Boston / United States

The first new World Champions of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2016 were crowned in Boston, USA Thursday in the Ice Dance event.

Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) dance off with gold

Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron of France danced off with the gold medal as the Ice Dance event concluded at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston (USA). Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) claimed the silver medal and their teammates Madison Chock/ Evan Bates earned the bronze. All three teams posted new personal best scores.

Performing to “Rain in Your Black Eyes” and “Build a Home”, Papadakis/Cizeron produced effortless looking yet intricate footwork and difficult lifts. All elements merited a level four and the two-time European Champions set a new personal best of 118.17 points, which is also the highest Free Dance score recorded so far. The French totaled 194.46 points to defend their World title. “We didn’t expect these high marks at all. We were really able to give our very best tonight. It took us a moment at the end of our program to realize what we have achieved, and I still can’t believe it. I just want to catch this moment and enjoy it”, Papadakis said.

Shibutani/Shibutani’s dance to “Fix You” by Coldplay was highlighted by excellent lifts and step sequences. The Four Continents Champions as well picked up a level four for all elements and got 113.73 points. That added up to 188.43 points overall. It was the second World medal for the brother and sister team after their bronze from 2011. “Alex and I are incredibly proud of this season. We’ve been working so hard and to have two moments like this in front of a home audience, you really can’t ask for anything more. They were supporting us every single step out there and I knew I could really trust Alex and that was the perfect way for us to end our season. Those were our best performances”, Maia Shibutani commented.

Chock/Bates delivered a very strong performance of their Rachmaninov Free Dance as well and also had a level four for their lifts, footwork, twizzles and spin. The 2015 World silver medalists scored 113.31 points and claimed their second World medal with 185.77 points. “It was wonderful to skate here in front of the home crowd. The audience really helped us to pour our emotions into the program. It was our best performance this season. This year marks our five year anniversary skating together, and in Ice Dance this is still pretty young. We want to continue to grow more”, Bates told the press.

Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte (ITA) moved up from sixth to fourth place at 182.72 points while Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje (CAN) slipped from fourth to fifth (182.01 points). Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA) pulled up one spot to finish sixth (176.81 points).

The ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2016 continue Friday with the Pairs Short Program and the Men’s Free Skating. For more information, full entry lists and results please see: www.isu.org and www.worlds2016.com