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The ice is heating up with controversy long before the first skate touches down in Milan! Join us as we dive into the emerging drama surrounding the 2026 Winter Olympics ice dancing competition. From scoring controversies and rule changes to fierce rivalries and political tensions, we're exploring all the factors that could turn this elegant sport into a dramatic spectacle.
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00:00Yeah, I think we've been after this dream for so long.
00:04We've skated together for 15 years, and we felt like we were right there.
00:09We felt like we were so close.
00:10Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:12And today, we're breaking down this year's shocking losses,
00:16controversial victories, and messy behind-the-scenes drama
00:19that turned figure skating into an Olympic soap opera.
00:22I don't know if it's necessarily a story a lot of people are going to root for at first.
00:29At the Winter Olympics, few competitions are more dramatic than figure skating and ice dancing.
00:34It isn't just the performances themselves that are dramatic.
00:37Each skater has a narrative.
00:40Some that end in triumph and others in disappointment.
00:43Elia Malinan would experience both at his first Olympic Games.
00:47As a member of Team USA, Malinan would leave the 2026 Olympics a gold medalist.
00:52Yet, Malinan was expected to go home with an additional medal.
00:55The quad god, a nickname attributed to his famed quadruple jumps,
01:00was fresh off back-to-back world championships where he claimed gold.
01:04Malinan won several other prizes over the past two and a half years,
01:08during which time he stood virtually undefeated.
01:11Malinan was thus favored to win gold in the men's singles competition.
01:15I'm going to give this like 100%, and this is just, I will get it done.
01:19I will achieve it.
01:20Coming out on top of the short program,
01:22the rink was set for Malinan to seal the deal during the free skating segment.
01:26Spectators were in disbelief as Malinan made multiple mistakes throughout his performance,
01:31ranking 15th in the free skate.
01:33Malinan's combined score would leave him ranked 8th overall,
01:36while Mikhail Shydorov became Kazakhstan's first figure skater to take the gold.
01:41Malinan was a good sport amid this devastating loss, congratulating Shydorov.
01:45While Malinan fought back against the trolls who were hostile toward him online,
01:50he didn't tiptoe around his missteps on the ice.
01:53A nice day, just excited to get out there, and of course it didn't go the way I wanted it
01:57to.
01:58As confident as he seemed going in,
02:00the global stage of the Olympics introduced another layer of pressure,
02:03one that Malinan was, quote, not ready to handle.
02:06Yeah, honestly, it's not a pleasant feeling.
02:09The most honest way to say it is it's just a lot of on you,
02:13just so many eyes, so much attention.
02:15The New York Times described this as, quote,
02:17one of the biggest upsets in figure skating history.
02:20Although given Malinan's visible errors, nobody can say he was unfairly scored.
02:25The ice dance competition is another story.
02:28Once again, all eyes were on America to claim the gold.
02:32Madison Chalk and Evan Bates have been skating partners since 2011.
02:43Their partnership on the ice evolved into something even deeper,
02:46getting married in June 2024.
02:49It was the best day of my life.
02:52Well, I wish I could do it all over again.
02:54During that period, Bates and Chalk competed at the Olympics on three occasions.
02:58Both became gold medalists as part of their respective teams in 2022,
03:02but Bates and Chalk had yet to win as a duo.
03:12In 2014, they ranked eighth.
03:15In 2018, they fell to ninth.
03:17In 2022, they came in fourth, just barely missing bronze.
03:33With 2026 potentially being their last hurrah at the Olympics,
03:36this seemed like it might be Chalk and Bates' year.
03:39They were on the heels of three consecutive world championships,
03:42demonstrating their growth since the 2022 Olympics.
03:55At the 2026 Games, Chalk and Bates each added a gold medal to their mantle through the team event,
04:00with the ice dance competition following.
04:03While Chalk and Bates placed second in the rhythm dance section,
04:06they seemed undeniable after their matador-themed free dance set to paint it black.
04:10Topping themselves, Bates and Chalk appeared assured that they had the gold in the bag.
04:15Many spectators shared this sentiment,
04:17but when the scores were tallied, Bates and Chalk still only came in second,
04:21settling for silver overall.
04:23The gold went to the French duo Laurence Fournier-Baudry and Guillaume Cizeron,
04:28a victory that proved contentious for various reasons.
04:31Baudry and Cizeron only became partners on the ice in 2025.
04:35Both had recently come out of long-term partnerships that went up in flames.
04:39For almost a decade, Baudry skated with Canadian ice dancer Nikolai Sorensen.
04:44Baudry and Sorensen represented Canada at the 2022 Olympics, placing 9th.
04:49Not long after, news broke that Sorensen was under investigation for allegedly committing assault.
04:55Although Baudry and Sorensen withdrew from the 2024 Canadian Championships,
04:59they continued to skate in other competitions.
05:01While Sorensen claimed he was innocent,
05:04Skate Canada ultimately suspended him for no less than six years.
05:07If Baudry were to compete at the 2026 Olympics, she'd need a new partner.
05:12When they decided to suspend him, it meant that his career was over,
05:17which also meant that my career was over.
05:19Finding a new male partner is easier said than done,
05:22as there are generally more female ice dancers in the profession.
05:26As it turned out though, French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron was also looking for a new partner around this time.
05:31There is some sinister energy around the partnership.
05:37Knowing each other since childhood, Cizeron was paired with Gabriela Papadakis for two decades.
05:42In addition to breaking numerous world records, Cizeron and Papadakis achieved gold at the 2022 Olympics.
05:49And I think what was maintaining us together was having that common goal.
05:54As dynamic as they seemed on the ice, Papadakis painted a far more problematic partnership behind closed doors.
06:01Papadakis accused Cizeron of being controlling,
06:04claiming that he was critical of how she dressed and what her hair color was.
06:08He also allegedly didn't let her practice spins alone and pressured her to quit boxing.
06:12I mean, in the book, I mostly talked about my experience in that relationship.
06:19And that was a dynamic that was profoundly harmful and dangerous to me.
06:25Matters intensified leading up to the 2022 Olympics, but Papadakis held her frustration in.
06:31She claims this led to psychogenic non-epileptic seizures brought on by stress.
06:35When Cizeron reached out concerning the 2026 Games, Papadakis hesitated to respond.
06:41And it took me to really, really dangerous situations before I was able and forced to
06:48not only see it for what it was, but I had to leave.
06:52Papadakis didn't want to relive the alleged trauma she experienced at the 2022 Games,
06:57although her options were limited.
06:59It'd be difficult to find a new partner, and skating was her livelihood.
07:03As Papadakis remained torn, Cizeron decided for them.
07:07Their partnership was over, which was cemented on December 3rd, 2024.
07:12According to Papadakis, she didn't choose retirement.
07:15She was, quote, pushed out.
07:17Papadakis wrote about this experience in her 2026 memoir,
07:21So As Not To Disappear, which Cizeron took out a cease and desist against.
07:25Papadakis was unhappy that Cizeron and the ICE Academy of Montreal had supported Sorensen
07:31following his assault allegations.
07:33Papadakis herself is a survivor of assault.
07:35I.M. also allegedly pressured Papadakis to terminate a pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage.
07:41Papadakis has advocated for same-sex partnerships in ice dancing,
07:45citing an unfair dynamic with men generally possessing more power.
07:49We're talking a lot more now about same-sex skating, for example,
07:55which I think could resolve a lot of these issues.
07:58For those who agree with Papadakis, it was upsetting seeing Cizeron and Baudry win the gold.
08:03This wasn't just because of the allegations against Cizeron or the overdue narrative backing Chalk and Bates.
08:10It was because Cizeron and Baudry made noticeable mistakes during their rhythm and free dances,
08:15yet still came out on top in each section with an overall score of 225.82.
08:20Bates and Chalk got 224.39.
08:23And that's really been the talk on social media that they were scored unfairly and that it really should have
08:29been the Americans.
08:30Amid Chalk and Bates' loss, many pointed out that figure skating is subjective.
08:35Unlike some other Olympic sports, it isn't a matter of who's the fastest or who can throw the furthest distance.
08:41It boils down to the judges.
08:42That said, it's been widely argued that French judge Gézabel Dabouy showed favoritism to Cizeron and Baudry.
08:49Meanwhile, Dabouy gave the American duo a lower score compared to their average among the other judges.
08:55This ignited a petition on change.org to, quote,
08:58investigate the judges awarding France the gold, gaining over 20,000 signatures and counting.
09:03The United States Figure Skating had 24 hours to appeal the results, which ultimately didn't happen.
09:09The International Skating Union stands by the outcome, saying, quote,
09:13It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges.
09:17We did what we set out to do, which was to have our best skates of our seasons, of our
09:22careers,
09:23in the moment that it mattered.
09:25And we did that four times and I think there's nothing more we could have done.
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09:48This is not the first time that judging in Olympic pair skating has come under scrutiny.
09:52In 2002, Marie-Ren Lagune, another French judge, was implicated in a reported scoring conspiracy.
09:58And then a French CBC commentator waved at me and his words were, it's the French judge, it's the French
10:06judge.
10:07This year's outcome might not reach the same levels of controversy as Skategate, as the media dubbed it in 2002.
10:13Yet many have echoed Madison Chalk's comment amid her loss.
10:17Quote, judges should be vetted.
10:19I think skating is such a subjective sport, but I do think that for fairness, it is good when the
10:27judges are reviewed for their work.
10:29Not just after this competition, but every competition to just make sure that there's a fair and even playing field
10:35for all athletes.
10:372026 is also far from the first year where presumed frontrunners have come up short.
10:41Or a cloud of accusations has loomed over the games.
10:44It feels as if the status quo is frozen in time.
10:47Whatever the future holds for the 2030 Winter Olympics, one constant will remain.
10:53There will be drama on and off the ice.
10:56I remember just standing there, looking out at the panel of the judges that were still sitting there for the
11:01medal ceremony going, how dare you?
11:04Which moment from the 2026 Olympics shocked you the most?
11:07Let us know in the comments.
11:08Let us know in the comments.
11:09Let us know in the comments.
11:09We do not know in the comments.
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