Editor’s note: Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France won the ice dance gold medal. Updated Feb. 11, 2026, 7:11 p.m. ET. In Milan, the Olympic ice dance competition reached a dramatic conclusion Wednesday as longtime U.S. contenders Madison Chock and Evan Bates chased a first individual Olympic medal while a newly formed French pairing—Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron—emerged as the primary rival amid a high-profile abuse investigation and recent disciplinary rulings.
Key takeaways
- Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron captured the Olympic ice dance gold on Feb. 11, 2026, after forming a partnership roughly one year earlier.
- Madison Chock and Evan Bates, four-time Olympians with seven U.S. national titles and three consecutive world championships, sought their first individual Olympic medal in Milan.
- Nikolaj Sørensen, former partner of Fournier Beaudry, was suspended Oct. 2024 for a minimum of six years by Canada’s Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner for alleged sexual maltreatment; that suspension was overturned in June 2025 on jurisdictional grounds and is under further review through arbitration.
- Fournier Beaudry, a Canadian who received French citizenship three months before the Games, teamed with Cizeron after his previous partner, Gabriella Papadakis, retired from competition in December 2024.
- Gabriella Papadakis’ January memoir raised questions about past power dynamics in elite ice dance and led NBC to remove her from Olympic commentary, citing potential conflict of interest.
- A survivor of the 2012 alleged assault has publicly criticized comments by the French team and expressed concern about the message those remarks send to people who report abuse.
Background
Ice dance’s top competitive landscape shifted rapidly after Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron announced the end of their long partnership in December 2024. Cizeron, a 2022 Olympic champion with Papadakis, paired with Laurence Fournier Beaudry—a skater who pursued French citizenship and completed that process three months prior to the 2026 Games. The new team rose quickly on the international circuit and entered Milan as a favorite.
Parallel to the sporting reconfiguration is a separate, years-long abuse allegation involving Nikolaj Sørensen, Fournier Beaudry’s previous partner. In October 2024, Canada’s Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) suspended Sørensen for at least six years after finding sexual maltreatment had occurred, based on an allegation from 2012. That administrative decision was later overturned on jurisdictional grounds by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) in June 2025; arbitration has since required further review, leaving the final status unresolved.
The situation intensified when Papadakis published a memoir in January describing a relationship dynamic she called harmful, prompting public debate about athlete welfare, coaching oversight and broadcaster roles. NBC removed Papadakis from its Olympic broadcast duties, saying the book created a conflict of interest for the network’s coverage of the sport.
Main event
The Olympic competition’s rhythm dance on Monday set the stage: Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron edged Chock and Bates by a narrow margin to lead into the free dance. The result amplified attention on the French pairing’s rapid ascent and the backstory that led to their formation. Chock and Bates, veterans of four Olympic cycles, delivered performances consistent with their championship record but fell just short on the judges’ scorecards.
At the arena, supporters and media noticed Nikolaj Sørensen in the stands at some events, which drew attention because of his suspension history and his continued personal association with Fournier Beaudry. Social media posts showing Sørensen attending competitions contributed to the controversy, although his presence did not directly affect on-ice judging or official scores.
Off the ice, the story spilled into broader media channels: a Netflix documentary that profiles the new French team featured interviews and footage that survivors and advocates criticized for how team members discussed the suspended skater. The survivor contacted USA TODAY Sports on Feb. 6 to say public comments by high-profile skaters could discourage other athletes from reporting abuse.
Analysis & implications
The intersection of elite results and an ongoing abuse inquiry highlights a central tension in modern sport: how to reconcile competitive fairness with accountability and athlete safety. Administrators face a difficult calculus—preserving due process while ensuring survivors feel secure to come forward. The SDRCC arbitration and any reinstatement or final ban for Sørensen will have ripple effects for team entries, national federation policies and athlete endorsements.
For the athletes, public scrutiny adds mental and reputational pressure at the Olympics, where margins are often razor-thin. Chock and Bates carried not only their competitive ambitions but also the narrative of longevity—four Olympic cycles and multiple world medals—that made their quest compelling. For Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron, the rapid pairing offered a performance advantage but also placed them at the center of a controversy that transformed parts of the competition into a proxy for larger debates about power and silence in sport.
Broadcasters and rights-holders face reputational and ethical choices, as NBC’s decision to remove Papadakis from commentary demonstrates. Networks must weigh their responsibility to deliver impartial coverage against the perception of bias created by commentators’ disclosed histories and memoirs. That calculus could influence how future retiree-commentators are cleared for high-profile events.
Comparison & data
| Team / Individual | Notable facts |
|---|---|
| Madison Chock & Evan Bates | Four Olympics; 7 U.S. national titles; 3 consecutive world championships; seeking first individual Olympic medal |
| Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron | New partnership (~1 year); Cizeron 2022 Olympic champion with Papadakis; Fournier Beaudry granted French citizenship 3 months before Games |
| Nikolaj Sørensen | Suspended Oct. 2024 for minimum six years by OSIC; suspension overturned June 2025 on jurisdictional grounds; arbitration review pending |
The table above summarizes competitive records, recent nationality change, and disciplinary milestones that shaped team eligibility and public attention. These datapoints clarify why a single Olympic result carried outsized institutional and cultural significance in Milan.
Reactions & quotes
“The comments by the French team in the press and on a Netflix documentary create a dangerous environment for skaters who need to report abuse.”
Survivor (statement to USA TODAY Sports)
The survivor’s message, sent Feb. 6, was a central public rebuttal to how members of the new French team discussed the suspended skater. The statement framed the press and documentary coverage as having potential chilling effects on future reporting.
“I think it’s a bigger societal issue… as long as a society we don’t do anything to change that, things won’t change.”
Gabriella Papadakis (from Milan Magic podcast)
Papadakis, whose memoir sparked debate, framed her account in societal terms and linked personal testimony to broader systemic inertia around abuse reporting in sport.
“There is some sinister energy around the partnership.”
Adam Rippon (NBC commentator, in documentary coverage)
Rippon, an Olympic bronze medalist turned commentator, described the public impression around the pairing in stark terms—an example of how commentators outside the immediate parties perceived the controversy.
Unconfirmed
- Whether every detail of the 2012 allegation—beyond the survivor’s account and the OSIC finding—would be substantiated if reviewed in a full judicial proceeding remains unsettled.
- The final outcome of the arbitration review of Sørensen’s suspension and whether the original ban will be reinstated has not been determined at the time of publication.
- The documentary and team comments’ precise effect on future reporting behavior by survivors is asserted by advocates but cannot be quantified from available evidence.
Bottom line
The 2026 Olympic ice dance final in Milan became more than a contest for gold; it served as a flashpoint where elite performance, athlete relationships and accountability mechanisms collided. The new French pairing’s victory underscores how quickly competitive dynamics can change in elite sport, but the wider story will be judged by how institutions respond to allegations and manage due process.
Looking ahead, arbitration outcomes, federation policy changes and broadcaster decisions will shape whether this episode produces lasting reform in athlete safety and reporting culture or becomes a recurring controversy in future competitions. For athletes, federations and fans, the Milan result is a reminder that Olympic outcomes increasingly reverberate beyond podiums into governance and public trust.
Sources
- USA TODAY — reporting and original timeline of events
- Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) — official Canadian sport discipline body
- Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC/CRDSC) — official arbitration body for Canadian sport disputes
- NBC — broadcaster statements and commentary coverage