Winter Olympics ‘rigged’ scandal breaks out after French judges accused of denying USA gold medal
A French figure skating judge stands accused of biased scoring at the Winter Olympics, with allegations that her marks handed ice dance gold to compatriots Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron at the expense of American favourites Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
The controversy erupted following Wednesday’s free dance competition at the Milan-Cortina Games, where the French pair claimed victory by a mere 1.43 points.
Judge Jezabel Dabouis has found herself at the centre of a growing storm, with fans across the globe crying foul over what they perceive as preferential treatment towards the French duo.
The married American pair, who are three-time world champions, were left devastated by the result.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates had to settle for silver despite being the hot favourites
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Accusations of rigging have spread rapidly across social media platforms.
The scoring discrepancies from Dabouis have drawn particular scrutiny from observers examining the judges’ marks.
In the free dance event, the French official awarded Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron 137.45 points, placing her among the highest scorers for the pair.
Her mark for the Americans told a starkly different story: 129.74 points made Dabouis the only member of the nine-judge panel to award Chock and Bates fewer than 130 points.
The resulting gap of 7.71 points represented the widest margin between any judge’s scores for the two couples.
Winter Olympics fans have raged at the decision not to award Madison Chock and Evan Bates gold medals
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Earlier in the rhythm dance segment, Dabouis displayed a similar pattern, with a six-point differential favouring France.
She awarded the French pair 93.34 whilst giving the Americans just 87.6, again the sole judge to mark them below 90 points.
The International Skating Union has declined to launch an investigation despite mounting public pressure.
By Friday morning, nearly 14,000 supporters had added their names to a Change.org petition calling upon both the ISU and the International Olympic Committee to examine the scoring controversy.
Yet the governing body has instead thrown its weight behind Dabouis, offering no indication that any inquiry would be forthcoming.
“It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judge in any panel and a number of mechanism are used to mitigate these variations,” the ISU stated, adding it has “full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness.”
The statement has done little to quell the fury of those who believe the American pair were robbed of their rightful victory.
Judge Jezabel Dabouis gave compatriots Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron much higher scores than the American duo
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This is not the first occasion a French judge has sparked controversy at the Winter Olympics.
During the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, French official Marie-Reine Le Gougne was found guilty of misconduct following allegations of vote manipulation, resulting in her suspension and Canadian pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier being elevated to gold alongside the Russian winners.
Chock herself has spoken of the damage such disputes inflict upon the sport.
“Any time the public is confused by results, it does a disservice to our sport,” she remarked.
Around 14,000 supporters have signed a petition for the scoring to be reviewed
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“People need to understand what they’re cheering for and be able to feel confident in the sport that they’re supporting.”
The victorious French couple have themselves faced separate controversies, with Fournier Beaudry scrutinised over her relationship with a suspended former partner, whilst Cizeron is pursuing legal action against his former skating partner Gabriella Papadakis over claims he has labelled a “smear campaign.”
