ‘’It’s been two years since an international event. Things started feeling normal again with the competitors around and the judges. And, of course, having some fans gives a boost to the performance.’’

Full results: https://www.fisg.it/upload/result/5536/index.html

Canadians Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen stand second at Lombardia Trophy

BERGAMO, Italy – Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal stand second after the rhythm dance at the Lombardia Trophy figure skating competition, the first stop on the ISU Challenger Series.

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy are first with 82.05 points, the Canadians follow at 76.64 and Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin of Spain are third at 72.65.

Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen were a career-high eighth at the word championships this past spring and won four medals in international competition in 2019 including a silver at the Lombardia Trophy.

Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary, ninth at the world juniors in 2019, are ninth at 64.77.

The free dance is on Sunday.

Full results: https://www.fisg.it/upload/result/5536/index.html

Disney Challenge: Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Sørensen

Athlete Spotlight: Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Sorensen

Laurence Fournier Beaudry

Q: Who or what is your biggest motivation?
Laurence: The desire to learn.

Q: Who is your celebrity crush?
Laurence: Chris Hemsworth

Q: What fictional character would you like to meet in real life and why?
Laurence: Wonder Woman. I admire how strong she is.

Q: What song would be the theme song for your life?
Laurence: Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin

Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Laurence: When people spend more time on their phone during dinner or brunch than they do interacting with the people present at the table. And when people are late or make me run late because I’m waiting for them.

Nikolaj Sorensen

Q: What is the best advice that you were given?
Nikolaj: “Patience is a virtue” or “Trust the process”

Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Nikolaj: For people to tell me how to cook when I’m preparing dinner or when people point out something you should have done, but it’s already in the past.

Q: What fictional character would you like to meet in real life and why?
Nikolaj: Batman, obviously because he is the baddest of them all!

Q: What song would be the theme song for your life?
Nikolaj: Shut up and Dance by Walk the Moon

Q: What skating club taught you to skate? (the club you took CanSkate at)?
Nikolaj: I learned how to skate in Copenhagen, Denmark as a young boy but I’m teaching the CanSkate at clubs in Montreal and it’s fantastic being able to help and develop young kids. It’s a great way to learn how to skate.