On a night charged with drama and anticipation, the ice dancing competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics delivered a spectacle that will be debated for years to come. French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, skating together for less than a year, stunned the world by capturing Olympic gold in a showdown laced with controversy, emotion, and history. Their victory over American favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates was as narrow as it was contentious, with questions swirling about judging and the off-ice stories that shadowed the competition.
The Milano Ice Skating Arena was electric on February 11, 2026, as the world’s top ice dancers took to the rink. Fournier Beaudry, 33, and Cizeron, 31, delivered a mesmerizing free dance set to the haunting soundtrack from "The Whale," earning a total of 225.82 points. Their performance, marked by fluidity and elegance, edged out Chock and Bates, who scored 224.39 after a season-best free dance that many in the arena believed was gold-worthy. The Canadian pair, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, rounded out the podium with 217.74 points, marking their first Olympic medal in three appearances.
For Cizeron, this gold was especially historic. He became the first skater to win back-to-back Olympic ice dance golds with different partners, having previously triumphed in Beijing 2022 alongside Gabriella Papadakis. Reflecting on the journey, Cizeron told France Televisions, “It’s quite dizzying when you look back a year ago to when we took on this challenge. God knows we’ve faced obstacles. I’m extremely proud of Laurence and of the strength she has shown.”
The Americans, Chock and Bates, entered Milan as the dominant force in ice dance, three-time reigning world champions and fresh off a second straight Olympic team gold. Their matador-themed free dance, set to a flamenco version of “Paint It Black” from "Westworld," was a fiery display of precision and passion. Chock, as the matador, and Bates, as the bull, captivated the crowd with their perfectly synchronized choreography and dynamic lifts. Their 134.67 in the free dance was a season best and temporarily propelled them into the lead.
But the night’s outcome was anything but straightforward. The French judge awarded Beaudry and Cizeron nearly eight more points in the free dance than the Americans, while five of the nine judges favored Chock and Bates. The remaining three judges gave the French duo the nod by the slimmest of margins. The scoring immediately sparked debate, with fans and skaters alike questioning the subjectivity inherent in the sport. Italian skater Marco Fabbri, who finished fourth with partner Charlene Guignard, was candid after the event: “I usually prefer Guillaume and Laurence, but today, in my opinion, they didn’t skate so well. So I think Madison and Evan would have deserved to win.”
For Chock and Bates, the result was a bitter pill to swallow. Visibly emotional after the medal ceremony, Chock reflected, “It’s definitely a little bittersweet because we are so, so happy with how we performed this week. We really gave it our all, and I wouldn’t change anything about how we approached each performance, what we delivered in each performance. We really gave it our best. And that’s what we set out to do coming to these Games. So I think we’ve got a lot to be proud of and a lot to be grateful for because we’ve had an incredible career and we’ve been so well supported by our families and our coaches by each other. And sometimes that’s just how it shakes out. This is history for us and I wouldn’t change anything.”
The backstory to the French duo’s win is as compelling as the competition itself. Fournier Beaudry, who only received French citizenship in November 2025, had previously represented Canada with Nikolaj Sorensen—her romantic partner—until he was suspended amid allegations of sexual maltreatment stemming from a 2012 case. The suspension was overturned on jurisdictional grounds in June 2025, but the case remains unresolved. Sorensen was present in the Milan arena to witness Fournier Beaudry’s triumph.
Cizeron, meanwhile, returned to competition after retiring in 2022, drawn back by the opportunity to skate with Fournier Beaudry. Their partnership was not without turbulence. Just weeks before the Olympics, Cizeron’s former partner Gabriella Papadakis published a memoir alleging he was “controlling” and “demanding” during their years together—claims Cizeron vehemently denied, calling the book a “smear campaign” and initiating legal action. “I think from the beginning we tried to create a bubble where we really supported each other through everything,” Cizeron said after the win. “We’ve been through some incredibly hard moments, but I think the love that we have for each other and for the sport really brought us through, and it kind of helped us keep our heads on our shoulders and we tried to really focus on enjoying those moments together because they don’t last forever and we didn’t want that to be taken away from us.”
Despite the turmoil, the French duo’s results this season were nearly flawless. They claimed every major title except the Grand Prix Final, where they finished second to Chock and Bates. Their Olympic victory capped a season of resilience and adaptability, with their only real misstep coming in the rhythm dance portion, where they held a slim 0.46-point lead over the Americans heading into the decisive free dance.
The Canadians, Gilles and Poirier, also had reason to celebrate. Their deeply emotional free skate secured bronze, a crowning achievement after three Olympic appearances. “I think for Paul and I, our main focus for this Olympic Games was to create a moment for ourselves and to not focus on anything else,” Gilles explained. “And I think we truly created the moment that we wanted to and really let the judging be the judging and that’s all we can do, but I’m really proud of what we did and how we represented ourselves.”
Elsewhere, American newcomers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik impressed with a fifth-place finish, signaling a promising future for U.S. ice dance. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, the third American pair, finished 11th.
As the dust settles in Milan, the debate over judging and the personal stories behind the podium finishers will linger. For Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron, the gold medal is a testament to perseverance and partnership in the face of adversity. For Chock and Bates, the silver represents both an extraordinary career and the heartbreak of coming up just short. The world of ice dance, ever subjective and always dramatic, has a new chapter—one that will be remembered for its artistry, its controversy, and its very human moments on and off the ice.