Soerensen named to Canada's figure skating world championships team amid allegations

Ice dancers Nikolaj Soerensen and Laurence Fournier Beaudry have been named to Canada's figure skating team for next month's world championships in Montreal.

Ice dancer withdrew from nationals in January after report of sexual assault accusation

Two figure skaters perform a move together.
Canada's Nikolaj Soerensen, right seen above in December 2023 along with partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry, was named to Canada's team for the world championships despite a reported allegation of sexual assault. (Ng Han Guan/The Associated Press)

Ice dancers Nikolaj Soerensen and Laurence Fournier Beaudry have been named to Canada's figure skating team for next month's world championships in Montreal.

Soerensen and Fournier Beaudry withdrew from the Canadian championship in Calgary last month after USA Today reported an American figure skating coach and former skater accused Soerensen of sexually assaulting her in Hartford, Conn., in 2012.

USA Today also reported a complaint has been filed with both Canada's Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner and the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

The allegations have not been proven in court. Soerensen called the allegations false in an Instagram post.

Soerensen and Beaudry returned for the Four Continents in Shanghai, China, where they finished second behind fellow Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in the ice dance competition that ended Feb. 4.

WATCH | Fournier Beaudry, Soerensen take silver at Four Continents:

Canada's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen skate to ice dance silver in Shanghai

10 months ago
Duration 8:04
The Canadian pair put up a season-best performance in China to take second place at Four Continents.

Gilles and Poirier, also the reigning Canadian ice dance champions, headline the team for the world championships, March 18-24 at Montreal's Bell Centre along with Four Continents pairs winners Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps.

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha will also compete in ice dance, while Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud and Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier round out Canada's pairs contingent.

In men's competition, newly crowned Canadian champion Wesley Chiu will make his senior world championships debut and will be joined by 2022 Olympian Roman Sadovsky.

Madeline Schizas, another 2022 Olympian will be Canada's sole competitor in the women's field.

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

Get up to speed on what's happening in sports. Delivered weekdays.

...

The next issue of The Buzzer will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in the Subscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.