French ice dancers Papadakis and Cizeron call time on trophy-laden career / Photo: SEBASTIEN BOZON - AFP/File
French ice dancers Papadakis and Cizeron call time on trophy-laden career
Olympic ice dancing champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron on Tuesday announced their retirement from figure skating after a trophy-laden career spanning two decades.
Papadakis, 29, and 30-year-old Cizeron won five world titles and Olympic gold in Beijing 2022, having taken silver at the Pyeongchang Games four years earlier.
"It is with immense gratitude that we decide to turn the page," the French pair said in a statement.
"A huge thank you to our fans for the pleasure they shared with us on the ice. We take away wonderful memories."
Papadakis and Cizeron had not competed since their fifth world triumph in Montpellier, France, in 2022 just after winning Olympic gold.
A few months later, at the summit of their career, the five-time European champions announced their desire to take a break after 17 years of high level sport.
Since then they participated in numerous ice shows around the world without ever closing the door on a possible competitive return.
On Tuesday, they finally decided to "go their separate ways" having skated together since 2005 as children in Clermont-Ferrand when Catherine Papadakis, their first coach and Gabriella's mother, teamed them up.
"We could not have dreamed of a more beautiful career," they added.
"We owe this career to our coaches, our parents, our federation, our choreographers, physical and mental coaches, costume designers, agents, physiotherapists, doctors, supporters, journalists... without whom we would never have reached the highest level of our art."
The next Winter Olympics take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in 2026.
A.Atkinson--MC-UK
