Skating body defends Olympic judging after French duo’s ice dance gold

February 13, 2026

TL;DR

The ISU is defending its ice dance judging system after a close Olympic gold medal finish.
A large score gap from one judge favored the French pair, leading to controversy.
The ISU states that variations in judges' scores are normal and safeguards are in place.
A trimmed mean system is used, where highest and lowest scores are discarded to mitigate outliers.
An online petition with nearly 15,000 signatures calls for an investigation into the judging.
American skaters expressed pride in their performance, acknowledging public support and the petition.
The controversy has reignited debates about subjectivity in figure skating scoring.
The French partnership is relatively new at the international level.
The situation evokes memories of the 2002 Salt Lake City figure skating scandal.

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