A judge from France at the Winter Olympics is facing allegations of manipulating the figure skating competition to ensure a gold medal for her country. The French pair, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, clinched the gold with a total score of 225.82, edging out Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates by only 1.43 points.
The controversy arose when the scores of the French judge, Jezabel Dabouis, were revealed online. Chock and Bates, who had won three consecutive world championships in ice dance, were favored to win in Milan. However, after the rhythm dance segment, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron were ranked first by the judges, with Chock and Bates settling for second place.
Five judges awarded the highest scores to the French pair, while only three placed Chock and Bates at the top, highlighting discrepancies among the judges. Despite most judges placing Chock and Bates within 3.5 points of the leaders, Dabouis gave her compatriots a significant 5.74-point advantage.
In the free dance segment, five out of nine judges favored Chock and Bates, but Dabouis notably awarded Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron a considerable 7.71-point lead. The International Skating Union defended the judging panel’s scores, emphasizing their confidence in the fairness of the results.
Chock and Bates expressed their roller coaster of emotions following the competition, emphasizing their pride in their performances and sportsmanship. Bates acknowledged the subjective nature of judged sports and the unpredictability of outcomes.
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