France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won the ice dance gold medal at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Wednesday, edging out Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates in a remarkable comeback story less than a year after forming their partnership.
The French duo scored 135.64 in the free dance, finishing with a total of 225.82 points. With this victory, Cizeron became the first ice dancer to win back-to-back Olympic titles with different partners, having also won gold in 2022 with Gabriella Papadakis.
Chock and Bates, three-time world champions who were unbeaten throughout the season, took silver with 224.39 points. After more than a decade of chasing an Olympic ice dance medal, they finally reached the podium, though not with the gold they had hoped for.
Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier claimed bronze with 217.74 points, earning their first Olympic medal. The pair were visibly emotional after their performance, aware they had likely secured a place on the podium.
For Gilles, the medal marked a breakthrough after years of personal hardship. She underwent surgery for ovarian cancer during the 2022–23 season and had earlier lost her mother to brain cancer in 2018.
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron led by just 0.46 points after the rhythm dance on Monday, setting up a tense final. While the Americans energised the crowd, the night ultimately belonged to the French pair.
Fournier Beaudry, a Canadian-born skater who received French citizenship in November to compete at the Olympics, and Cizeron were skating in only their fifth international competition together. Their partnership began less than a year ago after a suggestion from Cizeron.
Their free dance, set to music from The Whale, featured smooth edges and flowing lifts inspired by water. After finishing, Fournier Beaudry collapsed into Cizeron’s arms in an emotional moment.
“It was a total release,” Fournier Beaudry said. “We worked so hard to be here. Every day training with Guillaume felt special.”
Cizeron described the achievement as “dizzying,” given how quickly the partnership came together. “We set ourselves an almost impossible challenge. What we achieved in one year is extraordinary,” he said.
Chock and Bates delivered a powerful free dance to Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones, featuring dramatic choreography and a reversal of traditional gender roles. Despite the strong performance, their expressions showed disappointment when the final scores were announced.
“It’s bittersweet,” Chock said through tears. “We have so much to be proud of, but this result hurts.”
Bates added that judging can be unpredictable. “You can do everything right and still fall short. That’s sport,” he said.
The gold medal win came amid scrutiny surrounding Cizeron’s past partnerships. His former partner Gabriella Papadakis, with whom he won five world titles, recently made allegations in a memoir, which Cizeron has denied. Fournier Beaudry’s former partner, Nikolaj Sørensen, was suspended in 2024, though the ban was later overturned on jurisdictional grounds.
