It almost proved an embarrassing blunder for the Winter Olympics star
The ice-skating duo almost ended up making a major mistake (Image: TNT Sports)
A Canadian ice-skating duo at the Winter Olympics almost fell to the same fate as Gabriella Papadakis in 2018. The 30-year-old had competed at the Games eight years ago alongside Guillaume Cizeron when she had a costume malfunction that left her exposing her chest.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier took to the ice for the rhythm dance section of the competition, landing a score of 86.18 and placing themselves on the podium ahead of the free dance section. However, this could’ve ended differently had Gilles not thought on her feet during the performance. As the pair were gliding across the ice in a mix of spins and lifts, Poirier’s cuff got caught on his partner’s tights.
Olympic rules state that if part of the outfit the dancers are wearing touches the ice, then it would have been an instant point deduction. But Gilles wasn’t about to let that happen.
The 34-year-old spun and caught the fabric flapping on her, clutching it throughout the rest of the dance. At the end, Gilles improvised further by placing her hand behind her back, hiding the torn fabric.
With the competition incredibly tight at the top, Gilles kept her pairing in the running for a bronze medal with her quick thinking. Papadakis may wish she had done the same thing during her wardrobe malfunction in 2018 and she could’ve been on course for Olympic gold.
Gilles made some savvy moves to make sure they weren’t deducted points (Image: Andy Cheung/Getty Images)
The French dancer had been among the favourites to win that year alongside partner Cizeron. During a spin, Papadakis’ top came loose and exposed her nipple, causing their score to drop.
Despite this, they still went on to claim silver in South Korea but the incident affected them both. Papadakis said: “My costume opened up. It was difficult. It’s the first time that something like that happened. I tried to stay focused and finish without anything else happening.”
Cizeron added: “It’s just frustrating to miss a few points just because of a costume issue. It’s not what we get ready for when we train. But you know, I’m so proud that we managed to pull out a program like that even with a difficulty like this.”
