Guillaume Cizeron announces to resume competition with Laurence Fournier – Liberation
The French Olympic Champion of Ice Dance Dance Guillaume Cizeron, who had formalized in December the end of his duo with Gabriella Papadakis, will resume competition alongside a new partner, Canadian Laurence Fournier, the two skaters on Instagram announced this Sunday, March 2. The new duo, which began to train together at the start of the year, will take part in its first competitions at the start of the school year in September, with the Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina in less than a year, even those of the French Alps in 2030.
“For the moment, we focus on the season that comes with the 2026 Olympic Games. But we are very ambitious. This is a project that we like a lot ”, AFP told Laurence Fournier, 32, under naturalization to obtain French nationality. Associates since childhood, Cizeron and Papadakis, Renowned for both their technical and artistic qualities, have won everything: five European titles, five world crowns and especially Olympic gold, won in Beijing in 2022. Shortly after, the couple had decided to make a break of competitions, while continuing to dance together during tours. Then at the end of last year, they had finally bowed out, taking each of the separate paths.
Papadakis, 29, preferred to stop competition to skate in shows, a choice that allows him to explore new artistic horizons, Like the 100 % female duo she created with the Canadian Madison Hubbell. For Cizeron, however, the « Need performance » was stronger. « Resuming the competition after the career I had and the two and a half years old, three years of stopping, it seems a slightly crazy challenge, recognizes the 30 -year -old skater. (But) I still had this thirst to seek excellence. The major scene, the one where we are looking for this excellence, is really competition. ”
Driven by this desire, it was he who was at the initiative of this new duo with Laurence Fournier. The Canadian was available since the suspension for six years of her former partner Nikolaj Sorensen, accused of « Sexual mistreatment » in Canada. “It was a difficult year emotionally. What was difficult in my case is that I did not stop in my words, she explains. So when Guillaume suggested me (to skate together), it opened a door to which I had not thought. ”
Three years after his last appearance in competition, the Worlds of 2022, Cizeron is therefore preparing to put together the skates for new adventures. “All the elements were gathered for this project. It really comes from a desire, a curiosity to see what can happen by opening a new page, he rejoices. It's a bit like the second act of my career. ”
