Fournier Beaudry maintains 'spark' and 'passion' ahead of new challenge with Olympic champion Cizeron

CBC

28-04-2025

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Canadian figure skater Laurence Fournier Beaudry is starting a new chapter on the ice alongside 30-year-old Olympic and world ice dance champion Guillaume Cizeron.
After more than a decade of competing, the 32-year-old isn't quite ready to hang up her skates. So, she's teamed up with Cizeron for another go on the ice.
The pair trains out of the Ice Academy of Montreal, but are hoping to compete for Cizeron's home country of France in the upcoming season.
"I introduced the idea to Laurence a few months ago, I think we were both at a crossroads," Cizeron told CBC Sports. "We were getting close to the end, but had the feeling of maybe some unfinished business … and thought it would be a good opportunity to have a new, last chapter together."
WATCH | Fournier Beaudry still has desire to compete, opens new chapter Cizeron:
The partnership marks the Frenchman's official return to the sport after not competing for nearly three years. He was previously partnered up with Gabriella Papadakis, whom he won the 2022 Olympic gold medal with, and five world titles.
Cizeron and Papadakis officially retired their partnership in December 2024.
Turning the page
Fournier Beaudry, a Montreal native, competed for Canada at the Beijing 2022 Olympics where she placed ninth with her former partner Nikolaj Soerensen.
Skate Canada issued the ban for Soerensen in October 2024 following an investigation by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner into an allegation that he sexually assaulted an American figure skating coach and former skater in Hartford, Conn., in 2012.
He has been barred from sport for a minimum of six years for "sexual maltreatment." Soerensen has denied the allegation, which has not been tested in court.
As Fournier Beaudry embarks on a new team partnership, she says she still has a "spark" and "passion" for the sport.
"We love challenges. And I think we saw that as an opportunity to evolve towards something new and create something new together and discover each other through this new partnership," Fournier Beaudry told CBC Sports.
Cizeron says the two still have more to give despite their respective lengthy and successful careers on the ice.
"I think we were both at that place where we could have retired happily," he said. "But we're still young, and I think the passion to perform and the will to get better … that little fire inside that you need to train every day."
Each athlete brings well over a decade of experience and knowledge, something they hope to use to their advantage.
"On the ice, off the ice, the partnership component, everything that goes into the preparation of an Olympic athlete, I think we have a lot of knowledge and experience," Cizeron said.
"We can combine that experience that we have separately and use each other's strength to get better and compete against a team that's strong."
Fournier Beaudry says the pair is preparing to begin competing together in August of 2024.
"We have nothing to lose, we have everything to gain," Fournier Beaudry said. "We're still discovering and still creating and it's just been a beautiful surprise."