French Winter Olympics judge accused of ‘rigging’ figure skating to secure gold for her compatriots

A French judge at the Winter Olympics has come under scrutiny after being accused of influencing the outcome of the figure skating competition in favor of her compatriots.

Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates were left devastated after narrowly missing out on gold to France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. The American pair believed they had delivered a “flawless, gold-medal performance,” with Chock visibly emotional during her post-event interview.

Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron ultimately secured gold with a total score of 225.82, edging the Americans by just 1.43 points. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier claimed bronze.

Controversy erupted after score sheets revealed how French judge Jezabel Dabouis marked the event. In the free dance, she awarded the French pair 137.45 points, the second-highest score given by any judge on the panel. However, she was the only judge who did not score Team USA above 130 points, giving them 129.74. Had she crossed that threshold, the final margin would have been even tighter.

The disparity has raised eyebrows. The U.S. and Chinese judges awarded Chock and Bates notably high scores of 137.67 and 136.95, respectively. Dabouis’ scoring gap between the French and American teams was nearly eight points,significantly larger than that of any other judge.

Five of the nine judges ranked the American duo highest in the free dance, compared to four who placed France first. In the rhythm dance, Dabouis again scored France highest at 93.34, almost six points more than her score for the U.S., which was the second-lowest among the panel.

Across both segments, no judge ranked the Americans lower than second, with three placing them first. Meanwhile, judges from Great Britain and Germany positioned France in third place during parts of the competition.

Despite the divided rankings, the French pair finished narrowly ahead. Notably, the American judge was excluded from the rhythm dance scoring panel, while the French judge remained.

The scoring differences have fueled accusations on social media, with some fans calling for an investigation and labeling the situation a “judging scandal.”

One user said: “The[re] must be an investigation!”

Another posted: “This is a judging scandal.”