A French judge at the Winter Olympics has been accused of rigging the figure skating ice dance competition to secure the gold medal for her country. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron took home gold with a total score of 225.82, just 1.43 points ahead of Team USA's Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
The controversy centres on the scores given by French judge Jezabel Dabouis. In the rhythm dance, five of six judges who rated Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron highest still had Chock and Bates within 3.5 points, but Dabouis gave her compatriots a 5.74-point advantage. In the free dance, five of nine judges scored Chock and Bates first, yet Dabouis rated the French pair 7.71 points higher.
The International Skating Union (ISU) issued a statement following the backlash. A spokesperson said: '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.'
Speaking to NBC News, Chock and Bates addressed the controversy. Chock said: 'We've certainly gone through a roller coaster of emotions... we've got a lot to be proud of.' Bates added: 'Life is sometimes you can feel like you do everything right and it doesn't go your way... it's a subjective sport.'
