The newly formed French duo of Laurence Fournier Baudry and Guillaume Cizeron won the title in the dance pairs at the European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield (Great Britain), reports BTA. The partnership between the two was announced only in March last year, but in their first major championship they demonstrated exceptional maturity and synchrony.
The French were flawless in the free program and received 135.50 points, including an impressive 58.52 out of the maximum 60.00 for program components. With a total score of 222.43 points, they deservedly adorned themselves with the gold medals.
For Guillaume Cizeron, this is the sixth European title in his career. He is the Olympic champion from Beijing 2022, the silver medalist from Pyeongchang 2018, as well as a five-time world and five-time European champion with his former partner Gabriela Papadakis. For Laurence Fournier-Baudry, the award is the first gold at such a forum.
The curious thing is that this was only the fourth international competition for the new French duo. They performed a powerful lyrical dance to the music from the film “The Whale“, which left little doubt that they would be among the main contenders for gold at the upcoming Olympic Games.
Fournier Baudry, born in Montreal, received French citizenship in November, which allowed her to represent France at major championships.
The silver medals went to the defending champions, Italians Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabri, who collected 210.34 points, after taking third place after the rhythmic dance.
The bronze medal pleased the home crowd – Britain's Lila Fear and Lewis Gibson came in third with 209.51 points. Despite a mistake in the twizzles and a one-place drop, they won their fourth consecutive European Championship medal.
Earlier in the day, Georgian Nika Egadze won the men's title, giving Georgia a two-place finish at the championship. The other gold medals went to Estonia in the women's event and France in the dance pairs.