If skating’s history weren’t enough to make some side-eye yesterday’s ice dancing scores, there’s the added drama of who bested Chock and Bates: the newly formed French couple Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who got a fractionally higher score of 90.18 for their dance to Madonna’s “Vogue.” Beaudry and Cizeron, who first teamed up last March, entered the Games amid a swirl of controversy regarding both of their past partners. According to former Olympian Adam Rippon in Netflix’s new three-part docuseries on ice dancing, Glitter and Gold, there’s something “sinister” surrounding the couple.
Cizeron is the reigning 2022 Olympic champion; he won gold with Gabriella Papadakis. But the two retired after Beijing—or at least, Papadakis did. In the docuseries, Cizeron says he returned to skating and partnered up with his friend Beaudry because he “missed competing and the adrenaline rush.” Yet in January, Papadakis released a memoir, So as Not to Disappear, in which she alleges that her split with Cizeron was less than amicable. She claims Cizeron was “controlling,” “demanding,” and “critical” during the partnership. Cizeron has denied the allegations, calling them a “smear campaign,” and stating that their “relationship was built on equal collaboration and marked by success and mutual support.”
Beaudry, meanwhile, started off skating with her former partner and current boyfriend, Nikolaj Sørensen, in 2012. The couple originally competed for Denmark, but represented Canada in the 2022 Olympics, where they finished ninth. In 2024, Sørensen was investigated for the alleged sexual assault of a figure skating coach and former skater. The investigation led Canada’s Office of Sport Integrity to suspend Sørensen for sexual maltreatment. (Sørensen has denied the allegations.) As a result, Beaudry had to find a new partner. In the docuseries, she addresses the fallout: “I never really publicly discuss about how much damage it’s created,” she says. Sørensen later appealed his suspension, and it was overturned last June, though the case is still pending.
Chock and Bates have indicated that these Olympics will likely be their last, and they’re locked in to get the gold medal, which has so far eluded them. Asked about her mindset going into tomorrow’s competition, Chock showed no signs of backing down, telling reporters, “The game is always on. You should know us by now.” As for Beaudry and Cizeron, they’re doing everything they can to shut out the noise. “We love skating, and we love skating together, and this is what we’re focusing on,” Cizeron said.
Wednesday’s stakes are high all around. For one couple, winning will fulfill a dream 15 years in the making. For the other, it may offer the redemption they still seem to be seeking. And then there’s always option number three: another pair winning altogether, which might just create a skating scandal for the ages.
