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Two bronze medals for Canada at ISU Grand Prix

CHONGQIN, China – Ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaury and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal and new Canadian pairs team Lubov Ilyushechkina and Charlie Bilodeau won bronze medals Saturday to conclude the Cup of China, the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

In ice dancing, the top-three remained unchanged with Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia winning the gold medal with 209.90 points. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. won the free dance but it wasn’t enough to catch the Russians as they totalled 208.55.

Fournier Beaudry and Soresen notched their second bronze this season on the circuit with 190.74.

“Today we had a bit of a rough skate,” said Sorensen. “It’s really a testimony to our training that we were able to get into third place and we are really happy about that.”

In pairs, Chinese teams grabbed the top-two spots with world champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han first at 228.37 and Cheng Peng and Yang Jin second at 199.97. Ilyushechkina and Bilodeau improved on their fifth place finish from Skate Canada International two weeks ago for third with 190.73.

“It was definitely one of our tougher skates,” said Ilyushechkina, from Toronto. “We’re happy we fought for every single element but there were still a lot of points left on the table.”

It was a first Grand Prix medal for the couple which joined forces this past spring.

“We put together some nice performances here all things considered,” said Bilodeau, from Trois-Pistoles, Que. “It was our first competition in Asia and our third event in a month and a half. So it’s been a pretty intense period.”

In men’s competition, Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., posted the third best free skate to climb to fourth spot overall with 237.36.

It was a 1-2 Chinese finish with Boyang Jin first at 261.53 followed by Han Yan at 249.45. Matteo Rizzo of Italy took the bronze at 241.88.

“My free skate is a hard program for me to get through,” said Messing, fifth after the short on Friday. “To get out there and skate it as well as I did, is a little weight off my chest and I feel like I can be really happy leaving here now.”

Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., completed his Grand Prix debut in 11th place.

The fifth stop on the circuit is this Friday and Saturday in Moscow.

Full results: ISU GP SHISEIDO Cup of China 2019

Two Canadian teams in medal position at ISU Grand Prix

CHONGQIN, China – The new Canadian pairs team of Lubov Ilyushechkina and Charlie Bilodeau are in second place after the short program while ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaury and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal are third after the rhythm dance in Friday’s action at the Cup of China figure skating competition, the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

World champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China lead the pairs competition with 80.90 points followed by Ilyushechkina and Bilodeau with a personal best 68.98 for second and Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China in third at 68.50.

“We really like the feeling we’ve developed for this short program and it was quite stable,” Bilodeau told @goldenskate. “There were some mistakes, but we got our lucky 68 (score).”

In ice dancing, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia are first at 85.39, Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. second at 80.34 and the Canadians follow at 78.41.

Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen have enjoyed a terrific season so far. They were third at the season opening stop in Las Vegas last month and also won two medals on the ISU Challenger Series including one gold.

Chinese skaters are 1-2 in men’s competition with Han Yan first at 86.46 and Boyang Jin second at 85.43. Matteo Rizzo of Italy follows in third at 81.72.

Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., stands fifth with 76.80 while Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., is 10th.

There are no Canadians in the women’s event.

The free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP SHISEIDO Cup of China 2019

Six Canadian skaters en route to Cup of China

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send four entries, for a total of six skaters to the fourth stop of the 2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Cup of China takes place from November 8-10, 2019 in Chongqing, China. Canada will have two entries in men, one entry in pair and one entry in ice dance.

Keegan Messing, 27, Sherwood Park, Alta. / Brantford, Ont., will be the first Canadian entry in men. This will be Messing’s first time competing at Cup of China. Earlier this season, he finished second at Autumn Classic International and fourth at Skate America. He is coached by Ralph Burghart in Anchorage, AK, U.S.

Conrad Orzel, 19, Toronto, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in men. This season, Conrad finished sixth at Autumn Classic International. He is coached by Tracy Wilson and Brian Orser in Toronto, Ont.

Newly formed pair team Lubov Ilyushechkina, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Charlie Bilodeau, 26, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will be the lone pair team representing Canada. The duo won bronze at Finlandia Trophy and finished fifth at Skate Canada International. They are coached by Richard Gauthier in Saint-Léonard, Que.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry, 27, Montreal, Que., and Nikolaj Sørensen, 30, Montreal, Que., will be the only Canadian entry in ice dance. Earlier this season, the two won gold at ISU Challenger series event Nebelhorn Trophy and bronze at Skate America. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que.

Gabrielle Daleman, 21, Newmarket, Ont., was originally assigned to this event but has withdrawn. Daleman is suffering post-concussion symptoms and will be unable to travel and compete at Cup of China.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director and Cynthia Ullmark of Canmore, Alta., will be the team leaders at the event. Dr. Laura Cruz of Toronto, Ont. and physiotherapist Sylvia Ciurysek of Berwyn, Alta., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Cynthia Benson of Quispamsis, N.B., and Andre-Marc Allain of Ottawa, Ont., will be the Canadian officials attending the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT CUP OF CHINA – CHONGQING, CHINA

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Keegan Messing 27 Sherwood Park, Alta. / Brantford, Ont. Ice Palace FSC Ralph Burghart
Men Conrad Orzel 19 Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club Tracy Wilson / Brian Orser
Pair Lubov Ilyushechkina / Charlie Bilodeau 27 / 26 Toronto, Ont. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Chambly Richard Gauthier
Ice Dance Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sørensen 27 / 30 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. Town of Mount Royal FSC / Town of Mount Royal FSC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer