Nikolaj Sørensen (born February 18, 1989) is a Danish-Canadian ice dancer. Most recently competing for Canada with Laurence Fournier Beaudry, he is a two-time Four Continents silver medalist, an eight-time Grand Prix medallist (including gold at the 2022 NHK Trophy), a five-time Challenger medallist (including gold at the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy), and the 2023 Canadian national champion. Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen previously competed for Denmark, winning six ISU Challenger Series medals and representing Denmark at the World and European championships. In March 2018, Denmark released them to compete for Canada after Laurence was unable to obtain Danish citizenship to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
In the autumn of 2023, Sørensen was investigated for the alleged sexual assault of an American figure skating coach and former skater in 2012 in the United States. In October 2024, Skate Canada gave him an indefinite ban of at least six years for "sexual maltreatment" as a result of the findings of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. This was overturned on appeal in June 2025 on jurisdictional grounds.
Personal life Sørensen was born on February 18, 1989, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
He became a Canadian citizen in September 2021. Sørensen is fluent in Danish, English, and French.
He is in a relationship with his former ice dance partner, Laurence Fournier Beaudry.
Early career Sørensen began learning to skate in 1996 at his father's instigation. He competed internationally with Anne Thomsen beginning in 2003. They placed twenty-fourth at the 2006 World Junior Championships.
In 2007, Sørensen teamed up with Czech skater Barbora Heroldová to compete for Denmark. They competed one season together, placing twenty-first at the 2008 World Junior Championships.
In 2009, Sørensen began competing with Canadian skater Katelyn Good for Denmark. In their first season together, they won the Danish senior national title, placed seventeenth at 2010 World Junior Championships, twenty-first at the 2010 European Championships, and twenty-fourth at the 2010 World Championships. The following season, they decided to move from training in the United States under Mathew Gates to Montreal to be near Good's mother. On Gates' recommendation, they began training under Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, whose just-opened ice dance academy had only four teams at the time. Shortly after the move, Good's mother died. Sørensen and Good placed twenty-ninth at the 2011 World Championships in their final performance together, as Good chose to retire due to injury.
In 2012, Sørensen began skating with Canadian skater Vanessa Crone, but she decided not to compete with him.
Partnership with Fournier Beaudry Sørensen had a tryout with another Canadian, Laurence Fournier Beaudry of Quebec, in February 2012. He decided to team up with Crone but called Fournier Beaudry five months later, shortly after Crone's decision not to compete with him. Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen decided to represent Denmark while continuing to train in Canada under Dubreuil and Lauzon.
2013–2014 season Making their international competition debut in the fall of 2013, they won gold at the 2013 Pavel Roman Memorial, silver at the 2013 Ice Challenge, and bronze at the Toruń Cup. At the 2014 Danish Championships, they were the only competitors in ice dance.
In their ISU Championship debut, they placed thirteenth at the 2014 European Championships and concluded the season placing twenty-ninth at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama.
2014–2015 season The duo competed in three ISU Challenger Series events at the beginning of the season, placing fourth at the Volvo Open Cup, repeating as silver medallists at the Ice Challenge, and earning a bronze medal at the 2014 Autumn Classic. They were again the only competitors at the Danish Championships' ice dance event.
They placed ninth at their second European Championships. At the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, they placed eleventh.
2015–2016 season Beginning the season again on the Challenger Series, Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen won the silver medal at the 2015 U.S. International Classic and the bronze medal at the Finlandia Trophy. Making their Grand Prix debut, they placed seventh at the 2015 Skate Canada International.
Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen placed ninth at Europeans for the second consecutive year and finished with a thirteenth-place finish at the 2016 World Championships in Boston.
2016–2017 season On the Challenger Series, Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen won their second bronze medal at the Autumn Classic International, and placed fourth at the Finlandia Trophy. Given two Grand Prix assignments, they placed seventh at both Skate Canada International and the Rostelecom Cup.
The duo placed seventh at Europeans. They went on to place thirteenth at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Due to their result, Denmark qualified a spot in the ice dancing event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
2017–2018 season They took part in three Challenger Series events, placing fourth at the 2015 U.S. International Classic, seventh at the Autumn Classic International, and winning a second bronze medal at the Finlandia Trophy. At their sole Grand Prix event for the season, the 2017 NHK Trophy, Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen placed fifth. Appearing at their third and final Danish Championships, they were again the only competitors in senior ice dance.
Fournier Beaudry's citizenship status had dogged the team for much of the preceding years, as Danish law required seven years' residency for naturalization, and ultimately no allowance could be made. As a result, they could not participate in the Olympics despite having qualified for a spot there. Following the 2018 European Championships, where they placed ninth, the two reassessed their options and decided to switch countries and compete for Canada. In March 2018, Denmark released them for that purpose. Speaking of the challenges later, Sørensen remarked that they had been welcomed by the Canadian federation and that the Danish federation had always been supportive of his years of training in Canada had already made him as much Canadian as Danish and stated that he hoped to acquire Canadian citizenship by 2020.
2018–2019 season Fournier Beaudry chose Adiós Nonino for the rhythm dance, creating a cut of different instrumental and lyrical versions. She and Sørensen opted to retain their free program from the previous season, revised for the ISU's new rules. Sørensen remarked that it "is a transitional year with a lot of new feelings and a lot of new challenges, so it was natural to keep something familiar around." ISU rules required that a team switching countries sit out international competition for a year from their last international appearance, meaning they were ineligible for the Challenger and Grand Prix series.
In their first competition of the season, the 2019 Skate Canada Challenge, the duo placed first in both programs, qualifying for the 2019 Canadian Championships. At the Canadian Championships, they placed third and were named to the team for the 2019 Four Continents Championships and 2019 World Championships. They placed sixth at Four Continents, and tenth at the World Championships.
2019–2020 season Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen won the silver medal for their first event of the season at the Lombardia Trophy. They followed this with a gold medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy, their first Challenger title, increasing their personal best score by over ten points. Returning to the Grand Prix after a season away, they placed third in the rhythm dance at the 2019 Skate America, becoming one of the first teams to earn a perfect Level 4 on the Finnstep pattern dance. They also placed third in the free dance, winning the bronze medal. Sørensen called their first Grand Prix medal "something that we've dreamed about since we started skating together." At their second event, the 2019 Cup of China, they were again third in the rhythm dance and the only team at the event to earn a Level 4 on the Finnstep. Third as well in the free dance, despite some minor issues resulting in a lower score than at previous events, they won their second Grand Prix bronze. Sørensen explained afterwards that a knee injury had caused him to miss a week of training in between events.
Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen did not compete at the 2020 Canadian Championships due to the latter undergoing a cartilage graft and a meniscectomy to repair his knee. On February 13, 2020, Skate Canada announced that they had been assigned to compete at the 2020 World Championships. On March 6, 2020, they withdrew from the World Championships due to Sørensen's incomplete recovery; the championships themselves were cancelled five days later.
2020–2021 season Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen were assigned to the 2020 Skate Canada International, but the event was cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the pandemic continuing to make in-person competitions difficult, Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen competed at virtual domestic competitions, winning the Quebec Sectionals and then taking the silver medal at the 2021 Skate Canada Challenge. The 2021 Canadian Championships were subsequently cancelled.
On February 21, Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen were announced as part of the Canadian team to the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm. They placed seventh in the rhythm dance despite getting only one of the four key points on the Finnstep pattern. In the free dance, they dropped to eighth place behind the British team Fear/Gibson by 0.04 points. Sørensen acknowledged afterwards having "left a couple of points on the table." Their placement combined with Gilles/Poirier's bronze medal win qualified three berths for Canadian dance teams at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
2021–2022 season The team began the season at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy, winning the silver medal for the second time. Sørensen commented afterwards that it was "not the best free dance today" following twizzle errors from both, but that "we are just going to build from here." Going onto their first Grand Prix assignment of the year, 2021 Skate America, they placed third in the rhythm dance. Fourth in the free dance, dropping behind Spaniards Smart/Díaz in that segment, they remained in the bronze medal position overall by 0.44 points. Reflecting on "our third grand prix for Canada with a bronze medal", Fournier Beaudry called it "so nice to be back after two years of struggle and feeling like the machine is rolling and the bodies are rolling again." After winning another Challenger silver at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria, the following week, they won another bronze medal at their second Grand Prix assignment, the 2021 Rostelecom Cup.
At the 2022 Canadian Championships, held without an audience in Ottawa due to the pandemic, Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen placed second in both segments of the competition to take the silver medal. They debuted a new free dance rechoreographed to Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard's score to Gladiator, a decision made three weeks prior. Sørensen said the original program "was an idea we came up with when we were off the ice, and we were trying to navigate the beginning of this pandemic. So you know, feelings change, and what we thought we needed changed during this season." The following day, they were named to the Canadian Olympic team. Speaking on the occasion to Danish TV 2, Sørensen reflected "it's a shame that we could not compete for Denmark, because we have never been to the Olympics in ice dancing. I often think the small countries are underrepresented in a sport like ice dancing."