Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen claim gold medal at the NHK Trophy
The Canadian duo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen won a gold medal Saturday at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy in Sapporo, Japan.
With a final score of 210.41, they earned the top spot of the podium in the ice dance event ahead of two American couples Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and Caroline Green and Michael Parsons.
Fournier Beaudry and Soerensen started the day with a lead of just 0.66 points and narrowly stayed ahead of Chock and Bates, finishing just 1.31 points ahead in the final tally.
“There are a lot of emotions and a lot of thoughts,” the pair told Skate Canada. “We were just extremely proud of being able to deliver these two performances that brought us to the top of the podium.’’
In the pairs program, Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar captured their first Grand Prix medal as they finished third to claim a bronze.
With 175.65 points, they were topped by Japans Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara who took home gold (216.16 points). Americans Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe finished in second place with 187.49 points.
It was the penultimate competition of the Grand Prix, which will move to Finland from November 25-27. Skaters are assigned to two Grand Prix events and each of the top six from those events will qualify for the Grand Prix Final from December 8 to 11 in Turin, Italy.
