France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won gold in the figure skating ice dance event, beating USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates by the barest of margins despite the latter delivering a “flawless, gold-medal performance”.
The Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics witnessed a major controversy after France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron were awarded figure skating ice dance gold over USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the reigning three-time world champions who had produced a “flawless, gold-medal performance” on Wednesday.
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron had triumphed over Chock and Bates by the barest of margins – just 1.43 points ahead after finishing with a tally of 225.82 compared to 224.39 for the American pair. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won bronze with a final score of 217.74.
French judge in spotlight over figure skating controversy
The spotlight, however, would soon fall on judge French judge Jezabel Dabouis, who faces accusations of rigging in order to help his compatriots stand on top of the podium.
Dabouis, after all, had awarded 137.45 points to Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron in the free dance event, nearly eight points higher than what she had awarded to Chock and Bates (129.74). She was, in fact, the only judge to award the Americans less than 130 points in this event.
It was a similar story in the rhythm dance event earlier this week with Dabouis awarding the French pair 93.34 points, nearly six points more than what she had awarded to Chock and Bates (87.6).
Five of the nine judges had placed the Americans on top in the free dance event, with the remaining members of the panel – including Dabouis – awarding that position to the French pair.
And it’s not just the perceived biased judging in the ongoing Winter Olympics that has tainted Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron’s gold. They had, after all, formed their partnership less than a year ago, with Dabouis judging six of their events. And Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron, interestingly won five of these six events.
Why Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron are such a controversial pair
Canadian-born Fournier Beaudry also faces scrutiny for defending former skating partner and long-time boyfriend Nikolaj Sørensen, who had been slapped with a minimum six-year ban in 2024 after being accused of sexually assaulting an American figure skating coach and former skater in 2012.
The suspension was later overturned in June last year, with Fournier Beaudry lamenting the impact that it had on Sørensen’s career in the Netflix docuseries Glitter and Gold.
Cizeron, meanwhile, has been accused of being controlling and demanding by his former on-ice partner Gabriella Papadakis, who added that she did not want to be left alone with him. The 31-year-old, however, has rejected the accusations, labeling them a “smear campaign”.
“There is some sinister energy around the partnership,” former American figure-skater Adam Rippon had said in the Netflix docuseries.
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