Latest news with #Cizeron
CBC
28-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Fournier Beaudry maintains 'spark' and 'passion' ahead of new challenge with Olympic champion Cizeron
Social Sharing 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."
CBC
02-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Laurence Fournier Beaudry partners with Olympic ice dance champion Guillaume Cizeron
Olympic ice dance champion Guillaume Cizeron of France is teaming up with Canadian Laurence Fournier Beaudry, he said Sunday. Five months ago, Fournier Beaudry's former partner Nikolaj Soerensen was suspended for six years for sexual maltreatment. "Today the universe offers us a new adventure," Cizeron wrote in an Instagram post under a photo of himself and Fournier Beaudry. "A duo born from friendship, respect and love for the sport. A dance written by the years and fueled by the fire of our dreams. A new story begins." Although the post did not specify which country they would represent, the 32-year-old Fournier Beaudry is now listed under the France flag on the International Skating Union's website. Cizeron, 30, and Gabriella Papadakis won the 2022 Beijing Olympic gold medal and five world titles before announcing their retirement in December. Soerensen, born in Denmark but who represented Canada, was suspended for a minimum of six years by Canada's office of the sport integrity commissioner amid an investigation over an alleged sexual assault of an American figure skating coach and former skater in 2012. The allegation has not been proven in court. Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen finished ninth skating for Canada at the 2022 Olympics and fifth at the 2023 world championships. They both previously represented Denmark. Switching national allegiances is common in both ice dance and pairs figure skating because of the shortage of partners. Papadakis recently partnered with American Madison Hubbell, who won gold in the team event at the Beijing Olympics, to skate in exhibition events in a bid to help clear the way for same-sex pairs to compete officially.
Reuters
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Olympic ice dance champion Cizeron partners with Fournier Beaudry
March 2 (Reuters) - Olympic ice dance champion Guillaume Cizeron of France is teaming up with Canadian Laurence Fournier Beaudry, he said on Sunday. Five months ago Fournier Beaudry's former partner Nikolaj Sorensen was suspended for six years for sexual maltreatment. "Today the universe offers us a new adventure," Cizeron wrote in an Instagram post under a photo of himself and Fournier Beaudry. "A duo born from friendship, respect and love for the sport. A dance written by the years, and fueled by the fire of our dreams. A new story begins." Although the post did not specify which country they would represent, the 32-year-old Fournier Beaudry is now listed under the France flag on the International Skating Union's website. Cizeron, 30, and Gabriella Papadakis won the 2022 Beijing Olympic gold medal and five world titles before announcing their retirement in December. Sorensen, born in Denmark but who represented Canada, was suspended for a minimum of six years by Canada's Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner amid an investigation over an alleged sexual assault of an American figure skating coach and former skater in 2012. The allegation has not been proven in court. Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen finished ninth skating for Canada at the 2022 Olympics and fifth at the 2023 world championships. They both previously represented Denmark. Switching national allegiances is common in both ice dance and pairs figure skating because of the shortage of partners. Papadakis recently partnered with American Madison Hubbell, who won gold in the team event at the Beijing Olympics, to skate in exhibition events in a bid to help clear the way for same-sex pairs to compete officially.
NBC Sports
02-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Guillaume Cizeron eyes ice dance return with Laurence Fournier Beaudry
Guillaume Cizeron, who won 2022 Olympic ice dance gold with Gabriella Papadakis for France, plans to return to ice dance competition with a new partner, Laurence Fournier Beaudry, who has been competing for Canada. 'A new story begins,' the skaters said in a social media post announcing the partnership. They want 'to make France shine at the Milan Cortina Olympic Games in 2026,' according to a France figure skating federation press release. A rep for the skaters said that Fournier Beaudry is in the process of obtaining French citizenship to make them eligible to compete at the Olympics together. Cizeron, 30, and Papadakis, 29, announced a joint retirement on Dec. 3. Their last competition was March 2022 when they won a fifth world title together. Fournier Beaudry, 32, placed ninth at the 2022 Olympics with Nikolaj Sørensen, then fifth and ninth at the last two World Championships. This past October, Sørensen was banned for at least six years for sexual maltreatment, according to Canada's Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. With their previous partners, both Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron trained at the Ice Academy of Montreal. After Papadakis and Cizeron left competition, Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the last two World Championships in 2023 and 2024. Later this month, Chock and Bates will bid to become the first ice dance couple to win three consecutive world titles in 28 years. Nick Zaccardi,
