MILAN — French ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron edged Madison Chock and Evan Bates within the rhythm dance on the Milano Cortina Olympics on Monday night time, leaving the three-time world champions from the U.S. with floor to make up of their four-year quest for the person gold medal.

Beaudry and Cizeron scored 90.18 factors early within the night time, then needed to watch dozens of different performers to see whether or not they can be overwhelmed. It got here all the way down to Chock and Bates, the ultimate couple on the ice, and a mistake on their sample step was the distinction, leaving the People with 89.72 factors going into Wednesday night time’s competitors.

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada have been third with 86.18 factors in a good race for third place.

Chock and Bates had helped the People defend their workforce gold medal barely 24 hours earlier — their second in that occasion. However after a fourth-place end on the Beijing Video games, it’s the particular person gold medal that they’ve lengthy sought to win.

Beaudry and Cizeron arrived on the Winter Video games going through a swirl of controversy linked to their former companions.

Beaudry, who beforehand skated for Canada, was left in limbo when Skate Canada banned her former accomplice, Nikolaj Sorensen, for no less than six years after allegations of “sexual maltreatment.” The suspension was overturned in June on jurisdictional grounds, however the case continues to be pending, and that left Beaudry seeking a brand new accomplice.

She discovered one in Cizeron, who had retired after 2022, when he received the Olympic gold medal with Gabriella Papadakis.

However in the previous few weeks, Cizeron additionally has come below scrutiny. It stems from Papadakis’ new memoir, “So As Not To Disappear,” through which she accused her longtime accomplice of being demanding, controlling and emotionally manipulative.

Cizeron has known as the allegations false, accusing Papadakis of engineering a “smear marketing campaign.”

“We’re actually making a bubble between the 2 of us and our coaches,” Beaudry mentioned, when requested of the distractions, “so once we are on the market, it is in regards to the second we spend collectively, and the recollections that we’ll carry again from that second.”

Beaudry and Cizeron actually made some recollections of their rhythm dance.

Whereas their twizzles have been nonetheless not good, the whole thing of their program was far superior to the efficiency within the workforce competitors earlier within the Winter Video games. And when their 90-plus rating was introduced, Beaudry sat for a second in surprised silence.

“We actually tried to skate as finest as we might,” Cizeron mentioned. “We had a good time and we’ll attempt to do the identical for the free dance.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics