French judge’s scores ignites 2026 Olympics ice dancing scandal
Story by
French judge’s scores ignites 2026 Olympics ice dancing scandal
Gold medalists Laurence Fournier Beaudry and partner Guillaume Cizeron of Team France, Silver medalists Madison Chock and partner Evan Bates of Team United States and Bronze medalists Piper Gilles and partner Paul Poirier of Team Canada pose for a photo on the podium during the medal ceremony for Ice Dance on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 11, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Christian Arnold·NY Post Sports
·
4 min read
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
The figure skating world is screaming sacré bleu over the scoring by French judge Jézabel Dabois thatcost American pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates goldin the ice dance competition and handed the controversial French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron the top prize.
Dabois' scoring has come under intense scrutiny in the 24 hours since Beaudry and Cizeron edged out Chock and Bates with a total score of 225.82, a mere 1.43 points better than the U.S. duo to win the gold.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
The French judge's scores drastically differed from those of her fellow judges and herself when it came to the American and French skaters.
In the free dance event, Dabois scored Beaudry and Cizeron at 137.45 points, which was the second-highest for any judge, while only scoring Chock and Bates 129.74, making her the only judge not to give them more than 130 points.
The difference in the scores was a 7.71 margin and largest of any of the nine judges on the panel.
The ice dancing scoring how now come under heavy scrutiny. Jumeau Alexis/ABACA/Shutterstock
In the rhythm dance earlier in the week, there was another wide margin in Dabois' scoring between the Americans and the French pair, resulting in a near six-point difference, with France scoring 93.34 and the United States 87.6 points.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
All of which has led figure skating fans to raise the alarm over a possible scandal, with Dabois' scoring seeming to be an important factor in the controversial French pair's gold medal.
A request for comment by The Post was not immediately responded to by an IOC spokesperson.
Other outlets have also suggested that Dabouis' dubious scoring at these Olympics has not been an isolated event, withSB Nation using datafromSkatingScores.comto highlight other instances in which she appeared to show bias toward France.
"We've certainly gone through a roller coaster of emotions, especially in the last 24 hours," Chock told NBC News about the scoring. "And I think what we will take away is how we felt right after our skates and how proud we were of what we accomplished and how we handled ourselves throughout the whole week. Putting out four great performances at the Olympic Games is no small feat, and we've got a lot to be proud of."
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena. Amber Searls-Imagn Images
The scoring controversy is just the latest in a string surrounding the French pair, which has only been skating together for the past year.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Beaudry has been under the microscope after her former skating partner and longtime boyfriend, Nikolaj Sørensen, was suspended in 2024 after he was accused of sexually assaulting an American figure skating coach and former skater in 2012.
The suspension was overturned in June due to a technicality, and Beaudry has defended Sørensen and even lamented the fact that it impacted his career in a Netflix docuseries, "Glitter & Gold."
Cizeron was also accused of being controlling and demanding in a memoir published by his former on-ice partner Gabriella Papadakis.
He has denied the claims, labelling them a smear campaign, and said he is planning on taking legal action.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Neither has directly addressed the controversies during these Olympics, but in an interview with AFP, they said the difficulties made them stronger.
"And this time, we had everything to build from scratch. It was less straightforward," Cizeron told the outlet. "In ten months, we went from never having taken two steps together to being Olympic champions. It was a challenge that seemed impossible to most people, and above all, we knew that obstacles were going to be put in our way.
