02/09/26 04:07:00
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02/09 16:05 CST French ice dancers edge US favorites in rhythm dance at Milano
Cortina Olympics
French ice dancers edge US favorites in rhythm dance at Milano Cortina Olympics
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
MILAN (AP) --- French ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume
Cizeron edged Madison Chock and Evan Bates in the rhythm dance at the Milano
Cortina Olympics on Monday night, leaving the three-time world champions from
the U.S. with ground to make up in their four-year quest for the individual
gold medal.
Beaudry and Cizeron scored 90.18 points early in the night, then had to watch
dozens of other performers to see whether they would be beaten. It came down to
Chock and Bates, the final couple on the ice, and a mistake on their pattern
step was the difference, leaving the Americans with 89.72 points going into
Wednesday night's competition.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada were third with 86.18 points in a tight
race for third place.
Chock and Bates had helped the Americans defend their team gold medal barely 24
hours earlier --- their second in that event. But after a fourth-place finish
at the Beijing Games, it is the individual gold medal that they have long
sought to win.
Beaudry and Cizeron arrived at the Winter Games facing a swirl of controversy
linked to their former partners.
Beaudry, who previously skated for Canada, was left in limbo when Skate Canada
banned her former partner, Nikolaj Sorensen, for a minimum of six years after
allegations of "sexual maltreatment." The suspension was overturned in June on
jurisdictional grounds, but the case is still pending, and that left Beaudry in
search of a new partner.
She found one in Cizeron, who had retired after 2022, when he won the Olympic
gold medal with Gabriella Papadakis.
But in the last few weeks, Cizeron also has come under scrutiny. It stems from
Papadakis' new memoir, "So As Not To Disappear," in which she accused her
longtime partner of being demanding, controlling and emotionally manipulative.
Cizeron has called the allegations false, accusing Papadakis of engineering a
"smear campaign."
"We're really creating a bubble between the two of us and our coaches," Beaudry
said, when asked of the distractions, "so when we are out there, it's about the
moment we spend together, and the memories that we'll bring back from that
moment."
Beaudry and Cizeron certainly made some memories in their rhythm dance.
While their twizzles were still not perfect, the entirety of their program was
far superior to the performance in the team competition earlier in the Winter
Games. And when their 90-plus score was announced, Beaudry sat for a second in
stunned silence.
"We really tried to skate as best as we could," Cizeron said. "We had a great
time and we'll try to do the same for the free dance."
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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