A judge from France at the Winter Olympics is facing allegations of manipulating the figure skating competition to ensure a gold medal for her country. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France claimed the top spot with a combined score of 225.82, narrowly edging out Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates by just 1.43 points.
The controversy arose when the scoring details 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 on Monday, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron were ranked first, with Chock and Bates in second place. While five judges favored the French pair, only three placed the Americans at the top, highlighting discrepancies in the judging panel.
Despite five out of six judges rating Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron’s routine the highest, Dabouis awarded them a significantly higher score than Chock and Bates, creating a notable gap in points. In the subsequent free dance on Wednesday, five out of nine judges favored Chock and Bates, but Dabouis awarded a notably higher score to Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron.
Notably, none of the judges who ranked Chock and Bates first in the free dance gave them a margin of victory exceeding 4.1 points over the eventual winners. The International Skating Union has defended the scoring, stating that variations in scores are common among judges and mechanisms are in place to address such discrepancies.
In response to the backlash, the American skaters spoke to NBC News, expressing a range of emotions but reflecting on their pride in their performances. Bates acknowledged the subjective nature of the sport, emphasizing that outcomes can vary despite athletes’ efforts.
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