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