Sawt Falasteen - French ice dancers poised for Winter Olympics gold amid turmoil

Their battle for gold at the Milano Ice Skating Arena is just the tip of the iceberg during a year which included the fallout of a book written by Cizeron's former partner Gabriella Papadakis.

After the rhythm dance on Monday, the French took a surprise lead over US world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates with just 0.46 of a point separating the top two heading into Wednesday's free dance finale.

Cizeron and Papadakis won the ice dance competition four years ago at the Beijing Winter Olympics and retired from competition following their fifth world title in March 2022.

But in early 2025, 31-year-old Cizeron surprised the skating world by announcing his return with a new partner, Fournier Beaudry, his best friend.

The 33-year-old Canadian-born Frenchwoman had been available since the suspension of her former partner on the ice and in life, Nikolaj Sorensen, who was implicated in a sexual abuse case in Canada.

Their return had not been universally welcomed, as it threatened to shake up the established ice dance order.

"It was kind of hard to digest at first," said Chock, 33, who finished just off the podium in 2022.

Chock and Bates, who married in 2024, have won the last three world titles.

Starting in January 2025, the French pair embarked on a race against time to create top-level routines for the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

For the 1990s theme of their rhythm dance, they chose Depeche Mode, and their first official performance was promising.

But a few weeks later, they were forced to change the title.

The reason: an excerpt from their music was officially released at the end of 1989 and therefore did not fully fit the '90s theme.

According to their coach, Romain Haguenauer, this change of music was the result of behind-the-scenes manipulation -- the instigator allegedly an American judge, a compatriot of Chock and Bates.

For their first appearance on the international stage, the French pair competed in October at the French Grand Prix in Angers.

Their debut was marred by an unexpected fall from Cizeron, but they still won the competition.

At the end of the six Grand Prix events of the season, they qualified for the final, where they faced Chock and Bates for the first time in a highly-anticipated duel.

- Bombshell book -

But another mishap occurred during the free dance when one of Fournier Beaudry's skates got caught in her dress and they finished second.

Since then, the skater has shortened her dress to avoid any further mishaps.

Three weeks before the Olympics, the pair were preparing to compete in the European Championships when Papadakis released a bombshell book.

In it, the skater recounts her journey and the ups and downs of her relationship with Cizeron. The image of the couple, previously described as a beautiful friendship since childhood, began to crack.

Papadakis shared her feelings and described a relationship under "control".

Cizeron, in response, denounced the book as "defamatory" and announced that he was "handing over the case to lawyers".

Despite this turbulent situation, Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry won the European title.

The first few days in Milan were anything but restful, with Cizeron facing questions from reporters about Papadakis's book, and Fournier Beaudry being asked about the case involving her former partner.

Against this backdrop, they made a successful debut on the ice, first in the team event on Friday, then individually, where they broke their personal best scores each time.

The scene has been set for a dramatic finale between the US and French couples, who train together in Montreal, while Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are placed third.

The top three-placed ice dancers in Milan also starred in the recent Netflix docuseries "Glitter and Gold: Ice Dancing".

Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry's personal best for the free dance has been ahead of the Americans this season.

They scored 135.50 points on their way to the European title for their water-themed free dance to "The Whale" soundtrack.

The Americans' Flamenico-themed routine to "Paint It Black" by Ramin Djawadi achieved its best score of 133.23 on their way to team gold in Milan.

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST