Replay Lounge 2026 Olympics | Ice Dance

[el henry]

Madi and Evan were visibly disappointed because they skated a better FD than Lolo and Guillaume, and they lost. Although of course they were class acts at the ceremony.

NOT because they felt anointed. NOT because the judges unrightly showered them in the past NOT because Guillaume and Lolo are the most brilliant and artistic ice dancers ever to grace the ice. They skated a better program *at this comp* and were scored lower *at this comp*.

To paraphrase the words of one of my fav Canadian ice dancers, Asher Hill, the judges relieved themselves on their legs, and told them it was raining (thanks @TontoK for the link I'm still chuckling).

 

[NYscorp6]

Congratulations to all the Medalists.

I’m not a fan of the French team & do not agree with the result.
Well done Madison & Evan!
And Piper & Paul as well.
A huge shout out to Zingas & Kolesnik, very impressive!!

 

[4everchan]

Madi and Evan were visibly disappointed because they skated a better FD than Lolo and Guillaume, and they lost. Although of course they were class acts at the ceremony.

NOT because they felt anointed. NOT because the judges unrightly showered them in the past NOT because Guillaume and Lolo are the most brilliant and artistic ice dancers ever to grace the ice. They skated a better program *at this comp* and were scored lower *at this comp*.

To paraphrase the words of one of my fav Canadian ice dancers, Asher Hill, the judges relieved themselves on their legs, and told them it was raining (thanks @TontoK for the link I'm still chuckling).

I am no judge. I am no expert. My bias is towards Piper and Paul. So I don't care either way who won and who should have won or not. However, I watched the free dances a few times already. (on the laptop, on tv with French commentary... on TV with English commentary) and the more I watch it, the more I understand why the French team won. They are just overall better skater... so it's not so much about the mistakes they made but the overall impression of the program. They skate very big with lots of flow. Their intensity is palpable. There are clever and creative moves and it's a memorable program. It's one-note. I agree with that.

Madison and Evan skated their best performance of their FD - but is that FD superior ? They were sharp and precise. Their lifts looked so easy. But in the end, my perception of it is that it was at times, almost stagnant. There was a lack of overall flow and ice coverage.

So, perhaps this comes from judging music performances : do the mistakes kill the flow of a performance to the point that a performance that is more precise but has less flow should win ?

Sometimes, the answer is yes. Sometimes the answer is no.

In this instance, I felt the French won fairly.

I hope your little cousin won't sue me

 

[el henry]

I am no judge. I am no expert. My bias is towards Piper and Paul. So I don't care either way who won and who should have won or not. However, I watched the free dances a few times already. (on the laptop, on tv with French commentary... on TV with English commentary) and the more I watch it, the more I understand why the French team won. They are just overall better skater... so it's not so much about the mistakes they made but the overall impression of the program. They skate very big with lots of flow. Their intensity is palpable. There are clever and creative moves and it's a memorable program. It's one-note. I agree with that.

Madison and Evan skated their best performance of their FD. They were sharp and precise. Their lifts looked so easy. But in the end, my perception of it is that it was at times, almost stagnant. There was a lack of overall flow and ice coverage.

So, perhaps this comes from judging music performances : does the mistakes kill the flow of a performance to the point that a performance that is more precise but has less flow should win ?

Sometimes, the answer is yes. Sometimes the answer is no.

In this instance, I felt the French won fairly.

I hope your little cousin won't sue me

My little cousin is still your fan.

We can have different opinions. You laid yours out respectfully and although I disagree, (I am just not feeling Guilo's FD. Do I think Madi and Evan's FD is the most brilliant ever? No, but given the errors Guilo made ....) but as I said, I understand).

I do think Madi and Evan had every right to be disappointed and it has nothing to do with being the "chosen ones". Just has to do with that skate and that score. That was my main point.

On another note, I never really felt Piper and Paul's FD this year (sorry), but this one at the Olys was lovely. They deserved the medal and congrats.

 

[Tutto]

I confess that I have not watched ice dance since 2018 olympics for various reasons one of them judging. Prior to that I had been following ID from mid 70s.
I watched last group just now. About one third into C/F skate I knew they would win or rather they should win. Why? Natural talent. They skate like they breathe. The rest are just not comparable in terms of natural flow and skating skills. And then there is just that magic you cannot quantify of a man and a woman dancing together, no it is not even dancing something deeper…
I do feel bad I like Madi and Evan so much but that is how I felt watching two performances back to back.

 

[sparkle400]

Gutted for Chock and Bates. Deserved winners and reminded me of why I was put off ice skating for a long time after the Sochi Games.

 

[4everchan]

PS and just for fun .

where is the petition about worlds 2024 where Piper and Paul definitely should have won gold ?

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

To me, that's sports. Somebody wins, somebody comes in second. Partisan fans are left to feel (in the words of @TontoK ) either smug or outraged. Fans of other skaters feel elated (Gillis and Poirier fans) or disappointed (Fear and Gibson fans) at the performances of their faves, never mind the placement. I was rooting for Chock and Bates, but overall I have no issues with the scoring.

Anyone who has watched skating long enough should know that if you put the same programs in front of different judging panels, or in different geographic locations, you can get wildly different outcomes. That’s why I think people shouldn’t get outraged by any remotely reasonable result. It may be tough on the athletes who don’t win, but it’s par for the course when you choose to participate in a judged sport where reputation and politics play a factor in how you are assessed.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Results like this remind me why I watch figure skating for the skating itself and not for the results. The results are what they are, but nothing and no one can take away from me my enjoyment of the skaters that I enjoy. How I feel while watching a program stays with me no matter what. My enjoyment of figure skating itself does not depend on competition results.

I enjoyed many programs yesterday, with Piper and Paul at the top of my list.

 

[gsk8]

Newsweek article calling for investigation

Olympic skating scandal sparks petition to investigate French judge

A major scandal emerged during the Ice Dance competition, and a petition has started to investigate the judging.

www.newsweek.com

The article above says: "Yet despite their errors, a French judge awarded them a score nearly eight points higher than the Americans."

Mabye a typo?

The title is also misleading as it's just linking to a petition "requesting" an investigation by some random person.

 

[RobinA]

I confess that I have not watched ice dance since 2018 olympics for various reasons one of them judging. Prior to that I had been following ID from mid 70s.
I watched last group just now. About one third into C/F skate I knew they would win or rather they should win. Why? Natural talent. They skate like they breathe. The rest are just not comparable in terms of natural flow and skating skills. And then there is just that magic you cannot quantify of a man and a woman dancing together, no it is not even dancing something deeper…
I do feel bad I like Madi and Evan so much but that is how I felt watching two performances back to back.

Agree completely. And I do love that whale program, which highlights F/C's incredible flow. For me, and this isn't about judging, I found their FS very refreshing while C/Bs seemed a bit over the top by comparison.

 

[RobinA]

Thank you for this comment re: the costumes. I haven't felt qualified to say, but they scream kitsch to me rather than something akin to authentic. Like a souvenir Statue of Liberty [USA landmark] that says "Made in China" on the bottom. Just no.

What's Ice Dance without a little kitsch?

 

[LauraV]

Madi and Evan were visibly disappointed because they skated a better FD than Lolo and Guillaume, and they lost. Although of course they were class acts at the ceremony.

NOT because they felt anointed. NOT because the judges unrightly showered them in the past NOT because Guillaume and Lolo are the most brilliant and artistic ice dancers ever to grace the ice. They skated a better program *at this comp* and were scored lower *at this comp*.

To paraphrase the words of one of my fav Canadian ice dancers, Asher Hill, the judges relieved themselves on their legs, and told them it was raining (thanks @TontoK for the link I'm still chuckling).

I wish I could "Like" this post multiple times.

Thanks for your clarity and fair minded assessment.

 

[Tutto]

Agree completely. And I do love that whale program, which highlights F/C's incredible flow. For me, and this isn't about judging, I found their FS very refreshing while C/Bs seemed a bit over the top by comparison.

Thank you. I actually was thinking of adding something to my post. I couldn’t quite put into words what I felt after watching the Whale, my comment ‘a man and a woman’ may imply something erotic but as I said it was deeper, more spiritual emotion -like watching twin flames flying through eternity? …(in spirituality the belief is that you can meet more than one soulmate in life and many more in next existence(s) but twin flames are souls that meant to be together forever)
Also some further thoughts on C/B : very odd choice of a program. They knew what they are against and came up with that?! You can’t beat magic with a Spanish theme especially that it did not sit naturally on them. They had so many interesting programs in the past. What enemy of theirs suggested that I wonder. As to costuming I see a lot was said about this already. Creativity for the sake of creativity perhaps gone terribly wrong? Oh dear…

 

[bkellysky]

As far as the judging is concerned, I'm reminded of the 6.0 top score days when judges had to hold the scores down so they had room to give a 6.0 when they found the best program. And avoid multiple 6.0s. I also remember a year when some judges gave much lower scores to skaters they were concerned might get more points than skaters from their political block, ranking them lower than skaters with lower ability. I don't remember the specifics.
I was happy to see the new system that allows judges to give a grade without holding back. But, lately, there is talk about the level of skill being so high we are hitting the ceiling again. And, talk about knowing how to score to hold back skaters a judge doesn't want to win. Maybe due to politics, maybe due to liking/not liking a style. Perhaps this has been happening for a while. I didn't know until I got the details from the experienced people on this blog and a few other places. Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts, and data.

 

[chepe]

I confess that I have not watched ice dance since 2018 olympics for various reasons one of them judging. Prior to that I had been following ID from mid 70s.

Because ice dance judging was so much better before 2018?

I grew up listening to loud boos and whistling every time Rahkamo & Kokko had their scores announced. They built their career for a medal shot in 1994 Olympics...then Torvill & Dean were reinstated. Rahkamo told leader of the Finnish Olympic committee that he should forget about the prospective medal, it was never going to come after all.

 

[4everchan]

Is it possible to drop the angry emojis at posts that disagree with your opinion of the judging? I don't believe it is in the spirit of an open discussion.

 

[gsk8]

I think both of the top two ice dance teams were brilliant. They moved me in different ways. Very hard to pick.

I hope Smart/Dieck stick around. What a clever and hard lift they have in that FD! Mesmerizing performance!

 

[TontoK]

Here's a good take from a favorite of mine, Sean Rabbitt:

https://x.com/SeanRabbitt/status/2021977066791723264

And he's right. Every congratulatory post from the ISU, the IOC, the French Fed is getting HAMMERED. They can't NOT notice.

And now that more mainstream articles are starting to hone in on the French judge - who we identified as sketchy very early, to our credit. I wonder how this is going to wind up.

 

[skatedreamer]

Because ice dance judging was so much better before 2018?

I grew up listening to loud boos and whistling every time Rahkamo & Kokko had their scores announced. They built their career for a medal shot in 1994 Olympics...then Torvill & Dean were reinstated. Rahkamo told leader of the Finnish Olympic committee that he should forget about the prospective medal, it was never going to come after all.

Without taking anything away from Torvill & Dean, I always thought Rahkamo & Kokko were very much undervalued. They were beautiful to watch and deserved "a place in the sun."

In retrospect, I'm also not sure that the reinstatement did much for the '94 games. IMO, none of the returning professionals (not even T&D or G&G) skated up to the level of their earlier Olympic performances -- although the ice dance results make me grit my teeth to this day.