One month after their Olympic victory in Milan-Cortina, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won the world ice dance title on Saturday in Prague. Leading from the rhythm dance, the French pair confirmed their dominance in the free dance with a program set to the soundtrack of "The Whale," which earned them 138,07 points. Their final total reached 230,81 points, 19,29 points ahead of their closest rivals. Reuters notes that this is the largest margin in ice dance since the scoring system was overhauled after 2004.
This score of 138,07 points in the free dance is a personal best for the French pair. It puts them just 34 hundredths of a point behind the 138,41 points achieved by Madison Chock and Evan Bates at the 2023 World Team Trophy, which remains the highest score recorded by the ISU in this segment.
Canadians take silver, Americans pull off a surprise bronze
Behind the French duo, Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier took the silver medal with 211,52 points. Third place went to Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, who scored 209,20 points. Their podium finish was somewhat of a surprise, as they finished just 22 hundredths of a point ahead of the British pair Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who took fourth place with 208,98 points.
A masterful free dance to conclude an already historic first season
In Prague, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron delivered a performance that was at once refined, lyrical, and technically sound, continuing their upward trajectory since the start of the season. Their world title caps off a 2025-2026 campaign already highlighted by the European title won in January in Sheffield, followed by Olympic gold in February in Milan. The ISU notes that the duo was formed in 2025, which adds even more significance to this first season together.
Cizeron secures his sixth world title, Fournier Beaudry wins his first medal
At 31 years old, Guillaume Cizeron adds a sixth world title to his record. Before this victory with Laurence Fournier Beaudry, he had already won five world titles with Gabriella Papadakis, in addition to his Olympic title won in 2022. For Laurence Fournier Beaudry, born on July 18, 1992, and 33 years old, this is the first world medal of her career. Her results history published by the ISU previously showed no appearances on the world podium.
Leaders after the rhythm dance, confirmed favorites in the absence of Chock and Bates
The French were already in first place after Friday's rhythm dance, with 92,74 points, ahead of Gilles and Poirier (86,45) and Fear and Gibson (85,09). They therefore entered the free dance as favorites, especially since Madison Chock and Evan Bates, three-time defending world champions and Olympic silver medalists in Milan, had withdrawn from these World Championships in Prague.
