French Judge’s Scoring Decision Sparks Olympic Ice Dance Controversy

A major judging dispute has erupted at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics after a French judge’s scores played a decisive role in awarding the ice dance gold medal to France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, sparking outrage from fans, athletes, and commentators alike.

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American duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates, widely favoured to win and three-time world champions, took silver after finishing just 1.43 points behind the French team’s total. The controversy stems from the marks given by French judge Jézabel Dabouis, whose scoring differed markedly from her fellow judges, particularly in the free dance segment.

Allegations of Bias

When the scorecards came out, a lot of eyebrows were raised. Dabouis awarded the French pair a 137.45 in the free dance, one of the highest from the panel, while giving Chock and Bates just 129.74 – significantly lower than most other judges’ marks. The nearly eight-point gap between her scores for the two top teams was larger than that of any judge on the nine-person panel.

Supporters of Chock and Bates argue that most judges favoured the U.S. in their individual marks, but the French judge’s scores ultimately tilted the result toward France. Online petitions demanding an investigation have quickly gained traction, with nearly 10,000 signatures collected within a short period.

While judges have wide latitude to interpret technical and artistic elements in figure skating, critics say Dabouis’ scoring was an outlier compared to her peers and looks suspiciously skewed in favour of her compatriots, something fans and commentators have labelled a “rigged” result.