2026 Olympics | Figure Skating | Rhythm Dance

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France took a narrow lead in the Rhythm Dance at the 2026 Olympics Games on Monday. USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates are on their heels by less than half a point, followed by Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron

Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron delivered a sleek, fashion-infused rhythm dance radiating confidence to “Vogue.” The 2026 European champions showcased precise twizzles and meticulous transitions, giving faithful nod to the iconic 90s choreography. The twizzles, pattern steps, rotational lift, and dance spin were graded a level four, while the midline steps earned a level three. All elements received high grades of execution (GOE), and they picked up a new personal best score of 90.18 for first place.

“We broke the ice with the team event which also took away some of the nerves going into the competition,” said Fournier Beaudry. “That’s pretty important. So today, we had the goal of enjoying the moment out there and releasing some of the stress to feel a little bit more free in our program. We felt like we were able to enjoy the moment and the energy of the crowd.”

“We really tried to skate as best as we could tonight and leave nothing on the table,” added Cizeron. “We had a great time, and we’ll try to do the same thing for the free dance.”

Fournier Beaudry noted that the audience was very supportive.

“We could hear it from the very moment we stepped on the ice, in the warm-up and before the performance,” she said. “As soon as the music started, the crowd got even louder. After each element, it gave us an amazing energy to perform tonight.”

Madison Chock and Evan Bates

Chock and Bates lost a level on the pattern steps (level three) which made the difference in their score (89.72). However, the three-time World champions commanded the ice with fluidity and intricacy in their swaggy routine to music by Lenny Kravitz routine. The level-four twizzles were strong and they received high GOEs for the ending level-four rotational lift. They are currently a close second heading into the free dance.

“The team event was a great start to the Games, and we really felt comfortable when we got out on the ice tonight,” said Chock. “As comfortable as you can be being in competition mode, and we’re really happy about how we skated tonight.”

“We felt really strong,” added Bates. “We felt like it was even better than the team event.”

“It’s hard to analyze the performance so in depth right now,” Chock said regarding the pattern steps. “I think we’re just bringing the feeling that we had at the end towards our coaches and will figure it out when the time comes. But we’re really happy with how we performed and we’re going to bring that feeling forward.”

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier

Gilles and Poirier sashayed to third place with a season’s best of 86.16 points following a playful, high-gloss rhythm dance to “Supermodel” and “I’m Too Sexy.” The four-time World medalists skated with crisp precision and confidence, earning level fours on the twizzles, pattern steps and rotational lift.

“It was such a nice performance,” said Poirier. “We were really in the zone. We were really focused. We kind of had our blinders on, so that really allowed us to stay present. We came into the event not satisfied with the performance a few days ago, and that really allowed us to sharpen our focus going into the performance today. So, I think we really went into feeling motivated and hungry, just ready to enjoy ourselves in the program.”

Gilles agreed, adding: “I think it was such a joy to perform today. We really took the time to connect and make sure we are on the same page and we’re sure we’re in it together.”

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain radiated sassy, pop-star confidence in their high-impact “Spice Girls” rhythm dance. Their midline and pattern steps earned level threes while the rotational lift was a level four. However, Fear lost a level on the twizzles which were graded a three and four. The 2025 World bronze medalists scored 85.47 points for fourth place in this segment.

Despite the mistake, Fear and Gibson are going to reset and they look forward to the free dance.

“I think this is the beauty of sport,” said Fear. “That’s why we’re here. The free dance is in two days, so it’s a blank slate for us. We give all of our honor and respect and attention to the free dance, and just focus on that job.”

“It’s definitely nice that we’re in the game,” added Gibson.

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri

Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri ignited the arena with a dynamic, crowd-pleasing rhythm dance set to Backstreet Boys favorites. Their level-four twizzles and commanding straight-line lift stood out, helping the two-time World medalists to secure 84.28 points for a fifth-place finish.

“It was okay. It was a little bit better than the team event,” said Fabbri. “We saw that we lost quite a lot of points with the GOEs on the set of twizzles, so that was probably an element that didn’t allow us to be even closer to the fourth and third place. But overall, we felt that it was better than the team event.”

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik

USA’ s Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik created a buzz of energy in the arena with their upbeat routine to “Poison,” displaying lots of speed and ice coverage throughout. Their performance featured very good level-four twizzles, as well as level-four rotational lift. The 2026 Four Continents champions earned many positive GOEs throughout, scoring a new personal best of 83.53 for sixth place.

The team from Novi, Michigan, has shown a great deal of improvement since last season,

“It’s a lot of hard work, and I think I have to attribute it a little bit to mindset,” said Zingas. “At the beginning of the season, we kind of shifted our mindset. We said we’re going to use every opportunity to the most that we possibly can and take every opportunity they give us. I just think we kind of locked in.”

“Igor (Shpilband) was pushing us a little bit, but most of that training and most of that preparation came from us, and I think it shows,” she added. “When we skate, I feel like we show that we love the sport, and we love what we’re doing. We love our programs, and that’s why people connect with it more.”

“I think we’re just growing our confidence,” added Kolesnik. “We did amazing. We made it to the (Grand Prix) Final, and then we got a medal at Nationals, and to put a cherry on top of the cake, we won Four Continents.”

Rounding out the top 10

Lithuanians Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius placed seventh (82.95) after their fun routine to “I’m Too Sexy” and “Cantaloop.”

“It was fantastic,” said Ambrulevicius. “The energy out there was electric. Skating in front of this kind of crowd, you always feel like you want to give your one and all.”

When asked if there were any plans for retirement at the end of the season, Reed said they are taking it “one competition at a time.”

“We still have the free dance to prepare and then Worlds,” she said. “This season is not over yet, and then we’ll see. It’s a popular question at the end of an Olympic season, but we still have goals to set before the season ends. So, we’re going forward to those.”

Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France lit up the arena with a pulsing, retro-club rhythm dance set to music by Eiffel 65 and Daft Punk, placing eighth (82.25).

“We did our best,” said Lopareva. “We were really stressed before, but we connect to each other. This is our first Olympics. It’s a very new experience. It’s very overwhelming at times because there’s a lot of new stuff, a lot of new information.”

“Yes, it is very overwhelming, and we had to also work a little bit on our mental side to set our direction precisely and make sure we are not everywhere,” added Brissaud. “Today, I felt like the work we do throughout the season is paying off now. We set our goal, we set the direction we want to go, and went there in control, step by step, and this was the performance we were working for.”

Canada’s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha earned a new season’s best of 79.66 for ninth place despite small mistake in their rhythm dance.

“It was right at the beginning in the twizzle,” said Lajoie. “I was a little bit on my back at the end. So, yeah, that was a little mistake.”

Spain’s Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck rounded out the top 10 with a new personal best of 78.53 points.

“Getting this rhythm dance better and better was always hard for us this season, but today we did it,” said Dieck. “We got the season’s best, and we are really happy about it.”

“It is very good!” agreed Smart. “We are very happy and very proud of our performance. We had a goal today and it was to go out and skate a clean rhythm dance. No exclamation points, no mistakes, and just have fun and show what we are capable of doing. Of course, the technical score could be better, but the goal was just to do our best today.”

Related info:

• Official Results
• Olympic Qualification System for Figure Skating
• Competition Threads
• Replay Lounge
• More Olympic Figure Skating news

The post Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron take narrow lead in Olympic ice dance showdown appeared first on Golden Skate.