A French judge at the Winter Olympics has faced allegations of manipulating the figure skating competition to ensure a gold medal for France. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron from France secured the gold medal with a total score of 225.82, edging out Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates by just 1.43 points.
The controversy arose when the scores of French judge Jezabel Dabouis were revealed online. Chock and Bates, who had previously won three consecutive world championships in ice dance, were expected to perform well in Milan.
Following the rhythm dance segment, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron were placed first, while Chock and Bates settled for second. Notably, five judges favored the French duo, while three judges ranked the Americans at the top, exposing discrepancies among the judges.
Despite five out of six judges ranking Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron’s routine the highest, Dabouis awarded them a significant lead of 5.74 points over Chock and Bates. In the free dance round, five out of nine judges favored Chock and Bates, yet Dabouis notably scored Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron 7.71 points higher.
Even though none of the judges who placed Chock and Bates first in the free dance gave them a lead of more than 4.1 points over the eventual winners, including a judge from the United States, the International Skating Union defended the scores, emphasizing their commitment to fairness.
After the event, Chock and Bates shared their emotions with NBC News, acknowledging the challenges they faced. Bates highlighted the subjective nature of the sport, noting that despite their efforts, outcomes can vary in sports.