French ice skaters Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron addressed the controversy surrounding their gold medal finish at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Their victory triggered outrage among American fans as they beat US favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates by a razor-thin margin.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron addressed the controversy surrounding their gold medal finish at the 2026 Winter Olympics
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Laurence Fournier Beaudry and her partner Guillaume Cizeron were controversially crowned gold medalists at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this month.
Their scores were heavily scrutinized after they narrowly beat the American duo and married couple, Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
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American fans were outraged after one French judge Jezabel Dabouis scored her country’s skaters nearly eight points more than the US pair, fueling accusations of “rigging” the results.
Moreover, American fans largely saw Chock and Bates’ performance as flawless, whereas Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron’s routine was seen as messy with multiple mistakes.
But when the final scores were revealed, the French duo won by a razor-thin margin, receiving a score of 135.64.
Chock and Bates scored 134.67, forcing them to settle for silver while the French pair took the top spot on the podium.
The French duo acknowledged their mistakes on the ice following the controversy scoring
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Cizeron spoke about their polarizing win and admitted they had fumbles on the ice.
“Our goal was to win by 5-7 points, but we made a few mistakes,” he said on the Super Mascato Show.
Cizeron had made a mistake during an element called a twizzle (a moving spin on one foot), and their performance was generally seen as less polished than their American rivals.
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“At the moment of making the mistake, we know it, but we have to do everything not to show it and keep performing,” Cizeron continued.
On the other hand, Chock expressed disappointment in the results and said it was important for judges to be “vetted” to ensure a level playing field.
“I think it would definitely be helpful if it’s more understandable for the viewers to see more transparent judging and understand what’s really going on,” she told CBS News.
Chock expressed disappointment in the results and said judges should be “vetted”
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“It’s also important for the skaters that the judges be vetted and reviewed and that they are also putting out their best performance,” she continued.
The Olympic medalist said skaters are “giving it their all” on the ice and hence, there’s “a lot on the line” for them.
“We also deserve to have the judges giving it their all and for it to be a fair and even playing field,” she added.
Image credits: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Bates said they gave their “absolute best performance,” but Chock admitted it felt “bittersweet.”
“We have had the most incredible year — 15 years on the ice together; first Olympics as a married couple. And we delivered four of our best performances this week,” Chock said after the competition.
“I think we’re really proud of how we handled ourselves here and what we accomplished,” she added.
The American ice dancer spoke about how this was their first Olympics together as a married couple
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Amid the controversy over the final results, thousands had signed a Change.org petition, demanding that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the International Skating Union (ISU) launch a probe into the voting process.
However, nothing has come out of the petition so far.
The United States Figure Skating (USFS) had a 24-hour window to appeal the results but did not file an inquiry by the February 12 deadline.
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CEO of United States Figure Skating, Matt Farrell, released a statement amid the body’s decision to abstain from an appeal.
“There has been a lot of thoughtful, and at times emotional, discussion about the ice dance competition in Milan,” he said.
Farrell said they would be working with Chock and Evan Bates and added: “We will have thoughtful and intentional discussions about the best way to support them and the future of the sport.”
The USFS said they decided to abstain from appealing the results of the ice dance competition
The International Skating Union said it was “normal” to have such disparities among the final scoring given by judges.
“It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations,” an ISU spokesperson said in a statement.
The body said they have “full confidence in the scores given” and were “completely committed to fairness.”
“The math seems to show cheating by the judge,” read one comment online
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