The French ice dance pair, Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, have earned the title of top skaters for the season. This accolade was bestowed upon them during the ISU Skating Awards ceremony, as announced via the official award account on the X social network.
The duo completed their inaugural year competing together at the elite level. The athletes secured the gold medal at the Olympic Games held in Italy, claimed the World and European championship titles, finished as runners-up in the ISU Grand Prix Final, and triumphed in two different series stages.
Philippe Di Guglielmo was named the season’s best coach, having prepared the American single skater, Alysa Liu – an Olympic champion. In the “Best Choreographer” category, the Frenchman Benoît Richaud prevailed.
The “Rookie of the Year” honor went to Japanese figure skater Ami Nakai, who earned a bronze medal in the ladies’ singles event at the Olympics. The award for the best costume was presented to American Ilia Malinin, while the prize for the most spectacular program went to the Japanese skater Yuma Kagiyama.
The French pair, Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, was established ahead of the 2025–2026 season, following Cizeron’s decision to continue his career with a new partner, after his previous partnership with Gabriella Papadakis, with whom he won the 2022 Olympics. In their debut season, the duo dominated ice dance: they secured the Olympic gold in Milan with a score of 225.82 points, and subsequently achieved a confident victory at the World Championships in Prague, accumulating 230.81 points. Earlier in the 2026 Olympics team event, they also exhibited strong performances, ranking second following the rhythm dance segment. The ISU Skating Awards traditionally recognize the most outstanding figures of the season; in prior years, awards were given to other skating stars.
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