Figure Skating World Championships: Malinin redeems himself with a third title, Siao Him Fa misses the medal

Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry, Olympic champions last month in Milan, ended their first season together with the world title in ice dance on Saturday in Prague.

Dressed in blue, the French duo impressed the audience and judges with a pure and poetic free program, earning them 138.07 points, just shy of the world record.

Combining both their performances, they scored 230.81 points, more than 20 points ahead of Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (211.52 pts).

Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik claimed an unexpected bronze medal with 209.20 points, only 0.22 ahead of Britons Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson.

Skating to the original soundtrack of “The Whale,” which allowed them to express a range of emotions, Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry skated masterfully, plunging the packed O2 Arena in Prague into an impressive silence.

“These are the moments skaters hope to experience in their careers. Having a full stadium, feeling their energy. We feel the moment slipping through our fingers a bit,” described Cizeron. “We try to stay lucid in the moment to enjoy it. I think we really succeeded tonight. We were a little more relaxed than usual and had a lot of fun dancing.”

“Finishing on a high note”

The French duo were already in the lead after the rhythm dance skated on Friday to Madonna’s “Vogue.” They took to the ice as clear favorites, especially since their main rivals, Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, three-time reigning world champions and runners-up in Milan, did not compete.

Having been together for just over a year, they conclude their first season together with the world title, after already winning the European title in January and the Olympic gold last month: an exceptional year for the couple. “I think we hoped for this. But achieving it is another thing. And finishing on such a high note is even more satisfying,” reacted Laurence Fournier Beaudry.

Cizeron, 31, also the Olympic champion in 2022, earns his sixth world title of his career after five with his former partner Gabriella Papadakis.

For Laurence Fournier Beaudry, it is her first world medal at 33.

The two skaters surprised everyone by announcing their partnership in early 2025 when they were both without partners.

“With our hearts”

For these Worlds, held a month after the Olympics, they felt much less pressure, ready to offer a mesmerizing performance.

“We really skated with our hearts. It was a very beautiful performance. I think we were very relaxed. Well, very relaxed… let’s not exaggerate. But we had just the right pressure in the right place,” assessed Cizeron.

The other highlight of the day came in the late afternoon with American Ilia Malinin winning the men’s category, his third career title.

The 21-year-old skater brilliantly redeemed himself a month after his incredible failure at the Milan Cortina Olympics, where he only placed 8th.

In his black sequined costume, Malinin scored 329.40 points after an intense program highlighted by five quadruple jumps. He beat Japanese skater Yuma Kagiyama by over 22 points, while the bronze went to another Japanese skater, Shun Sato.

Second after the short program and positioned for a medal, French skater Adam Siao Him Fa, on the other hand, dropped to fifth place after a fall and several errors.

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