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00:15We are in my childhood bedroom, there's all of our trophies over there.
00:23Gosh, I've had this Olympic dream as long as I can remember.
00:27I feel like as a kid you hold on to that hope of like something big is gonna happen and
00:34I hope that's possible.
00:37These are all my U.S. national medals.
00:40I competed for them until I was 18, so six years internationally.
00:49My old skating partner Zachary Donahue and I split in 2010 after Junior Worlds.
00:55He had a girlfriend and I think she wanted to skate with him.
00:59We were both teenagers and young and fiery and there was a lot of drama in that.
01:05Oh gosh, here we go.
01:07This one cracks me up because this is Evan with his old partner Emily.
01:12We were both available at that time.
01:15Piper and I were looking for partners at the same time.
01:18Finding the right partner is so challenging.
01:22It's a photo of Maddie.
01:23And I, again, like the side part, the everything, like just she was skating with Greg Zerline.
01:32There was a website at one point called IcePartnerSearch.com.
01:37IcePartnerSearch.com, I think it's still up.
01:39It was kind of like a dating profile.
01:41You put your height, your history, where you train.
01:44Definitely was on that at one point and used it.
01:46And then at that same event, Paul was also there.
01:50He and Vanessa were so good.
01:52Vanessa Crone and Paul Aurier.
01:54I was 19 when I was looking for a new partner.
01:58We were babies. Babies.
02:00So back in 2010, 2011, there was like a mass breakup of so many teams.
02:08Evan broke up with his partner Emily.
02:11I had asked for a tryout with Evan.
02:13We didn't try out together because I was waiting to hear back from Maddie.
02:17Paul and Vanessa split.
02:19Paul had actually written to me for a tryout.
02:21Like a year later, I realized I gave him the wrong email.
02:25I don't know if I knew that.
02:26I need to tell sweet Polly.
02:27I'm so sorry about that.
02:29Oh, that's really cute.
02:29We all kind of wanted to try each other out in a sense.
02:35But then at the end of the day, I just kind of went with my gut
02:38and my gut said Evan was the choice for me.
02:41Piper had been skating with Zach Donahue, who ended up skating with Maddie Hubbell.
02:46I moved to Canada to skate with Paul.
02:48Once I started skating with Paul, Emily started skating with my older brother.
02:52Paul's old partner cried out with Laurent's old partner.
02:55Laurent's just now skating with Guillaume.
02:56And so we're all kind of intertwined in this strange sort of way.
03:01It's just wild to see how all of us have been connected.
03:06Everybody will do something for a dream, right?
03:09For all of us.
03:10My dream was to go to the Olympics and stand on top of the podium.
03:41Okay, so we were...
03:43did a dude watch the...
03:45So, during the summer is the fresh new start.
03:52This is when the teams are thinking about new concepts, music, character.
03:58I think we need, like, orange, a light blue.
04:01They're all different teams.
04:02It's the maximum of pressure.
04:04It's all about what you create, all the choices, the strategy.
04:11There's two programs that each couple has to perform.
04:15The first one skated is the rhythm dance.
04:22There's always a set theme or rhythm.
04:25So, this year, the International Skating Union has assigned a 90s theme for that program.
04:33Wondering if we were missing some dimensions with the shoulders.
04:39And the free dance is whatever the skater's choice.
04:43So, it can be anything from classical to modern.
04:46And it's supposed to display just what you do best.
04:51The free dance has got to feel like an iconic Olympic program that is your legacy.
05:00And especially in an Olympic year, this is a very important time because you are picking the programs that could
05:08seal your fate in Milan at the Olympics.
05:10Because there is no, he jumped higher.
05:15There is always going to be a little bit of, I just liked it better.
05:21It's anybody's game.
05:23It just depends on what teams have the right material.
05:27It's all about their material.
05:41Piper and Paul are literal, they're camp.
05:46Get it!
05:47They're just very, like, big and, like, very, so much character, so much personality.
05:54One more to go.
05:55You're almost, like, thinking too much.
05:58I want more after this.
06:02When that goes bang, bang, bang, bang.
06:09The theme for the rhythm dance this year is 1990s.
06:13We wanted to lean into something that was very them.
06:16Obviously, like, we had to do a RuPaul song.
06:20I think TU Supermodel was an obvious choice just because it's such a banger, but also it being a style
06:28of dance that emerged from the queer community.
06:30When I first came out of Luke Lee, it was exactly four years ago.
06:35It feels like a long time ago, but not a long time ago.
06:39It's not really, like, a skating part?
06:41No, it's more like, yeah, but needs more groove.
06:45I think it's been a really positive change in my life.
06:49And I feel like I can bring more of myself to the process of skating and of creating.
06:55That's been really nice.
06:56As you're coming up from sexy, there's two beats, bam, bam, started there.
07:05That was it!
07:08Ay!
07:11That was good, except for no face.
07:14Yeah.
07:15What face are you going to do?
07:16Let's decide.
07:17Ooh, ooh, yeah.
07:19On that one, right?
07:20Yeah.
07:20Mm-hmm.
07:21Do steel.
07:22Mm-hmm.
07:26At the beginning of every season, Paul and I, and our coaches, we always call ourselves the Cliff Jumpers.
07:30Because we've created something so unique and new, and we don't know if the people are going to understand the
07:36characters.
07:36Hand.
07:37Magician.
07:38Magician.
07:38Hat.
07:40Swipe it.
07:41That's a lot of things.
07:43That's going to take two months for him to think about.
07:45This is what you asked?
07:45This is what you asked?
07:46Did you not just ask for this?
07:47I did.
07:49Talking about multitask.
07:51Look, he just did, and he did it with a smile.
07:54Who are you?
07:55I was smiling because he was saying I can't multitask, which is entirely true.
07:59I'm like 99.9% sure no one is going to do Supermodel by RuPaul, because people aren't brave enough
08:06to do it.
08:07And the best thing about Piper and Paul is that they are.
08:13Thanks, Alex.
08:14Hmm.
08:15So you mean in my living room, I'm just like, phew, phew.
08:17Correct.
08:23I just think the contrast, when you look at it overall, and it's on his arm, I feel like it
08:29might be too much, or I don't know.
08:31Can we look at it with the other browns?
08:33Mm-hmm.
08:34And we can go on the other side also, so it's, the light is better.
08:38And are these the swatches for his, this is for his pants?
08:42Yeah.
08:43It's for the pants, and this is probably some part of, like, the chest and the back.
08:49I'm going to use this.
08:51I love, love designing costumes, and the research, and then, like, seeing how the costumes look when they're all finished.
08:58What do you think?
09:00There's just a lot of brown.
09:02I'm just worried about being, like, so brown.
09:05Well, I mean, your pants can be airbrushed black.
09:08Like, there's going to be darker texture and depth, so I'm not just, like, a big brown.
09:13I mean, you're not supposed to be fully brown.
09:16We're not, we're not trying to make you look like a turd.
09:20I don't look like a turd out there.
09:22It's my nightmare.
09:24Watching her create something from scratch and then see the full process of, like, it becomes a wearable piece of
09:31art, and then we're the ones who get to wear it and go out and perform in it.
09:34It's pretty unique.
09:35From literally just an idea in Maddie's head to center eyes.
09:40It's just, it's pretty cool.
09:42It's trying to dress.
09:44It's trying to dress.
09:45It's trying to dress.
10:01You dress your matador.
10:12It's really awesome.
10:12How much would you take off the bottom?
10:14That's the same as my practice skirt.
10:16We wanted a longer skirt because I am the Matador and I wanted to play with it like a cape,
10:21so it had to be long so that I can drape it over my arm.
10:24We wanted to keep it as long as possible.
10:26Within reason, of course, because of safety.
10:30Oop, there's a pin there!
10:33Hello!
10:34There is a possibility that my skirt comes completely over his head and obstructs his
10:38vision, which as a matador, great, that's what you want.
10:41But as an ice dancer, not ideal.
10:44That's so cool.
10:46It moves really well, but it's got like a real cool whip, you know, like a ripple.
10:52Look like Batwoman this.
10:55All right, well, let's just do the practice skirt in the same exact style as you have
10:58this now with the two.
10:59Right.
11:00See how that goes.
11:05One, two, and three.
11:11For Laurence and Guillaume's Rhythm Dance, they're skating to Depeche mode.
11:15It's the third one.
11:16It has a unique European sound, a little bit underground.
11:20It has good bones for voguing.
11:23Cha-cha.
11:25Brill is a specialist in arm control movement.
11:29Which is one category of the big family of voguing.
11:34Better?
11:35From there, can we open?
11:36Can you open this?
11:38Open the bottom one, maybe?
11:41No.
11:44I think it's really special because voguing and arm control, what we're learning is like
11:49going back to basics.
11:54Probably one of the hardest things that I've done, like honestly.
11:59It's literally like learning a language in a few weeks.
12:04Okay, let's get on the ice.
12:09There are fans of both Laurence and Guillaume that have already decided that's your next
12:14Olympic champion.
12:15I think that's very bold to assume.
12:19After the illusion when we do all this, should I try to aim to go here so I finish on
12:25this
12:26side?
12:26I like either.
12:28Yeah.
12:28I kind of naturally like it more you here and here.
12:33So, I represented Canada for many years and now I'm representing France.
12:39She doesn't have her citizenship yet.
12:41I can represent France in all the competition up to world championships.
12:46In order to do Olympics, I need the French citizenship.
12:52Oh, you're going so hard.
12:54I'm crossing my fingers that everything will go accordingly to plan and that we'll have
12:59the citizenship in time for me to go to the Olympics with Guillaume.
13:03We're doing the best that we can every day to get closer to our goal and the rest we kind
13:08of leave to faith.
13:10When we did the footwork yesterday, we were tracking at Tokyo.
13:13Most of the time when you find a partner, they're not from the same country.
13:17So it makes getting the citizenship even more challenging because some countries, it takes
13:23years and it's impossible to get it.
13:26So, we don't know if they will be able to compete for the Olympics.
13:30Like, we're hoping, they're hoping, but we don't know.
13:34Love it.
13:35Where?
13:36In ice dance, we're dealing with a sport that has so many women and not so many men.
13:44And of course, finding two people of the same age from the same country, oh my God, it's
13:51hard.
13:56As skaters, we live a very global lifestyle.
14:02There is some country hopping.
14:05Sometimes the best option for you is from Lithuania.
14:10Representing Lithuania, Callison Reed and Dissolius up to innovation.
14:15If you look at the Lithuanian team, the famous last name Reed does not really ring a bell when
14:22you kind of go through the yellow pages.
14:25I don't think you're going to find any Reeds in Lithuania.
14:29We see that even with the Spanish team.
14:31That's the craziest one to me.
14:33Olivia's British.
14:35She got her Spanish citizenship.
14:36But she's not Spanish at all.
14:38She gets a new partner that's German.
14:40But it's easier for them to get Spanish citizenship than for her to get German citizenship.
14:45And now they're Spanish.
14:49If you look at the top 10 teams in the world, more than half have a skater who's represented
14:53more than one country.
14:55It's a dog-eat-dog world.
14:58Sometimes you just got to get your Azerbaijani citizenship.
15:02From Azerbaijan, Samantha Rinder and Daniel Brickhoff.
15:09For the last one?
15:11She just said it, yeah.
15:13Technically, it does count as a lift once the music starts.
15:16Can you show them again the steps in between the...
15:19Two and three?
15:19Yeah.
15:21So up here.
15:29One.
15:30Two.
15:31Now take this under the arm.
15:32And now move forward.
15:34Yeah.
15:37That's cool.
15:38Beginning of the tension.
15:39No separation.
15:39Yeah.
15:41So we're here at Champs Camp and it's the annual preseason camp that U.S. Figure Skating holds.
15:46So all the skaters who are going to be sent out for international competitions come here
15:50and debut their programs for the American judges.
15:54But this is a really great starting point.
15:56Just kind of share our music, share the concept, what our vision for the program is and see how
16:02people respond.
16:04We're going to be able to do that.
16:04Remember judges one through nine are completely scattered along the boards here and everybody's
16:09going to have a different perception of that face-to-face moment and what it looks like.
16:13I know it will feel insane what I'm about to say, but sometimes the judges and different
16:21officials will come to the rinks and they will watch the skaters train.
16:29They are there while the skaters are picking out their programs and their music and they're
16:35letting the teams know, we think this is good, we think this isn't, we think scratch this,
16:39start over here.
16:41That's always kind of like the first scary moment of the season, putting it out in front
16:46of other people and like opening the program up to the opinions of people.
16:51It's beautiful, but it's not counting as an exit for me.
16:54It's so important to be on the good side of the judges and to have them be involved in
17:00your process.
17:01Because we're a creative sport, everybody has something to say, good or bad.
17:06You have to choose what's going to help you.
17:10You have to understand what's going to break you too.
17:14It's kind of the game of, does anybody have something negative to say about this?
17:18If it's a constructive criticism coming from the right people, then we're going to use
17:24it to get better.
17:25What's nice is when it turns with the music, you have the asymmetry with the music.
17:32That's nice.
17:34The arrival is nice and everything, so I think we need to...
17:38So you have to be ready for judgment.
17:40You have to embrace it and you have to use it as a tool to be the best that you
17:46can be.
17:47It's an uphill, never winning battle to try to appease everyone.
17:55We've had moments where we've decided mid-season to change the music or to change the program.
17:59Like in the last Olympic season, we really felt that we had to do everything that everyone
18:04was telling us to do in order to get the result that we wanted.
18:11And it didn't go the way that we wanted to.
18:16Fighting through this lift, she was going to go up to the top and she couldn't get it.
18:25You couldn't hide the disappointment in a program like that, you just couldn't.
18:31I think the last games was a good learning experience for us.
18:37So this year, we're really sticking to our vision.
18:40Especially if you've been in it for a while, you're a veteran.
18:43You want to stick to your guns and say,
18:46I know that's your opinion, but it doesn't feel right for us.
18:50But that's also then taking a chance because you're telling the judge like,
18:55okay, thanks, but no thanks.
18:58We skated a few weeks ago just to get some initial feedback and they weren't sure about it.
19:05They couldn't really see the vision and maybe the pieces of music weren't their favorite cuts.
19:10We want to listen to your feedback and kind of make the changes.
19:14So we switched some songs, we added a song, playing with remixes.
19:17But we felt like what we have is the most mature option for us.
19:21And like, we feel like this is the best vehicle for us still.
19:26But I mean, we're like working on it daily.
19:28So it's kind of still evolving.
19:32Yeah.
20:05So we have a little bit of a change of plan.
20:09Pivoting.
20:10Pivoting with the music of our rhythm dance.
20:18Merci.
20:20Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
20:22I haven't put any other cups, I think that's enough.
20:26It's good?
20:26Very good.
20:27It's sweet.
20:29Our coach Romain had some feedback from judges that our last music from Depeche Mode,
20:38Personal Jesus, the single was released in 1989, so a few months before 1990.
20:50Basically, we would take the risk of having an illegal music, which would make us lose
20:58a lot of points.
21:01Our original idea was to skate to Vogue from Madonna.
21:06We wanted to do arm control movement, which is like a very technical version of the voguing,
21:11so we're coming back to the original idea.
21:23I think it's a big deal, but I think it's still early in the season, so it's very good
21:28that it's happening now in September.
21:33We've spent like five months on, you know, cutting music, trying to make everything perfect,
21:38so it's always a bit frustrating when you've done so much work and you have to kind of start again.
21:47But we think that it's very good to pivot now towards this avenue, and we're having now costume changes,
21:55and we have to figure out which part of music could highlight what we had, and at the same time,
22:02change and modify what we were not super satisfied with.
22:06So it gives us a breath of fresh air, and a little challenge.
22:13We have four weeks from now until the Grand Prix of France, and I would say we're like halfway through
22:21transposing the program into this new music.
22:29You know, it's still, it's enough time. I think we'll be ready.
22:34Oh!
22:42Welcome to the beginning of the Grand Prix season. Oh, my God.
22:48The Grand Prix is here. Oh, my gosh. We made it. We made it.
22:51The big events, the ones that are going to move us towards the big-ticket events of the Olympics,
22:57the World Championships, right?
22:59Each year, the best skaters in the world phase off against one another on the Grand Prix series.
23:05You have six events, and the skaters will have two each.
23:09And then the best-placed skaters of this series will then go on to the Grand Prix Final,
23:15which is the top six teams in the world. It's the creme de la creme of the Grand Prix series.
23:22This is where you set the tone. This is where you let everyone know I'm the one to beat.
23:33Okay.
23:34Grand Prix of France. Ooh!
23:36I'm ready.
23:37Oh, so exciting.
23:37I'm so jealous of, like, literally everyone on my Twitter feed that's there today.
23:41We also are going to get our first international look at Laurence Fournier-Baudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
23:47I can't imagine they're not going to be hotly in the mix for that podium here.
23:52For Guillaume and Laurence, doing their first Grand Prix in France for sure has more pressure because they represent the
24:00country.
24:00It's like a full house.
24:03Very.
24:05Thank you very much.
24:06Thank you very much.
24:08Thank you very much.
24:08Heading into Grand Prix France, this is a critical moment for Guillaume and Laurence.
24:13This is their first international event together.
24:16But this is also where they're letting the entire ice dance world know where they will rank this season.
24:23If they're able to go out and dominate the field and end up on the top of the podium at
24:29their first event, I think it would send a message.
24:32We haven't seen anything yet, and we have no idea what's going to happen.
24:36And they have apparently recalibrated and gotten a new rhythm dance.
24:41It'll be very interesting to see how the international judges rank them because it's a really strong field overall.
24:47What they're doing has never been done before.
24:49Like, an Olympic champion coming back with a new partner, it's not been done.
24:53There's always nerves.
24:55Like, we're competing, but it fuels us.
24:58And you need the nerves to make a good performance.
25:03I don't think anyone expected me to come back with Laurence.
25:06It might shake things up a little bit for everyone.
25:10I was the last Olympic champion, but Laurence and I were kind of the underdog.
25:15It's the first time we're hugging each other in the backstage.
25:18And it's the first time where we exit up the curtains and they say,
25:23Laurence Fournier-Baudry and Guillaume Suzeron.
25:26And it's really special to feel that I was going to skate on the ice with my best friend.
25:34Guillaume, of course, the five-time world and European champion, reigning Olympic champion.
25:41And there's a lot of hype, a lot of expectation to see how he fares with his new partner.
25:50For Guillaume and Laurence, it's very important here to show everybody that they are contenders for the Olympic medal.
25:58In the rhythm dance, it would be great if they could be between 85 and 90 points.
26:06Presenting France, Laurence Fournier-Baudry and Guillaume Suzeron.
26:11And there is the new partnership of Laurence Fournier-Baudry and Guillaume Suzeron.
26:17And the crowd knows only too well that despite the newness of their partnership,
26:21they have the potential to take goals in their Grand Prix debut in France.
26:27It's human nature.
26:40Which seems like a solid building, towards the 115tric levels of the India-Baudryèż
26:44When it comes in matches the defending machine,
26:46with the reliability of the United Nations crew,
26:46you're trying to create or build the operation of the winning team,
26:49you're trying to open to that agenda for a good step
26:50No way.
26:52Look at that.
26:55Strike the pose.
26:56They just have an amazing presence when they go out there.
27:02Strike the pose.
27:04Every moment counts a lot for the final score.
27:09It's very important to be perfectly in sync,
27:13perfectly on the music, on the beat.
27:15Let's do it, let's go!
27:21Jump drops to both knees, that has to count as a fall.
27:28That would be a custom mistake.
27:47Well, they are such incredible skaters.
27:51However, the mistake on the final element
27:53has to have a costly impact on their score.
27:58How did you feel until now?
28:00Until now.
28:09Laurence and Guillaume have a total of 78 points.
28:13My expectations are extremely high.
28:16I need to know that I'm the best version of myself.
28:21But there's always a question of,
28:24what if we don't win?
28:26That was maybe the mistake,
28:27that feeling of pressure, of envy.
28:32He went above his pointe,
28:34so he falls on the two knees.
28:37And that, for us, is considered a fall.
28:40But, no, it's a little stupid mistake.
28:44But, no, it's a little stupid mistake.
28:44But, well, it's a good learning
28:46for the next competitions.
28:53I don't know what the score is in the game,
28:56but I know that 78, it's not very good.
28:58It's not very good.
29:01I don't know what the score is.
29:03Go Frank.
29:12I do ask this,
29:13eat whatever they can find.
29:17The performance was good.
29:19It was really good until, that point, it was really good at that point,
29:22until the end.
29:24you know when you think about all the you know um you know all the facts that we forget about
29:31like you know how long we've been skating together how long we've been skating this
29:35specific program how it's like you know an extra maybe uh extra nerves or skating in
29:43france having the whole family here you know you you lose uh you lose eight nine points
29:50in like one second you know it's not ideal but it's also a really good lesson for
29:56the rest of the season because you know competition is not over
30:01and there's tomorrow and we have a pretty strong freedom so yeah
30:26i feel pretty good
30:28i get nervous when you put your skates on it's a hard time to stay in the present moment because
30:35your brain keeps going towards the future to do the performance of our lives
30:50i've heard people say like when you stop being stressed it means you stop caring and i'm still
30:56stressed so to us it never goes away commandos are currently in third position to be secure to go to
31:04the grand prix final you need to win here i think with a clean skate they should be able to
31:10win the
31:10free dance but to catch up 6.38 points over the british team that's a huge amount of points
31:31the crowd making quite clear who their favorites are here in france but laurence and guillaume have to
31:37skate not just cleanly but brilliantly if they are to have any chance of moving up to take the title
31:43the
31:50the
31:50the
31:53the
31:53the
31:53the
31:56the
33:31Just sublime.
33:33Arguably, some of the best quality of skating skills that we have ever seen.
33:45And the crowd here, standing on their feet, applauding what was an absolute masterclass
33:52of skating skill.
33:57They will need a huge score to close the gap and move up to first place.
34:26That score will take them to the top of the leaderboard.
34:31Laurence and Guillaume go home with the goal.
34:43Coming back into that free and skating so flawlessly, such a beautiful performance and still dominating
34:51the score in a way that's quite a bit on top of anybody who's competing.
34:55We'll see if they can keep the momentum going into their next Grand Prix.
34:59So, we're happy to have done it at the beginning of the season, which places the top part for
35:06the next.
35:07And then we'll work hard to bring it up even further.
35:12It's a really good start.
35:14I feel like we're going to be able to really build a lot on this first experience together
35:19and get ready for, you know, the long road that's ahead.
35:23Well, long and not long.
35:24It's only a few months.
35:26But every experience, we try to learn from it and, you know, get better.
35:48Soar?
35:48Yeah.
35:51Taking a little while to go away.
35:52Okay.
35:54We are leaving for Lake Placid in a few days.
35:58We're competing this upcoming weekend at Skate America, which is our second Grand Prix.
36:04You have, like, not that much time between Grand Prixs.
36:08So, like, you've got to just kind of, like, get back in.
36:10And we wanted to make some adjustments to both programs.
36:14We changed some lifts.
36:16That adds, like, another layer of challenge because then you take out, like, the comfort
36:20that you were just starting to feel.
36:22And that's where we're at right now.
36:25Like, we had time, but we're just figuring it out.
36:27So, I need a minute.
36:32You okay?
36:33Yeah.
36:36In our sport, it's like you never really want to show that you're struggling.
36:41Perception becomes reality in some sense.
36:43So, you always want to put on that you're, you know, thriving.
36:47And this is just easy for you.
36:50But, obviously, it's not easy.
36:51It takes a lot.
36:55Stop.
36:56You all right?
36:58My back's not feeling good because when you put new stuff in, you repeat it, like,
37:03over and over and over again to get the muscle memory.
37:05When you repeat lifts over and over and over again, your back doesn't feel good.
37:15But we're training over 30 hours a week, I'd say.
37:18And the mileage can add up over years.
37:21I don't know.
37:21It's just, like, the mid-season slog, I suppose.
37:24It's just kind of hard.
37:27So, our first Grand Prix was Cup of China.
37:29And then afterwards, we always get a load of feedback.
37:33People had more chatter about the skirt than the dancing.
37:36That skirt is the scariest to me.
37:40It limits the visibility of what she's performing.
37:44There was a couple of people, judges, commentaries about the skirt being a little bit heavy, a little bit long.
37:51So, we changed customers.
37:53We made them with the intent of doing, like, a little more of, like, a sleek, modern look.
37:58Is the skirt the same length?
38:00It's a little bit shorter.
38:02And it's not double-layered?
38:03It's just one layer.
38:07I feel like it looks dinky and, like, small now.
38:14Take a video. It looks really good.
38:15No, it's fine. Let's just get going.
38:26When you go to the Olympics, you do not want to have any variable that, like, you are not in
38:31control of.
38:32You're not in control of a long skirt.
38:36It can move the same direction 1,000 times.
38:40And then on the 1,001th time, it'll go the other direction.
38:45And if I were competing for the Ice Dance gold medal, I wouldn't want to leave anything to chance.
38:51It's not that skirt my face.
38:53You still did?
38:55Yeah.
38:55It's okay.
38:56Yeah.
38:57You got to trust it and look a little bit inside, because the skirt is this way.
39:19I do love the skirt, but the choreo slide would for sure be the riskiest moment of the program for
39:25him to get a little bit of that skirt underneath the edge of his blade.
39:28He will fall. She'll fall. Like, we're talking probably an eight-point mistake for something as silly as your skirt
39:37being long.
39:39I know you weren't bothered by the skirt.
39:41It changes, like...
39:43See, like, I put a hole in your skirt.
39:45Yeah, yeah. You stepped on it. There's a hole.
39:49What are we going to do?
39:51As long as I've been skating, Madison Chalk has been the gold standard of how do you want to look
39:57when you go to a competition.
39:59And so I think that this costume is something that's probably really important to her, that she takes this in
40:07her, let's imagine their final Olympic season, takes the biggest swing of her life.
40:21We don't always get ready in matching outfits, but just on special occasions, like today.
40:27Matching exactly, I've been.
40:31Do our makeup together in our...
40:33It's the best.
40:33...in our matching outfits.
40:37We are in Lake Placid, New York, for the Skate America Grand Prix.
40:45Never have enough curl cream.
40:48Well, we did make a lot of changes to the program, and I feel like the goal would be to
40:53have a good showing, show the progress we've made, and show the potential of the program.
41:02I'm not feeling great, honestly.
41:06I saw the doctor last night, and they thought maybe because I've been taking so much ibuprofen is why I
41:10feel like so nauseous and sick.
41:12So I'm going to switch to a leave.
41:16And I think I was more stressed because I knew I wasn't feeling good.
41:19And then Maddie was just doing the deep breathing and just anchoring the team, pulling me through.
41:26And I was so grateful for her yesterday because that's the only reason why I can still do it, honestly.
41:34I got your phone.
41:35I do think that Maddie and Evan, they only let in certain people.
41:39Usually it's for a week or so before the event.
41:43They start being a little bit tighter.
41:46They don't skate as free.
41:48They're not as much in the enjoyment.
41:50All righty.
41:51Let's do it.
41:52They're starting to overanalyze every little bobble.
41:55I don't feel good.
41:56I don't like this.
41:57And it sometimes manifests in like a stiff neck, a stiff back.
42:12Maddie and Evan are at a home Grand Prix.
42:15They have the home field advantage.
42:18What do you want to do if you have the home field advantage and you just saw another team, Guillaume
42:23and Laurence, who's in that mix for gold now.
42:26When they had the home team advantage, they got this crazy score.
42:32So the goal isn't to win.
42:34They're going to do that.
42:36They are head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in this field.
42:41Their focus is to basically draw a line and go, we have set the precedent.
42:49Great job at your Grand Prix in France, Guillaume.
42:53But we're the three time and reigning world champions.
42:59Look at the score that we can get.
43:16I was feeling pretty good actually this morning, and then on practice we did one combo lift where she jumps
43:22over my shoulder and I catch her.
43:23And I just felt like in that moment I felt this really sharp pain in my back.
43:29Competitors, there is one minute remaining in this practice session.
43:33I knew that I kind of tweaked something a little bit and it was going to kind of, the pain
43:37is going to get a little bit worse.
43:40I mean that's the hardest thing is there's nothing I can do. I can't like fix it for him.
43:44I can't like do anything more to help but just be supportive and make sure that he knows that I've
43:51got his back literally and figuratively.
43:59Is he okay?
44:01For the combo lift that we warmed up, the catch was kind of this hard.
44:06Like maybe it was too far, I'm not sure.
44:08It felt like pretty normal but it, that aggravated his back and then we modified our pieces.
44:15Because he was like, I think I can do it right now.
44:22I don't know how he's feeling right now.
44:25But it was pretty bad. His back is out.
44:28He's been having an issue with his back for, I don't know, at least a week, if not more.
44:33And then practice during a lift, it just like made it much more worse.
44:39I don't know, it's just moving my arms and stuff, like it hurts to breathe, you know.
44:43It's like my ribs. It's not a static sport.
44:47Like the whole thing is on curves and the physics of it all is like momentum based and it's all
44:51twisting and turning and stuff like that.
44:53So it's just like, it's not conducive to having back and rib pain.
44:59Withdrawing would be a last resort. That would mean no Grand Prix Final. We'd be out.
45:04If they don't do the final, then they wouldn't get another international event before the Olympics.
45:09It's a big part of the preparation towards the Olympics, getting your programs to be seen, getting to fine tuning
45:16your programs.
45:17It's hard to fine tune programs without doing competition.
45:22If it's unsafe for Maddie, if he feels he cannot lift her and keep her safe, I think he would
45:27make a decision to keep his wife safe.
45:32I'm worried that some of the moves that we're doing on the ice are really putting Maddie at risk.
45:38If I'm not feeling my best, I'm questioning whether I'm going to be able to do it.
45:43Just a moment.
46:12We couldn't do it.
46:13Straighten the flow
46:20Let your body move to the music
46:24Hey, hey, hey
46:26Come on, let's flow
46:29Let your body go with the flow
46:32You know you can do it
46:35You got to dance
46:40Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
46:51The fog of you is always in front of my face
46:59I can't see my head beyond your embrace
47:06Is it all?
47:09I'm glad you live
47:11You have nothing much in common
47:15I can't believe
47:17I can't believe I'm standing
47:20I think I like it's too much
47:26You got me missing on your touch
47:32Am I getting too greedy?
47:35I wish I could keep it cool, yeah
47:39I think I like it too much
47:43You got me missing on your touch
47:47Am I getting too greedy?
47:51I wish I could keep it cool, yeah
47:54I think I like it too much
47:59You got me missing on your touch
48:03Am I getting too greedy?
48:07I wish I could keep it cool, yeah
48:11I wish I could keep it cool, yeah
48:16I wish I could keep it cool
48:17Mmmm
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