Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry, Olympic champions last month in Milan, capped off their first season together with the world title in ice dance on Saturday in Prague.
Dressed in blue, the French couple impressed the audience and judges with a pure and poetic free program, earning them 138.07 points, just shy of the world record.
Combining their two performances, they totaled 230.81 points, surpassing Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier by over 20 points (211.52 pts).
Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik took an unexpected bronze medal with 209.20 points, just 22/100th ahead of the British duo Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson.
Skating to the soundtrack of “The Whale,” allowing them to express a range of emotions, Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry skated masterfully, captivating the full O2 Arena in Prague with an impressive silence.
“This is one of the moments skaters hope to experience in their careers. Having a full stadium, feeling their energy. We feel the moment slipping away a bit,” said Cizeron. “We try to have enough awareness in the moment to enjoy it. I think we really succeeded tonight. We were a little more relaxed than usual and we had a lot of fun dancing.”
– “Ending on a high note” –
The French duo were already leading after the rhythm dance skated on Friday to Madonna’s “Vogue.” They entered the ice as clear favorites, especially since their main rivals, Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who are three-time reigning world champions and runners-up in Milan, did not compete.
Together for just over a year, they are crowning their first season together with a world title, after already winning the European title in January and the Olympic gold last month: an exceptional year for the couple.
“I think we hoped for it. But realizing it is another thing. And to end on such a high note is even more satisfying,” reacted Laurence Fournier Beaudry.
Cizeron, 31, who is also the Olympic champion in 2022, claims his sixth world title of his career after five with his former partner Gabriella Papadakis.
For Laurence Fournier Beaudry, 33, this is her first world medal.
The two skaters surprised many by announcing their partnership in early 2025 when they were both without partners.
– “With our hearts” –
For these World Championships, held a month after the Olympics, they felt less pressure, ready to offer a mesmerizing performance.
“We really skated with our hearts. It was a very beautiful performance. I think we were very relaxed. Well, very relaxed… let’s not exaggerate. But we had just the right pressure in the right place,” estimated Cizeron.
The other highlight of the day came later with American Ilia Malinin’s victory in the men’s category, the third of his career.
The 21-year-old skater redeemed himself brilliantly a month after his incredible failure at the Olympics in Milan Cortina, where he only placed 8th.
Wearing a black costume adorned with sequins, Malinin scored 329.40 points after an intense program punctuated by five quadruple jumps. He outperformed Japanese skater Yuma Kagiyama by over 22 points, while another Japanese, Shun Sato, took home the bronze.
Second after the short program and well-placed for a medal, Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa, however, fell to fifth place after a fall and multiple errors.
