The ice dance competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics was held on 9 and 11 February 2026 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, and featured 23 teams from 15 nations. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France won the gold medals, Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won the silver, and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada won the bronze. This was Cizeron's second consecutive Olympic victory in ice dance, as he was also the 2022 Winter Olympic champion with his previous partner, Gabriella Papadakis. This was Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron's first season skating together. Controversy arose over Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron's win when an examination of the scores given by the French judge appeared to reveal some impropriety, as well as a book published by Papadakis shortly before the Olympics began that alleged a history of abusive behavior on the part of Cizeron.
Background In October 2023, the International Olympic Committee suspended the Olympic Committee of Russia. The skating federations of Russia and Belarus were each permitted to nominate one skater or team from each discipline to participate at the Skate to Milano as a means to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as Individual Neutral Athletes. Each nominee was required to pass a special screening process to assess whether they had displayed any active support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine or had any contractual links to the Russian or Belarusian military. No ice dance teams from either Russia or Belarus competed at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The ice dance event was one of five figure skating competitions contested at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. It was held at the Milano Ice Skating Arena over two days: the rhythm dance took place on 9 February and the free dance took place on 11 February. The competition featured 23 teams from 15 nations. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States entered the competition as the presumptive favorites to win. They had won gold in the team event, which had ended just one day before the ice dance competition began, having performed both the rhythm dance and free dance. Chock and Bates were three-time world champions, seven-time U.S. national champions, and held world records in ice dance. Their strongest competitors were expected to be Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France. Cizeron had competed for years with Gabriella Papadakis, winning five World Championship titles and gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics before they ended their partnership in December 2024. Fournier Beaudry had competed for Canada with Nikolaj Sørensen before Sørensen received a six-year suspension from competitive skating in October 2024. Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron had announced their new partnership in March 2025 with a stated goal of competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron had most recently won the 2026 European Figure Skating Championships.
Qualification
Eighteen quota spots in the ice dance event were awarded based on the results at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. An additional four spots were awarded at the Skate to Milano. Finland had originally qualified two quota spots at the 2025 World Championships. However, when Yuka Orihara was unable to obtain Finnish citizenship, Finland ultimately relinquished their second quota spot. The spot was reallocated to Sweden; Milla Ruud Reitan and Nikolaj Majorov became the first Swedish ice dance team to qualify for the Winter Olympics.
+Quota spots in ice dance Event Teamsper NOC Qualifying NOCs Total 3 18 2 1 Skate to Milano 1 5 Total 23
Required performance elements Couples in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on 9 February. Lasting 2 minutes 50 seconds (+/− 10 seconds), the theme of the rhythm dance this season was "music, dance styles, and feeling of the 1990s". Examples of applicable dance styles and music included pop, Latin, house, techno, hip-hop, and grunge. The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: one pattern dance step sequence, one choreographic rhythm sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence.
The twenty highest-scoring teams performed their free dances on 11 February. Lasting 4 minutes (+/− 10 seconds), the free dance had to include the following elements: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements.
Judging
Skaters were judged according to the required technical elements of their program (such as choreographic elements), as well as the overall presentation of their program, based on three program components (skating skills, presentation, and composition). Each technical element in a figure skating performance was assigned a predetermined base point value and scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from −5 to +5 based on the quality of its execution. Each Grade of Execution (GOE) from –5 to +5 was assigned a value as indicated on the Scale of Values. For example, a curve lift (level 4) was worth a base value of 5.45 points, and a GOE of +3 was worth 1.44 points, so a curve lift (level 4) with a GOE of +3 earned 6.89 points. The judging panel's GOE for each element was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (the average after discarding the highest and lowest scores). The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a Total Elements Score. At the same time, the judges evaluated each performance based on the five aforementioned program components and assigned each a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25-point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the chart below; the results were added together to generate a total Program Component Score.
+Program component factoring Discipline Rhythm dance Free dance Ice dance 1.33 2.00 Deductions were applied for certain violations, such as time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls. The Total Elements Score and Program Component Score were then added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each team.
Results
Code key
Rhythm dance The rhythm dance was held on 9 February. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States finished behind Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France. Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron set a new personal best score in the rhythm dance, a score which was seen by some as controversial, as they were notably out of sync during their twizzle sequence. Chock and Bates, on the other hand, received a downgrade on their pattern dance step sequence, leaving them in second place. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada finished in third place.
+Rhythm dance results Team Nation 1 90.18 51.94 38.24 9.64 9.54 9.57 289.7251.5438.189.649.649.43 386.1849.4136.779.219.299.14 485.4749.0336.449.149.298.96 584.2847.8336.459.119.189.11 683.5348.2735.268.798.938.79 782.9547.8635.098.828.898.68 882.2546.8335.428.868.898.89 979.6645.4134.258.648.618.50 1078.5344.5234.018.548.578.46 1178.1544.3433.818.508.468.46 1277.9644.3833.588.398.438.43 1377.1543.2333.928.578.548.39 1475.3343.0732.268.048.188.04 1574.3542.3831.978.118.077.86 1672.4641.6330.837.757.797.64 1772.0940.5031.597.967.937.86 1867.7537.7829.977.577.507.46 1967.3137.7129.607.507.467.29 2064.9835.8729.117.397.257.25 21 64.76 36.36 28.40 7.14 7.14 7.07 22 64.69 34.28 30.41 7.75 7.57 7.54 23 63.67 33.66 30.01 7.68 7.43 7.46
Free dance The free dance was held on 11 February. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron emerged victorious, having taken the lead over Madison Chock and Evan Bates after the rhythm dance by a small margin. When asked about preparing for the Olympics, Cizeron stated: "It's been quite the challenge ... From the beginning we have tried to create a bubble and support each other. We think the love we have for each other and for the sport has drawn us through, kept our heads on our shoulders. Now we are enjoying those moments, we don't want them taken away from us."
Chock and Bates set a new season-best score in their free dance: a matador-themed routine featuring flamenco and paso doble elements set to "Paint It Black", with Chock as the matador and Bates as the bull. "It's definitely a little bittersweet because we are so, so happy with how we performed this week," Chock stated afterward. "We really gave it our all, and I wouldn't change anything about how we approached each performance, what we delivered in each performance. We really gave it our best." Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished in third place. "Our main focus for this Olympic Games was to create a moment for ourselves and to not focus on anything else," Gilles said. "And I think we truly created the moment that we wanted to and really let the judging be the judging and that's all we can do, but I'm really proud of what we did and how we represented ourselves."
+Free dance results Team Nation 1135.6477.0658.589.799.829.680.00 2134.6776.7557.929.649.829.500.00 3131.5675.0056.569.469.469.360.00 4125.3069.9655.349.219.329.140.00 5123.1969.2553.949.009.118.860.00 6122.9669.1853.789.079.118.710.00 7121.7168.9352.788.798.898.710.00 8121.4368.4153.028.798.798.930.00 9120.1467.5052.648.868.758.710.00 10119.4767.3352.148.688.758.640.00 11118.8766.9351.948.688.688.610.00 12118.8565.1553.709.079.078.710.00 13118.0766.5752.508.868.758.641.00 14112.8363.8948.948.258.297.930.00 15109.6760.3949.288.188.258.210.00 16109.3560.9948.368.008.078.110.00 17108.6462.1446.507.827.797.640.00 18106.9959.9947.007.967.867.680.00 19100.2556.8343.427.327.257.140.00 2097.7453.5244.227.367.397.360.00
Overall +Ice dance results Rank Team Nation Total RD FD 225.82 1 90.18 1 135.64 224.39 2 89.72 2 134.67 217.74 3 86.18 3 131.56 4 209.58 5 84.28 4 125.30 5 206.72 6 83.53 5 123.19 6 204.66 7 82.95 7 121.71 7 204.32 4 85.47 12 118.85 8 203.68 8 82.25 8 121.43 9 201.49 10 78.53 6 122.96 10 199.80 9 79.66 9 120.14 11 197.62 11 78.15 10 119.47 12 196.03 12 77.96 13 118.07 13 196.02 13 77.15 11 118.87 14 187.18 15 74.35 14 112.83 15 185.00 14 75.33 15 109.67 16 181.44 17 72.09 16 109.35 17 179.45 16 72.46 18 106.99 18 176.39 18 67.75 17 108.64 19 165.23 20 64.98 19 100.25 20 165.05 19 67.31 20 97.74 21 64.76 21 64.76 Did not advanceto free dance 22 64.69 22 64.69 23 63.67 23 63.67
Aftermath The results of the ice dance event sparked backlash, with media outlets questioning how Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France won despite notable errors with the twizzle sequences in both their rhythm dance and free dance. Controversy arose when an examination of the judges' results revealed discrepancies. The French judge, Jézabel Dabouis, had given Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States a total score of 129.74 in the free dance, which was not only the lowest score awarded by the nine judges, but also over 5.20 points lower than the average score of the remaining eight judges. At the same time, Dabouis had awarded Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron a total score of 137.45, which was the second-highest score awarded by the judges and also almost three points above the average score of the remaining judges. While the Finnish judge had also awarded Chock and Bates a relatively low score, that judge's scores were relatively consistent amongst all of the couples. A spokesperson from the International Skating Union (ISU) responded to the outcry: "It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations. The ISU has full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness."
Controversy